Every year at about this time — just days after our hallmark community event, TransaprencyCamp — we kick up our heels, shake our heads, and think, “That was our best event yet.”

But this year, we really mean it.

TransparencyCamp 2013 was different from its predecessors. Not only was it our largest TCamp to-date — with a chart-topping 500 participants from over 25 countries and 33 states* — but it was also our strongest. More than a reunion of old friends fighting the same fight, this TransparencyCamp was a veritable democratic laboratory, with scientists from different backgrounds, countries and creeds coming together to share their experiments, find collaborators, and bring new ideas back home for testing and tweaking.

We’ll have some more reflections and behind the scenes views in the days ahead, but first, we wanted to share with you a closer look at the weekend.

*DC. Represent.