With the dust finally settling from TransparencyCamp, it's a good time to talk about some of the work we did this time around to prepare for one of our favorite weekends of the year. TCamp '13 was a year of firsts for us: our first 500+ crowd, first time running the event with a mostly volunteer staff, and our first time trying to run nearly everything digitally and online. In this post I'll run through the what/why/how of that last point, and touch on some lessons learned. It's gonna be long and Django-centric, so grab your pink pony mug and cozy up with a cup of coffee.
Continue readingWatch TransparencyCamp ideas grow!
TransparencyCamp has come and gone, but the ideas that sprouted at TCamp are just beginning to come to life.
Steve Spiker from OpenOakland shared his insight about the transparency movement in the TCamp wrap up video below, “We’re saying things need to be different in our country and that’s only going to happen if you care enough to persist on it.”
The transparency community understands that progress starts at TCamp but it doesn’t end when you go home.
Continue readingThe design behind TransparencyCamp 2013
One of the things I love about TransparencyCamp is that it is a large essentially unscheduled event. You can't plan what's going to happen when you have over 500 people and just a loose schedule of events over 2 days. The branding has to be loud enough to guide people though the unconference format in an unfamiliar space and convey a sense of excitement and energy. The implementation has to be flexible and allow for things to change, like a picnic session in the park, or food trucks for lunch parking in unexpected locations.
TransparencyCamp 2013: Wrapping Up the Best Year Yet
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 at the weekend.
Continue readingGuess who’s coming to TCamp13: countdown to TCamp edition
“Guess Who’s Coming to TCamp” is a mini-series we started last year to introduce some of the faces you'll see at TransparencyCamp. We're now in the homestretch before TCamp 2013, and are highlighting some more international guests and TransparencyCamp scholars joining us in Washington, DC on May 4 and 5.
For the last two years, we invited a number of advocates, journalists, policy makers, developers and others from all over the world to join us for TCamp and a series of informal meetings in the days before TransparencyCamp. This year, we opened up the process for participants outside the U.S. and invited people to join us through an online application process. We had an overwhelming response to the program with over 400 applicants. Thanks to our generous funders, we will welcome 23 people from a wide range of countries. Here`s our map:
Last week we brought you Oluseun Onigbinde from Nigeria, Juha Yrjola from Finland and Pamela Mutale Kapekele from Zambia. Today we'll learn a little bit about Fabrizio Alfredo Scrollini Mendez from the UK (via South America), Amira Khalil from Egypt, Bibhusan Bista from Nepal, Thejesh Gangaiah Nagarathna from India, and Vadym Hudyma from Ukraine.
Continue readingTop ten things to know about TCamp
Greetings TCamper!
If you are not one of the 620 people that purchased tickets this year, we will have a streaming google hangout at: http://snlg.ht/tcamp2013hangout. Streaming begins at 10am and will continue at least to 11 each day.
1. When is TCamp ?
- Saturday and Sunday, May 4th - 5th
- Registration begins at 9AM on Saturday.
- Conference starts at 10AM -- sharp! -- each day.
The Marvin Center - 3rd floor
The George Washington University
800 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
Guess Who’s Coming to TCamp13: Domestic Edition
The 2013 class of TCamp Scholars represents some of the best efforts to spread transparency to states and localities across... View Article
Continue readingGuess who`s coming to TCamp13
“Guess Who’s Coming to TCamp” is a mini-series we started last year to introduce some of the faces you’ll see... View Article
Continue readingUnconference 101: A Quick Guide to TCamp and Beyond
With TransparencyCamp less than three weeks away, it’s time to get serious about what it means to attend an unconference. Unconferences are events run by participants. Attendees set the agenda for what will be discussed, lead the sessions and workshops that fill the schedule, and create an environment of innovation and productive discussion. It can be a bit hard to visualize how this all plays out before you’ve actually attended an open format event like this, so, to make things easier, we’ve pulled together some resources to help you get the most out of your TransparencyCamp experience -- or any other open format event you attend.
Continue readingShare your experience, be a TransparencyCamp Ambassador
We here at the Sunlight Foundation could not be more excited about our upcoming TransparencyCamp! We have done this -- and had a blast -- with the rest of the transparency community for the last 4 years, and this year’s event is slated to be bigger and better than ever.
But since both TCamp and our community has expanded over the years, we realized that some may appreciate an introduction to the transparency world and the unconference experience. Additionally, we know that many people have great tales to share from their participation over the years.
That's why we are launching a new Ambassadors Program at this year’s TCamp. Ambassadors will be matched with attendees who may be new to the open gov and open data community or unconferencing with TCamp veterans and established members of the transparency world. Participants in the ambassadors program get the opportunity to connect with each other prior to the event, reach across transparency issue areas and meet exciting new people. We are thrilled about the potential of this program to help forge new and stronger ties amongst TCamp attendees, and make our community more accessible to new people.
Interested in learning more? Sign up below.
59063
