BarCamp Melbourne takes place in just 10 days. Creative Contingencies has thrown some coins in the hat to sponsor the event and help ensure it's free for attendees. Would-be BarCampers do have to pay $10 up front to secure their place, as spots are limited. Too often, people sign up, but don't show up. A small financial commitment seems to work to reduce the number of no-shows. If attendees do turn up, they get a refund, or the option to donate their fee to a carbon offset scheme.
But what is BarCamp? It's a participatory "UnConference". There is no call for papers, no pre-determined program, no keynote speakers. The people who are there are the people who make it happen. It does require some pre-planning. A venue needs to be secured, and some mechanism put in place to allow people to sign up. But that's it really. Everything else is optional and at the discretion of the "UnOrganisers".
For more information on BarCamps, UnConferences an Open Space Technologies, check out these links.
The Wikipedian View
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-space_technology
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp
Primary sources
- http://edcamp.wikispaces.com/
- http://edcampfoundation.org/
- http://www.unconference.net/
- http://barcamp.org/
- http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi?AboutOpenSpace
Local variations on the theme
