via Flickr Creative Commons: Herr_Bert
A BarCamp is an informal, free, and participatory conference style event where the content is provided by the participants.
They take place all over the world (including some great recent events in Belfast and Dublin) and are open to anyone who’d like to come along.
What’s It About?
BarCamp Derry is an informal, one-day event for anyone interested in the web, technology or digital media. It’s completely free and anyone can attend, help organise or even speak at the event.
Not only is BarCamp a great chance to learn and discuss ideas in an informal environment but it’s also a great social event.
Who Should Come?
Well, if you’re reading this, then you. BarCamps attract a great mix of designers and developers, media types, technology folk, business people and people with a personal interest in social media.
If you’d like to learn more about any of these topics and meet like minded people, then we’d love to see you. Students and people new to ‘web stuff’ are particularly welcome.
Although you’re prefectly free to just turn up on the day, we’d ask that you register your details in advance so that we can get an idea of numbers.
What Should I Expect?
Hard to say really. The whole idea of a BarCamp is that they are organised by the people attending - so each one is different. That said, it’s safe to say that you can expect:
- A good mix of people from a variety of backgrounds
- An open, friendly atmosphere
- An informal day (jeans and t-shirts, not suits and ties)
- Some great speakers
- A bit of a laugh
Speakers
Anyone who would like to speak at BarCamp is free to do so - the running order and topics will be decided on the day. But to give everyone some idea fo what to expect, we’ll be letting people suggest topics that they would like to speak about in advance.
Themes and topics tend to develop on the day and in response to requests from attendees. The sessions themeselves can vary quite a bit too: some people will do presentations with slides, some will take a Q&A format and some people will be ‘demoing’ new ideas and projects that they’ve been working on.
In short, nobody sets the agenda - it’s all user-generated.
Free Stuff
The event is completely free and we’ll also be laying on teas and coffees throughout the day and a free lunch (thanks to some kind sponsors).
Social Stuff
A big part of BarCamp is, of course, the bar. Once we finish up on Saturday we’ll all be meeting up in a local bar to hang out, relax and continue the conversation.
As this is the first BarCamp in Derry we’re also planning a few sociables on the Friday evening and some more active events on the Sunday. Again, everyone’s invited and if you’re coming from out of town, it’s a perfect excuse to make a weekend of it.
Sponsors and Volunteers
BarCamp is very much a community-driven event and anyone who would like to get involved in helping organise BarCamp is very welcome indeed. If you’d like to help, just drop us an email.
As a free event, we also rely on the support of our sponsors. If you would like to get your business in front of a bunch of webbies and techies as a BarCamp sponsor then please get in touch.
