Unconference
An unconference is a facilitated, participant-driven conference centered on a theme or purpose. The term "unconference" has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference, such as high fees and sponsored presentations. For example, in 2006, CNNMoney applied the term to diverse events including BarCamp, Bloggercon, and Mashup Camp.[1]
The term was primarily used in the technology industry, but has also extended into other sectors; in 2008, an unconference for people in the built environment and construction sector was organised by Be2camp in London,[2] and in 2009 it also started to appear in the travel industry.[3]
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[edit] History
Most unconference features match the characteristics of the traditional science fiction convention held since the 1930s, events which include many members of the geek community.
Harrison Owen developed the Open Space Technology[4] format/method in the mid 1980's. He published Open Space Technology: a User's Guide, in 1993. This book discussed many of the techniques now associated with unconferences, although his book does not use the term "unconference."
Consultants' Camp started by Jerry Weinberg has been using the Open Space Technology method for their week-long conference since 1988.
The term unconference first appeared in an announcement for the annual XML developers conference in 1998.
Open Space Technology was part of the Agile Universe Conference program in 2002.
The term was used by Lenn Pryor when discussing BloggerCon and was popularized by Dave Winer, the organizer of BloggerCon, in an April 2004 writeup. The first BloggerCon was October 4-5, 2003.
FooCamp is an invitation-only event for the Friends of O'Reilly that was created by Tim O'Reilly and Sara Winge the VP of Corporate Communications for O'Reilly Media. Sara drew on her experience of open space and conversations with Harrison Owen to develop the format [5] The first one happened October 10-12, 2003. In 2005 some of the attendees from previous years decided to produce their own "Bar" Camp.
These three different events, BloggerCon, FooCamp and BarCamp were all part of popularizing the term "unconference". Foo and Bar Camp in particular popularized the form where "there is no agenda until .. the attendees made one up."
[edit] Styles of facilitation
An unconference can be conducted using a number of different facilitation styles. Some of these are:
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Barcamp
- Birds of a Feather
- Dotmocracy
- Fishbowl (conversation)
- Knowledge Cafe
- Lightning Talks
- Multi-voting
- Nominal Group Technique
- Open Space Technology
- Pecha Kucha
- Speed Geeking
- TeachMeet
- World Café[6]
[edit] References
- ^ money.cnn.com Why "unconferences" are fun conferences
- ^ Be2camp 2008, 10 October - http://www.be2camp.com/page/page/show?id=2236538%3APage%3A1822
- ^ Hostel Management Unconference, Austria 2009
- ^ [1] Open Space World Resources
- ^ BarCamp Mail Archive
- ^ Juanita Brown and the World Café Community (2002). The World Cafe : A Resource Guide for Hosting Conversations That Matter. Whole Systems Associates.
[edit] External links
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