First ‘unconference’ is on its way to Liverpool

Nov 27 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

THEY’LL have been to many conferences in their time – but Merseyside’s digital and creative businesses are now being invited to their first “unconference”.

Barcamp Liverpool aims to bring together the region’s technological innovators in for an informal gathering to share ideas and learn more about the latest digital developments.

Instead of a normal conference, where delegates arrive to be addressed by a series of pre-booked speakers in pre-booked sessions, a Barcamp sees “entrepreneurs, technologists, programmers, developers, designers, bloggers, social media types, gamers, and artists” decide among themselves what should be discussed.

Some delegates use the event’s “wiki” website to inform others in advance what they will talk about – while others will simply turn up on the Saturday morning and choose a discussion subject and a time to talk about it.

The first Barcamp was held in Silicon Valley in 2005. Since then, similar events have been held in 350 cities around the world.

The Liverpool event will be held in the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre (CUC) in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle area on Saturday, December 6, and Sunday, December 7.

A Barcamp party will be held on Saturday night.

Anyone who wants to attend Barcamp are asked to reserve a place by visiting the event website at www.barcampliverpool.com

The event, by definition, has no organisers but a group of local IT specialists are taking the lead promoting the event.

Katie Lips, of Kisky Netmedia in Liverpool, said: “An unconference is not like a normal conference.

“We don’t know exactly what’ll happen until people all turn up. There’s no pre-planned list of speakers, no agenda, and no fees.

“Barcamp is unique because it’s created by everyone who turns up. That means it is what they make it.

“Because it’s at a weekend, it attracts people who really want to be there and are really passionate about their work.

“It’s for entrepreneurial technologists who may well work for companies or for themselves but who work with technology and feel it’s their life, not just their job.

“The ethos is that everybody helps in some way and takes a session about X, Y or Z.

“It’s very different from a normal conference where delegates take a passive role – they just sit there and people talk at them.”

Barcamp will be preceded on Friday, December 5, by the Amazing iPhone conference, also at the CUC.

The event, created by Liverpool John Moores University’s International Centre for Digital Content and Kisky Netmedia, aims to help local companies take advantage of the new technological opportunities offered by the iPhone.

alistairhoughton