Learning Sprint 4 | BarCamp: Reflective Analysis
I have created and licenced an Open Toolkit for Artistic Learning. I’d like to organise a public event within which to present and run this Open Toolkit that will attract like-minded peers. I’ve heard that “unconferences” are ways of organising such participatory events, but I’m not sure what unconferences are, or how to find out about them. It all seems so daunting. Where should I start?
The unconference is an event for everyone to participate in. unconference is more of a relaxed sharing and conversation than conferences, where the boundaries between organisers and participants are blurred. The unconference is also more flexible and open, allowing anyone interested in the topic to join and share their thoughts, share their knowledge and learn from each other on the way to the event.
On the subject of where to start a BarCamp, it’s worth starting with the toolkit you create. The toolkit I created in sprint 3 is knitting, so I imagined a scenario around the activity of knitting – everyone sitting around a table in a relaxed environment with yarn, tools and patterns, and perhaps some flowers and fragrance to create a more welcoming atmosphere. The process is organised in a way that doesn’t over-emphasise the process or rules, leaving maximum freedom for each participant. Just like my kits allow participants to knit in the way they like, whether it is with knitting needles, crochet or by hand.
Sharing with others and listening to ideas is also an important process in organising a BarCamp. After I shared my idea with my tutor, Neil, he pointed out to me that my initial idea was not interactive enough, as my original thought was that each person would make a separate fabric and share it when it was finished. He made a rather valuable suggestion for me: how about having everyone break up into small groups where each group member is responsible for a small part of the fabric and eventually combine it into a complete fabric towards the end of time. This would increase the interactivity of the group while ensuring that within the 20 minutes that BarCamp is running, participants would have more time to create a more complete piece.
Before officially starting BarCamp, it is worthwhile to have a walkthrough. With Neil’s invaluable advice and after I had roughly sorted out the new process, I shared it with my group. It turned out that our Basho‘s BarCamp, with topics such as overcoming look anxiety, magic, collage, editing film clips and so on, was all at its core a process of self-discovery. After identifying the core elements of our Basho BarCamp, we rehearsed the entire BarCamp process. We made a general arrangement of the order of the BarCamp, participated in the Basho’s toolkit and gave our feelings and opinions. I suggested two ideas in which we could either work together to create a fabric from scratch, or I could prepare some extra wooden puppets and have everyone decorate their puppets in groups. With everyone’s participation and feedback, I finally decided on the second one as the better option. With more feedback from the participants, we could better modify our toolkits and run a smoother and more successful BarCamp.
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