BaseKamp, a non-commercial organization of people researching and co-developing interdisciplinary, self-organized art projects and based in Philadelphia, has members around the world. This Saturday a few of those members will provide the opening keynote at fosscon and we’ll get to learn a bit more about them in the process.
Before we get there, though, here’s a little bit on why this matters. We’re going to a free and open source software conference, and of course we all know why we are there, but sometimes we tend to focus a little too much on the software. Software is important, freedom in it’s use and distribution is important, but there is more out there than just software, and the sort of work BaseKamp does is just as important.
BaseKamp is exploring ways that communities can accomplish things together. They redefine what a group is all about, and empower people to experiment with how we live and work together creatively. Beyond this, they help educate themselves and others about how to be part of this group, this community, and how to contribute towards a brighter future.
We are looking forward at seeing just what they bring to the table, and how it can help us all expand our horizons beyond just code to all the other things that make up this world, and our software. Just this week they did a great session on free art license. Stuff like this is just as important as all our efforts in software, and our efforts even depend on it sometime!
The POSSE Panel is a great chance to learn from those who have just learned themselves.
POSSE, sponsored by Red Hat, is a week long event where college level educators come in to learn more about open source, and how to teach using it in the classroom. The format allows instructors to learn as a group and come up with new ideas together.
At the end of the week, this group will be presenting to us in a two hour session what they have learned and how they plan to use it. This session should prove invaluable for anyone with an interest in Free and Open Source software in the educational world.
The days are dwindling. Here you will find an annotated campus map to help you find your way. Check in is at the registration area in building 70.
Besides the great selection of talks at Fosscon we will also have Bird of a Feather sessions and now lightning talks during the closing portions of the day. Due to great demand by a few groups that we just couldn’t fit into the main talk sessions, we will be adding a handful of lightning talks in our exhibition hall between the end of the main tracks and the event closing.
Additionally, there is still space available for your group to grab a table in the exhibition hall. Let us know if you don’t already have one and are interested!
Finally, I do want to point out that while we greatly appreciate all those who pre-register (and therefore let us know how many people to expect) walk-ins will always be welcome, and you can register at the door.
If you would like to grab one of these slots or tables contact jonathand@fossevents.org
Fosscon is only a few days away. If you would like to plan an informal Bird of a Feather session, space will be available to hold these. You can use the wiki at http://wiki.fosscon.org/index.php/BOF to plan them. You will need to create an account to do edit but feel free to do so.
