Sharing Nicely

I am very excited about the upcoming Open Everything conversation on August 22 (14h – 19h) at Birds Boutique Cafe in Cape Town – please come and join the fun if you are in this corner of the world!

We are still finalising our wish-list of participating projects, topics, and people, but here is a preliminary snap-shot:

* 28 dinners
* Co-location / Social workspaces
* Couchsurfing Cape Town
* CVET – Cape Video and Education Trust
* iCommons
* Mail & Guardian Thought Leader
* Open Source Software at the Department of Science and Technology
* Opening Scholarship Project at University of Cape Town
* Open Technology Standards
* Rip, Mix, and Learn education at University of the Western Cape
* Siyavula / Free High School Science Textbooks
* Ultimate Holiday Planner
* QuirkE Marketing
* Village Telecommunication

What is Open Everything?

Open Everything is a global conversation about the art, science and spirit of ‘open’. It gathers people using openness to create and improve software, education, media, philanthropy, architecture, neighbourhoods, workplaces and the society we live in: everything. It’s about thinking, doing and being open.

Where, and when?

There are two kinds of Open Everything conversations planned: a three day retreat in British Columbia and a series of half day events around the world, including Toronto (Canada), Cape Town, Singapore, London, Berlin.

In Cape Town, we will meet for an afternoon conversation at Birds Boutique Cafe (corner of Bree and Church Streets) a lovely family-run coffee shop with cake and delicious foods. We will start right after lunch around 14h, run until the early evening and have a light dinner together. If enough people are interested, we can then move across the street to Caveau to carry on. There is no charge for the event, but participants need to contribute 80 ZAR to cover the cost of coffees, cake and dinner. However, money should never be an obstacle to participate, so contact us for ways to get the fee waived if you are struggling to cover it.

The agenda includes a short introduction, an hour of “speedgeeking” (where many projects speak about their work), a talk-show case study, and some “open space” sessions that we will define together.

You can sign up by adding your name to the wiki.

Why?

Open is changing the game. And, while Wikipedia and open source software offer great examples of what’s up, we know that openness, collaboration and participation are spreading well beyond the realm of technology. It’s about value, and values. Open Everything gathers people who are charting the trajectory where open is headed.

Who?

Many of us are mashing-up different kinds of open. Open source. Open space. Open organisations. Openness is at the core of our businesses, organizations and networks. Open Everything is for us and by us: it’s about connecting and looking under the hood of each others’ projects, seeing how they tick, when they work and where they break. It’s a about learning how to do open better, together.

What?

Each Open Everything event is different. Topics might include: open business models; running participatory events; the art, science and meaning of open; speedgeek case studies; community engagement; taking open source thinking beyond the tech world; open train wrecks (what went wrong?). What actually gets discussed on the day depends on who shows up, and what they’re passionate about.

More info and contact:

http://openeverything.wik.is/Cape_Town