My expectations for BarCamp Africa were high but vague. I was excited about all the people I would get a chance to meet, and convinced that only amazing things could come of getting that many smart people in a room together. I wanted to get the word out about Project Diaspora, I wanted to get feed-back on our ideas, I wanted to find partners and collaborators. I wanted inspiration, motivation and information. I got it all… but I got a few other things too.
I arrived at the Google campus (totally cool btw) and entered into the crowd of Campers… a roomful of strangers with a single mission and no particular plan for the day and I wondered… how in the world does productivity come from the chaos? The conference (of course) started off with some technical glitches… so we all just kinda hovered around the coffee (praise God!) or drank the Google provided beverages (Naked… yum).
I tend to take a while to warm up and talk to people. Its not that I am introverted, but I do like to sit back and observe the dynamic of the crowd, the behavior of others (usually more enlightening than they are probably aware of). However, in this case watching the crowd was bone-headed thing to do… the whole point of being at Barcamp is to engage with people. So I akwardly began to introduce myself to people and within moments I had met a woman for Ashoka, the Julie from Beads for Life, Shailja Patel, and many others… and I could tell; it was going to be a great day.
So things get organized and we get registered and head off to breakfast, more networking, more conversation and more coffee (paired with breakfast pastries and fruit this time!)
The introductory session began and thankfully they walk us through the plan for the day. Which seemed to revolve around the post-it note. I have to admit… I was doubtful that this system would work… I think everyone there had a topic they wanted to have a breakout session about. We wander over to the big grid:
Where it became clear to me that most of us had no idea how this big blank grid worked. I placed my little post-it on the grid. Said a little prayer that people would come to the session and looked for where I wanted to go next.
The whole day was like that; informal meetings with people I had never met before or had just met electronically, paired with conversations with really really smart people with a passion for Africa. With no formal structure for these meetings or conversations on than that big grid, I really had my doubts that anything constructive could come of that. Truth is… I got more out of this conference than I have gotten out of any conference I have ever gone to. The structure basically forces you to understand that you only get out of it what you put into it… and the success of the event rotates around everyone putting in their two cents. You are not there to absorb the wisdom of the knowing few… you are ALL there to learn from each other.
The only criticism I have of this event was that it should have been longer. I needed another day. There were so many people I did not get a chance to meet. There were so many people I met that I did not get to talk to long enough. There were so many conversations that I wanted to carry on longer. I wanted to just soak in the knowledge and passion of the people around me. Can’t wait for next year!
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I agree. It was a wonderful day and inspiring event. Next time I’d hope for a little less chaos however. The passion and goodwill really charged me and I left with a head full of ideas and a pocket full of contacts. I felt like a global citizen and that I had made some small but meaningful contribution.
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