I spent today at Vancouver Change Camp, and had a great time.  The event is billed as a “participatory event to imagine and build new ways to collaborate for social change in the digital age.” I expected something far less interesting and learned a lot from many people, reflecting diverse interests, perspectives and backgrounds. Here are some of the surprises and great insights from today:

Surprise #1 – The technology enabled participation without getting in the way or being a distraction:

My expectation having not been to an open meeting event for the “digital age,” was that things might be overly “tech-focused” for sake of using or demonstrating the latest tools.  What happened instead was the use of appropriate technologies (including Post It notes, markers, brown paper bags, bulletin boards, projectors, wikis, etc.) in the fastest, most functional way.

Surprise #2 – The design of the gathering was inclusive and efficient:

I found out about the event through a Twitter post and was curious to see how it would go.

Having moved to Vancouver less than a year ago, I did not know anyone at the conference.  I expected, based on the many other conferences that I’ve attended, that the day would be spent in isolation watching and learning, but not really relating to others that much.  But within 1 minute another conference attendee and I were talking.  Even though he and I were not organizers or volunteers, we served as greeters to each other.  The design of the event facilitated connecting with each other, and I felt welcome and included the entire day.

Following the day there are people I want to reconnect with, and others who I am sure I’ll meet again. There were dozens of people that I learned from, because so many people were sharing ideas.  What was really great was how things felt focused, as if it had all been planned and pre-selected (the sessions were proposed first thing in the day).  The process was not only open and welcoming, but moved quickly and served dual functions (“stacking”).

I think that most people coming into the event, even if they did not know anyone there or did not have a lot of experience with the topics already, could have become involved and felt welcome.  There are many of my friends from school who didn’t come with me today because I described the event based on the usual conference format.  I was wrong in my predictions, and I think had others from school joined me they would of had a great time and been more engaged in the community as a result.  That’s powerful to see, and to be wrong in this way because my predictions come from many other conference experiences (generally good enough, but tedious and limiting all the same).

Surprise #3 – There was enough time to listen to others who shared interesting ideas:

The sessions were only :45 minutes, but in each period I felt that I learned new things and had a basis for following up.  The day moved quickly, but did not feel rushed.  This is not always the case for a conference, and I really appreciated how much was accomplished in a single day.  I feel like I attended a three-day conference!

Surprise #4 – The framework respected the capacity of the group members as intelligent thinkers, which brought out the best in the group as a whole:

I liked this part the best, and next time a Change Camp happens I am encouraging every child care worker I know to come and see how powerful it feels to be respected in this way.

I also learned a lot of ideas for how to facilitate decision making with preschoolers today, and saw that it works and feels great as an adult to be treated like I work to treat children I work with.  The group’s potential was more fully realized by how the event was structured, and that was wonderful to see in action.

Surprise #5 – Agendas were upfront and explicit, allowing people to network and share ideas based on both differences and similarities:

There were lots of personal, political and professional agendas today, from government workers reaching out to the community to people networking to carry out projects.  I liked how this was accepted as part of the event, but also how we moved beyond that to have time to listen and learn beyond narrow agendas.

I think it’s okay to have an agenda (I do), but want to move beyond that when working with others so that we also connect as fellow humans.  This structure of the event encouraged that.

Final Thoughts…

I think anyone organizing a conference that includes sharing and networking as part of its goals should incorporate some of the design features of this event.  By giving up control over the sequence and content, a lot more power was unleashed today.  While there are times for lectures, times for singular agendas and programs, I think we need more times like was created today.  This is especially true if we want to a community, whole and not fragmented.  Today’s event demonstrated some ideas that I was not fully aware of their power and effectiveness.  All and all, a great day!