Open Data Camp is returning for a sixth time this coming weekend, 3rd and 4th November 2018.
This time, the Open Data Camp charabanc will be visiting the lovely city of Aberdeen, in Scotland.
The purpose of this post is to provide details for attendees.
We are delighted to announce that Open Data Camp is returning once again. Open Data Camp 6 will be the weekend of 3/4th November, hosted by the University of Aberdeen.
We will share details about the venue in due course.
We are really grateful to the University of Aberdeen for offering to host Open Data Camp, and to the team at ODI Aberdeen / Code the City for volunteering to bring ODC 6 to their city.
In case you’ve no idea what Open Data Camp is, here’s a quick recap:
‘Open’ means that data has made available with little or no restriction on its use, as set out in a licence.
‘Data’, refers to text, words, numbers, images, sound and video etc. (Hang on, what’s the difference between data and information? See this useful explanation.)
‘Camp’ is a term commonly used to refer to an ‘unconference’, which basically means it’s an event with no predefined agenda – instead, attendees ‘pitch’ session ideas to each other.
“Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share.”
We will let you have lots more information in the coming weeks, which will of course include details of ticketing, travel and accommodation.
We also look forward to seeing the Northern Lights Conference on Friday, 2 November, also at the University of Aberdeen, which brings together tech developers, designers and students. 25/09/2018: Unfortunately the Northern Lights event has had to be cancelled.
Open Data Camp charabanc thanks to Drawnalism
Open Data Camp is returning for a fifth time this coming weekend, 21st and 22nd October 2017.
This time, the Open Data Camp charabanc will be visiting the lovely city of Belfast, in Northern Ireland.
The purpose of this post is to provide details for attendees.
At Queen’s University Belfast, in the Computer Science building
See the Travel and Accommodation page for information on getting to Belfast from other parts of the UK and Ireland, and where to stay.
For those arriving on Friday, there’s an optional walking tour in the afternoon. There are a limited number of places, so please sign up [here]
For those who have registered for the walking tour, we will be meeting at the gates of Queen’s university at 4:30pm, and the tour lasts about 1.5 hrs.
On Friday evening, a few people will be meeting at The Duke of York from 6pm. Nothing formal, just turn up if you feel like it.
Registration will be from 9:30am on Saturday, and 10am on Sunday. There’s no need to print your ticket, as we’ll check you in using Eventbrite. There will be tea, coffee and pastries available on arrival
At a glance
| Day | Registration from | Welcome | Lunch | Last session finishes | Close |
| Saturday | 9:30am | 10am | 12:15-1:15pm | 4:30pm | 5pm |
| Sunday | 10am | 10:30am | 1-2pm | 3:15pm | 3:45pm |
There will be two sessions in the morning, and three in the afternoon on both days.
Tea, coffee and cakes will be available mid-afternoon on both days.
A light lunch is being provided onsite, and there will be vegetarian options (at least 30%). We haven’t catered for special dietary requirements, but if you have a more specific need, please let us know in advance and we’ll try to help.
We aim to finish the last session by about 4.30pm on Saturday and 3:15pm on Sunday.
Networking continues on Saturday evening, and we will be gathering at The Bear and the Doll from about 6:30pm. Remember to bring your lanyard in the evening, as there will be a (not inexhaustible) tab for Open Data Camp-ers. There will also be a snack buffet laid on (but please don’t come expecting a full meal!)
If you’ve never attended an unconference before, you may be wondering what on earth to expect. Unlike traditional conferences, unconferences have no pre-defined agenda, and instead attendees ‘pitch’ session ideas to each other at the beginning of the event. These ideas are then written on post-it notes, which are assigned to vacant slots on a session grid, and that becomes the agenda.
For a more detailed (and much better) explanation, and links to more information, take a look at Unconference in a Box, compiled by James Cattell.
If you need anything at the weekend, or have a question, look out for people wearing maroon hoodies emblazoned with the Open Data Camp logo. Maroon-hoodie-wearers (Volunteers) have all given up their time for free, and will do their best to help you.
If you are a volunteer and haven’t already seen it, please take a look at Pauline Roche’s blog post Volunteers and Open Data Camp.
A massive thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help plan and run Open Data Camp. I won’t list everyone in this post – you already know who you are.
As you will already be aware, Open Data Camp is free to attend. That wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of forward-thinking organisations who help cover the costs associated with holding a large event.
If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to look at our sponsors’ web sites, and show your appreciation in person, or on Twitter.
https://opendatacamp.herokuapp.com/
https://opendatacamp.slack.com/
We are delighted to announce that Open Data Camp is returning once again. Open Data Camp 5 will be the weekend of 21/22 October at Queen’s University Belfast, in the Computer Science building
We are really grateful to Queen’s University, and the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in particular,
for letting us use their magnificent Computer Science building, and to Suzanne and Cormac from OpenDataNI for making such a convincing case for Belfast to host our next event.
In case you’ve no idea what Open Data Camp is, here’s a quick recap:
‘Open’ means that data has made available with little or no restriction on its use, as set out in a licence.
‘Data’, refers to text, words, numbers, images, sound and video etc. (Hang on, what’s the difference between data and information? See this useful explanation.)
‘Camp’ is a term commonly used to refer to an ‘unconference’, which basically means it’s an event with no predefined agenda – instead, attendees ‘pitch’ session ideas to each other.
“Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share.”
We will let you have lots more information in the coming weeks, which will of course include details of ticketing, travel and accommodation.
Cormac McConaghy
Open Data Camp is returning for a fourth time this coming weekend 25/26th February.
This purpose of this post is to provide details for attendees.
Pierhead
The National Assembly for Wales,
Cardiff Bay,
Cardiff,
CF99 1NA
We are particularly grateful to the National Assembly for Wales, and Assembly Member Mark Drakeford for sponsoring our use of the fabulous Pierhead building
The Pierhead web site has full details on how to get to the venue, and there is more information in our Venue and Accommodation page.
Pierhead is fully accessible, there is a lift as well as stairs connecting the public areas between the ground and first floors. A hearing loop is installed in the main hall and blue badge parking is available. Phone 0300 200 6565 with details of your blue badge to arrange.
Registration is from 10am on Saturday and 10:30am on Sunday. There’s no need to print your ticket, as we’ll check you in using Eventbrite.
We’ll be using “Hello. My name is….” sticky badges. Feel free to bring your own lanyard if you’d rather not stick it to yourself directly.
Around 150 people have registered to attend during the course of the weekend. Almost a hundred of those are on Twitter, and are included in the list: ODCamp_4
We have participants coming from India, America and across the British Isles.
It’s a weekend, and people are travelling from far-and-wide, so of course there’ll be tea and coffee – and pastries – for when you arrive.
Tea & coffee will be kept topped-up throughout the day, and there will be cake in the afternoon.
Lunch: You’ll need to make your own arrangements for lunch, but don’t worry, as Pierhead is surrounded by cafes and restaurants. More info about that at: http://www.mermaidquay.co.uk/
On Saturday evening we’ll be gathering at The Waterguard, which is about 5 mins walk from Pierhead [directions]. It’s a distinctive building – see Waterguard’s Facebook page for more info and photos.
Thanks to our sponsors, there will be some free drinks for Open Data Camp attendees (not inexhaustible!) and a snack buffet delivered in stages throughout the evening. Don’t expect a main meal.
There’s less public transport around on Sundays – and people like a bit of a lie-in – so sessions will be starting slightly later, the doors will open at 10:30am.
If you’ve never attended an unconference before, you may be wondering what on earth to expect. Unlike traditional conferences, unconferences have no pre-defined agenda, and instead attendees ‘pitch’ session ideas to each other at the beginning of the event. These ideas are then written on post-it notes, which are assigned to vacant slots on a session grid, and that becomes the agenda.
For a more detailed (and much better) explanation, and links to more information, take a look at Unconference in a Box, compiled by James Cattell.
If you need anything at the weekend, or have a question, look out for people wearing maroon hoodies emblazoned with the Open Data Camp logo. Maroon-hoodie-wearers (Volunteers) have all given up their time for free, and will do their best to help you.
If you are a volunteer and haven’t already seen it, please take a look at Pauline Roche’s recent blog post Volunteers and Open Data Camp.
A massive thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help plan and run Open Data Camp. I won’t list everyone in this post – you already know who you are.
As you will already be aware, Open Data Camp is free to attend. That wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of forward-thinking organisations who help cover the costs associated with holding a large event.
If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to look at our sponsors’ web sites, and show your appreciation in person, or on Twitter.
This is a quick post to update you on preparations for Open Data Camp 4, and to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
So far, we’ve released two batches of tickets, and they’ve been snapped-up really fast.
49 tickets have been issued so far, and there are another 71 remaining.
These will also be released in batches on the following dates:
As you probably already know, Open Data Camp is free to attend, and is open to everyone. We often get asked who attends Open Data Camp. We obviously can’t divulge any personal information, and some people choose not to volunteer any additional information about themselves, but we can share a summary.
We suggested some sector themes for attendees, and those who responded selected the following themes:
| Sector theme | Number |
| Data Infrastructure | 13 |
| Open Cities (or Smart Cities) | 13 |
| Data as Culture | 11 |
| Agriculture and Nutrition | 4 |
| Global Development | 2 |
There’s a really wide range of job titles amongst attendees who chose to tell us their title, with students, researchers, policy people, founders, directors, CEOs, analysts, developers and technicians, and many more besides.
We’re starting to get all Christmassy, so here it is as a picture (click to see full size).
Here are some of the organisations attendees identify with. With three more ticket releases to go, there will be lots more yet to come.
At the moment, attendees are approximately ⅓ female and ⅔ male, which is remarkably similar to all three previous events. There are still several opportunities through the forthcoming ticket releases on Jan 8th, 13th and 19th to attract a diverse range of attendees. The Open Data Camp organising team currently comprises 10 men and 6 women, and for the previous Camp, we adopted a Code of Conduct to ensure that we continue to have an enjoyable event for everyone.
If you’ve managed to grab a ticket, you may have some questions about how to get to the venue, and where to stay. Take a look at the Venue and Accommodation page on the web site. We’ll be keeping it updated, and posting more information as we get it. If you’re stuck, let us know at @ODCamp on Twitter, or through the contact page on the web site, and we’ll try to help. We’d also welcome any other suggestions on good (and cheap!) places to stay, or any tips on local hostelries.
Picture credits
Word clouds thanks to Tagul
Click to skip to this post in Welsh.
We are delighted to announce that Open Data Camp is returning once again. Open Data Camp 4 will be the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 25/26th February 2017, at The Pierhead in Cardiff.
We are extremely grateful to Assembly Member Mark Drakeford, of the National Assembly for Wales, who has sponsored our use of the Pierhead building.
In case you’ve no idea what Open Data Camp is, here’s a quick recap:
‘Open’ means that data has made available with little or no restriction on its use, as set out in a licence.
‘Data’, refers to text, words, numbers, images, sound and video etc. (Hang on, what’s the difference between data and information? See this useful explanation.)
‘Camp’ is a term commonly used to refer to an ‘unconference’, which basically means it’s an event with no predefined agenda – instead, attendees ‘pitch’ session ideas to each other.
“Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share.”
Tickets (free!) will be released in batches on the following dates & times (all times are GMT):
We’ll be sharing lots more information – including how to book your ticket(s) – on the Open Data Camp blog, via @ODCamp on Twitter, and using hashtag #ODCamp in the coming weeks.
The Pierhead building, by Nigel Bishop on Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/MAN1tp
Open Data Camp word cloud based on Pierhead building outline, created using Tagul
Rydym yn falch i ddatgan bod Gwersyll Data Agored yn dod yn ol unwaith eto. Bydd Gwersyll Data Agored 4 yn cael ei gynnal ar benwythnos dydd Sadwrn a dydd Sul y 25/26ain o Chwefror 2017, yn Adeilad y Pierhead yng Nghaerdydd.
Rydym yn hynod o ddiolchgar i Aelod Cynulliad Mark Drakeford, o Gynulliad Cenhedlaethol Cymru, sydd wedi noddi ein defnydd o adeilad y Pierhead.
Rhag ofn nad oes ganddoch syniad beth yw Gwersyll Data Agored, dyma crynodeb sydyn:
Mae ‘gwersyll’ yn cyfeirio yn aml i ‘anghynhadledd’ (‘unconference‘), sydd yn golygu bod yn ddigwyddiad yn dechrau heb agenda rhagosodol – yn hytrach, mae mynychwyr yn cynnig (‘pitch’) syniadau i’w gilydd ar gyfer sessiynnau.
Gall ‘Data’ cyfeirio at testun, geiriau, lluniau, swn, fideo, a.y.y.b. (Ond disgwyl.. beth yw’r gwahaniaeth rhwng data a gwybodaeth? Gwelwch yr esboniad defnyddiol yma.)
Golygai ‘Agored’ bod data ar gael hefo ychydig neu dim o rwystrau ar sut ellid ei defnyddio, fel a osodwyd allan mewn trwydded.
“Data agored yw data gall unrhyw un cyrchu, defnyddio a rhannu.”
Mae ticedi (am ddim) yn cael eu rhyddhau mewn sypiau ar y dyddiadau & amseroedd canlynol (dengys yr amser yn GMT):
Dydd Mawrth 20fed Rhagfyr am 12y.p.
Dydd Sul 8fed Ionawr am 8y.p.
Dydd Gwener 13fed Ionawr am 4y.p.
Dydd Iau 19fed Ionawr am 12 y.p.
Byddwn yn rhannu llawer mwy o wybodaeth – yn cynnwys sut i archebu eich ticed(i) – ar flog Gwersyll Data Agored, ar @ODCamp ar trydar, ac yn defnyddio hashnod #ODCamp yn yr wythnosau sy’n dilyn…
Yr adeilad Pierhead, gan Nigel Bishop ar Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/MAN1tp
‘Cwmwl geiriau’ Gwersyll Data Agored ar amlinelliad o’r adeilad Pierhead, wedi’i greu yn defnyddio Tagul
It’s several weeks since the third UK Open Data Camp. In case that means nothing to you:
‘Camp’ is a term commonly used to refer to an ‘unconference’, which basically means it’s an event with no predefined agenda – instead, attendees ‘pitch’ session ideas to each other.
‘Data’, refers to text, words, numbers, images, sound and video etc. (Hang on, what’s the difference between data and information? See this useful explanation.)
‘Open’ means that the publisher of the data has made it available with little or no restriction on its use, as set out in a licence. The most common licence for public sector in the UK, is the Open Government Licence, which is usually referred to by its acronym, OGL. There are lots of other licences. For a detailed overview, take a look at the Guide to Open Licensing.
“Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share.”
So, Open Data Camp is an event where people – from lots of different sectors, and with many different perspectives – get together to discuss absolutely anything to do with open data. There’s also networking, socialising, and generally a good time is had by all.
There’s a widely held view that national events favour London. As the nation’s capital, and most densely populated city in the UK, that’s perfectly understandable, but there’s a risk that other cities across the UK might be overlooked. From the outset, therefore, Open Data Camp has (so far) deliberately avoided the metropolis.
That’s not to say we don’t love London too – we do – it’s just that there’s loads of open data activity right across the UK, not in just one place.
Previously, Open Data Camp has pitched-up in Winchester (South-East), and Manchester (North West). This time, we were in Bristol, in the beautiful South West of England.*
There’s masses going on in Bristol , and it’s a leading light in the UK Smart City scene with Bristol is Open – a joint venture between Bristol City Council and University of Bristol:
Using data sensors, smart city technologies will be able to respond in real-time to everyday events including congestion, waste management, entertainment events, e-democracy, energy supply and more. Together we are creating an open programmable city region.
Amongst (many) other things going on, there’s Bristol Girl Geeks and a very active South West Data Meetup. And, of course, Bath: Hacked is just down the road as well.
The timing for Open Data Camp was perfect for it to be featured as part of Digital Bristol Week – a week-long series of workshops, masterclasses and other events, coordinated by the BBC Academy.
Our venue was the lovely Watershed – ‘Cultural cinema and digital creativity centre’ – right by the Harbourside. We were also really fortunate to have access to the adjoining Pervasive Media Studio, which meant that we had a large and really versatile space available.
The introduction and session pitches were livestreamed both days, and are embedded below for your viewing pleasure. The pitches from both days were used as the basis for the session grid, which became the agenda for the weekend.
The list of sessions is also included to give you a flavour of what was discussed. Most of the sessions have notes taken by volunteers. N.B. The notes are blank for a small number of sessions. If you led or attended Open Data Camp and can add anything to the notes, please do.
Welcome / introduction & session pitching PT1
I don’t have room here to go into detail about individual sessions. Fortunately, that’s not a problem because…
Drawnalism were on-hand, with 2 artists AND 2 writers. Their output was phenomenal, with LOTS of drawings and blog posts published ‘live’ as the weekend progressed.
Many people have already blogged about their own experience of Open Data Camp, or have continued to build on themes identified during the weekend. Here’s a list of posts (so far):
There’s also a great Storify put together by Pauline Roche, and photos:
#odcamp boat trip approaching Bristol Bridge pic.twitter.com/CNaiDWPDQw
— John Murray (@MurrayData) May 14, 2016
So, that’s it for this post. I’d just like to finish off by thanking everyone involved in making the third Open Data Camp such a success. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
Pictured left to right, from the back:
It is now official: the next Open Data Camp will be in Cardiff, Wales!
Stay tuned for date & venue.#opendata #odcamp #dataaragor— Open Data Camp UK (@ODcamp) June 15, 2016
In just a few days time, Open Data Camp – the ‘unconference‘ entirely devoted to open data – is returning for a third time. This time, it’s coming to Bristol, and is featured by the BBC as part of Digital Bristol Week.
First, there was Open Data Camp, in Winchester (Feb 2015).
Then, came Open Data Camp 2, in Manchester (Oct 2015).
Correct!
We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Open Data Camp unconference charabanc is hitting the road again, and will be coming to Bristol the weekend of 14th & 15th May 2016.
As usual, Open Data Camp 3 will be free to attend. This is possible because:
We are delighted to announce that we already have two major sponsors:
We are hugely grateful. Networked Planet and Bristol City Council: You are, quite simply, marvellous.
There will of course be all sorts of other costs to cover, and we are therefore seeking other sponsors to help us make the event go with a whizz and a bang.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please get in touch.
We’ll share more details on the Open Data Camp web site in the next couple of weeks, including the ticket release schedule, and information about travel & accommodation.
That’s it for now.