We had a blast at last week’s Retake the Net barcamp!
All in all, around 70 people joined us at Wellington Town Hall on a sunny Saturday. And it wasn’t just locals: several people came to town from Auckland and other parts of New Zealand in order to attend. What really impressed us though was that at least two people decided spontaneously to get into their cars and drive down to Wellington from as far as Palmerston North after they heard Brian talk about Retake the Net on the radio on Saturday Morning.
We’re absolutely thrilled to have had so many passionate, smart, and friendly people join us – thank you to everyone who came and made this day a success!
We opened the barcamp with a brief overview of the principles of Retake the Net, which is in its core about keeping the internet free of too much corporate/government control. It was important for us to emphasise that we aren’t affiliated with any political parties or other movements, nor do we have corporate sponsors who influence what we do. We also don’t believe that “open” necessarily has to mean free of money or financial rewards. For example when we talk about open culture, we’re by no means endorsing theft, but trying to find new ways of fair compensation and better licensing solutions that foster freedom of creation.
Next we had the pleasure of Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown addressing the crowd. Celia is an old-school geek (many don’t know that she comes from an IT/programming background), and she got lots of smiles from the audience when she told us how when she took office last year, she wasn’t interested in a mayoral car but instead asked for a mayoral iPad . It’s encouraging to see that the mayor and the council recognise the importance of both technology and community for the growth and wellbeing of our city, and to see them support events such as Retake the Net.
After that, the actual barcamp part of the day kicked off, scheduling sessions with stickies and whiteboard. It’s always amazing how quickly a group of keen people can create an entire days’ schedule. We had a total of 12 session slots but could have easily filled lots more. The only problem was choosing which sessions to attend. :-)
Topics included open culture & open source art , identity & anonymity, alternatives to the corporate controlled & centralised cloud , citizen engagement, open communities and digital literacy, internet and human rights – to name just a few. It was very humbling to see so many passionate discussions taking place. The most important aspect of the barcamp though was that we started it – people got together, established contact and engaged with each other, and found others who care about similar things.
At the end of the day, before we regrouped at Havana for beers in the sun, we asked people what their takeaway from the day was. Here’s what they told us:
- Met new people from all over New Zealand
- Good collaboration – agreement that there’s a problem and there are solutions
- We talked about the 99% and the 1%
- Challenged me to make my ideas better
- Great that it was free!
- Very friendly, good communication (not just geeks)
- Problems are global, not just in NZ -> we can find solutions everywhere
- Impressed by the amount of knowledge of people
- Exchange of ideas & discussion will continue beyond today
- Speakers were able to be break it down and simplify, communicate complex ideas effectively
- Unobtrusive support from sponsors
- Focus on conversation, face-to-face
- Great to see people form a wide variety of backgrounds
- High level of respect
So what’s next?
The barcamp may be over, but there are many ways to keep the conversation going.
We’ve set up a Retake the Net mailing list and encourage you to join. We’re also planning to continue our regular meetups – we’re currently thinking about the format but in some shape they will come back in the new year. And lastly, Retake the Net is all about concrete actions, so the best way to continue is to join one of our projects (or even start your own.)
Media links
- Listen to Retake the Net cofounder Brian Calhoun’s talk on Radio New Zealand’s Saturday Morning, which aired moments before the barcamp (play or download the interview)
- Watch Helen Baxter aka @MsBehaviour talking to RadioWammo about the Retake the Net Barcamp (watch the show or view show notes & links)
Other barcamp resources
- Creative Commons for Open Culture: Mindmap of resources, common misconceptions, case studies, and actions for you to add to.
Have you blogged about the barcamp, taken notes during one of the sessions, or taken pictures? Add them to our wiki.
