[Grassroots-l] OLPC grassroots events in June

[Mel Chua]

For experienced hackers: You almost certainly don't need to read the 
rest of this email, since you'll work on things you find interesting 
with or without additional encouragement. ;)

For "newbies":

Now. I know the bootcamp prerequisites may look daunting to some people, 
but I would personally love to have enthusiastic newcomers attend. 
(Oftentimes the people who don't think they can do something end up 
being the best teachers of that something once they *do* learn how to do 
it and realize it's not as hard as they though it was.)

If you're willing to put in the time and energy to learn some new and 
difficult things rapidly, I and others would love to work with you to 
get your application prerequisites ready so you can fully participate. 
Heck, I'll be learning some of these things myself (I haven't really 
used pootle before, for example). Even if you can't physically attend 
the bootcamp but still want to learn these things, THAT'S GREAT! Join us 
in the learning!

The point of the bootcamp is to get people to be comfortable teaching 
themselves more and to be comfortable teaching other people more - 
including teaching them how to teach themselves more. (How's that for 
many layers of meta?) Wiki usage isn't that hard to learn. Neither is 
programming. I used to think so on both counts - it isn't, though - really!

So if you're willing to dive into the deep end, we'd love to have you 
apply. Let me know and we can get you started - post your name in the 
study groups section on the wiki: 
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Grassroots_bootcamp/Prerequisites#Study_groups 
(if you're reading this message and don't know how to use the wiki, 
email back - we can teach you that too if you're willing to put in the 
effort.)

-Mel

Samuel Klein wrote:
> Dear all,
> 
> There are three grassroots events coming during the second week of June 
> that we would like to invite the OLPC grassroots community to attend.   
> Your input and participation is welcome.
> 
> We are looking for one or two open space organizers for the unconference 
> the weekend of June 7; the grassroots bootcamp and workshop the 
> following week is limited to active community members, and has a short 
> application process; and the organizers of the Grassroots Jam the next 
> weekend will come from interested attendees to the bootcamp the week 
> before.  Please send your comments and inspirations to Mel and me, and 
> sign up on the wiki for the events you would like to join.
> 
> --SJ
>  
> 
> 1. Unconference - Cambridge, MA on Saturday-Sunday, June 7-8 2008.
> 
> In the tradition of Barcamp, we will be holding a grassroots 
> unconference the weekend of June 7, dedicated towards 
> community-organization, and initiatives, events, structures, and best 
> practices.  This is not just an OLPC event -- anyone with interest in 
> grassroots organizing is invited to attend - so forward this out to your 
> friends in LUGs, meetups, co-ops, clubs, and the like.
> 
> See http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots_unconference for more 
> information. If you'd like to help unorganize the event, or run part of 
> the open space there, please contact Mel Chua at mel at laptop.org 
> <mailto:mel at laptop.org>.
> 
> 
> 2. Bootcamp - Cambridge, MA from Monday-Thursday, June 9-12 2008.
> 
> We are hosting a bootcamp and conference from June 9-12, 2008 in Boston, 
> MA for current and future organizers of local groups.  The first days 
> will be held at OLPC headquarters in Cambridge (or a larger venue if 
> there is enough interest).  The objective of the bootcamp is to help 
> community members become grassroots advisors, who can serve as resources 
> to others who want to start local initiatives.
> 
> There will be sessions for hacking (and learning how to hack) on 
> different areas of the XO's software and hardware, organizing local 
> materials and creators, connecting with satellite communities around 
> volunteering, mentoring, learning, and sugar; and more.  Several slots 
> are still open, and we invite all community members to apply.
> 
> To ensure a focused and high-quality event for participants, there are 
> some prerequistes to participation.  In order to make the event 
> accessible to more people of varying backgrounds, we are holding online 
> study groups starting this week; even someone with no XO/programming 
> background, no wiki or editing background, and/or no educational theory 
> background should be able to get up to speed with two weeks of intense 
> part-time work.
> 
> Admissions is on a rolling basis. All materials are provided, with 
> limited support available for travel and lodging for eligible 
> attendees.  If you need help getting to Boston or finding a couch to 
> crash on, let us know at 
> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Grassroots_bootcamp, or give feedback on 
> the grassroots mailing list.
> 
> 
> 3. Jam - Manhattan, NY on Saturday-Sunday, June 14-15 2008.
> 
> Finally, to cap the bootcamp week, a Grassroots Jam will be held in NYC, 
> run by the bootcamp attendees.  We are finalizing details with potential 
> host organizations; stay tuned for a location update.  The jam will be 
> open to everyone, focusing on development of activity and hardware 
> projects that could work on/with the XO, and group projects / stories 
> that could be carried out with a small XO community.  There will be open 
> space at the Jam to discuss lessons learned from the previous week, 
> suggest new topics, and meet other NYC-area grassroots groups.
> 
> See http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots_Jam for more information.
> 
> 
> 
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