Dear all,<br><div class="gmail_quote"><br>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. <br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>--SJ<br> <br><br>1. Unconference - Cambridge, MA on Saturday-Sunday, June 7-8 2008.<br><br>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.<br>
<br>See <a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots_unconference" target="_blank">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots_unconference</a> 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 <a href="mailto:mel@laptop.org" target="_blank">mel@laptop.org</a>.<br>
<br><br>2. Bootcamp - Cambridge, MA from Monday-Thursday, June 9-12 2008.<br><br>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.<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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. <br>
<br>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 <a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Grassroots_bootcamp" target="_blank">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Grassroots_bootcamp</a>, or give feedback on the grassroots mailing list.<br>
<br><br>3. Jam - Manhattan, NY on Saturday-Sunday, June 14-15 2008.<br><br>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. <br>
<br>See <a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots_Jam" target="_blank">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots_Jam</a> for more information.<br><br>
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