
‘Unconference’ BarCamp Montreal returns for the first time in 10 years
BarCamp is returning to Montreal this weekend after a decade-long hiatus.
The original ‘unconference’, BarCamp became popular in the early 2000s, with events taking place in different locations all around the world. It’s an interesting concept: people come together to act as both spectators and participants, with attendees deciding on the content for the event on the day of.
“We started having BarCamps in Montreal in 2006, and we had them annually for about three years,” BarCamp 4 organizer Evan Prodromou told MTLinTECH. “And then it just kind of dropped off. We started to have a lot more specific camps, we had WordCamp for WordPress, we had DemoCamp for demos and startups, Startupfest started. At the end of 2017, as we realized we were coming up on the ten year anniversary, a lot of former participants decided to try it one more time. We’re trying it again. We want to see what we can do this time around.”
When the original BarCamp unconferences took place in Montreal ten years ago, the startup scene was still in its earliest stages. Many of the tech scene’s current leaders were participants in the earlier BarCamps. And it’s not unrealistic to say that those early discussions and meetings of minds helped contribute to the creation of the thriving ecosystem of today.
Attendees set the agenda, so whether it’s your first time or you’re a seasoned unconference vet, if you have a session idea, you can make it happen. Organizer will then take submitted ideas and descriptions and will add the session to the lineup-aka ‘the wall’-an in-progress agenda for the day.
“Because it’s organized online, a lot of the people will be talking about technology, but people will really be covering all kinds of different topics. We have a main stage, where we’ll be having bigger presentation-style discussions. We also have separate stages where we’ll be doing more discussion-style sessions, and that will be one of the most productive periods of BarCamp.”
“If you’re interested in a new technology or cryptocurrencies or artificial intelligence or snow sculptures, these are all things we’ll probably have sessions on at the event. You don’t really have to prepare that much to come and be a participant. The only two things you have to do are buy a ticket and show up.”
BarCamp 4 is happening this Saturday, January 20th at Notman House and goes from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. You can get a ticket for $10 here.
“If you are a person who gets excited when you see other people talk about their passion, BarCamp will be a really great experience.”
Photo by Simon Law
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