[changecamp] What we learned about organizing a ChangeCamp - for future organizers

[Mita]

The Windsor-Essex ChangeCamp has come and gone and myself and the
other organizers are very happy with how it went. I know that being
able to see how other cities put on their ChangeCamps helped us stage
our own and so I would like to pass on the good karma to for future
ChangeCampers.

brief lessons learned

- it doesn't hurt to advertise the date of your event early. We had to
push our event by several weeks when other local group decided to hold
a "Town Hall" dedicated to the future of the city one week before our
event was planned - but it wasn't widely advertised as such

- we hosted our event at the Central branch of the Windsor Public
Library for the benefits of : free wifi, affordable space, central
location, neutral territory, a civic institution, accessible, and not
intimidating

- creating the grid of events with paper was easier than expected:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mita/4591260529/

- near the end of the third session, it was clear that the energy in
the room was just starting to fade so the organizers walked around
and if would be okay if we ended the event early. People were very
happy with this even if it happened at the expense of the all
important 'assign action' sessions. If we had to do it again, I would
be inclined to dedicated the morning (2 sessions) with ideas and the
session right after lunch as the action stream. 6 hours of
conversation is a lot of work!

All the best. Thank you
Mita

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[Gerry Kirk]

Thanks Mita for sharing. Our Sault Ste. Marie group is in the early stages of planning a ChangeCamp event, currently pegged for June 26, though that date is coming fast.

How do you hope to build on the momentum created by this event? 

Where can I most easily find lessons learned from other ChangeCamps besides searching the mailing list archives?

- Gerry

[Mita]

The 'how to build on a one day event' question comes up again and
again. I usually tell people that I personally know of several
projects being suggested, started, and progressed though new
connections of WEChangeCamp participants - and there may be others
that I didn't happen to overhear. In many ways, the momentum is
dependent on the participants.

That being said, as we were wrapping up the day's events: we had
requests from participants to make host a reunion of this event and
several people asked if it could be made into a monthly meet-up. And
once myself and the other organizers fully recover from the event, we
might consider hosting a reunion and see where it takes us.