(building the) Black Rock Federal Credit Union

BarCampBankSeattle Update

Posted by Jesse Robbins

June 30th, 2007 Other posts by Jesse Robbins

I’ve just finished four exciting days at the OECD World Forum in Turkey, and wanted to make sure I had posted before I got on the plane to return. (Also, there have been some intermittent problems with accessing the blog which appear to have been caused by our hosting provider.)

What is a BarCamp & BarCampBank?

BarCamps are part of an international network of “unconferences“. They are open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. Many focus on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies and social protocols. The name is a playful allusion to its origins, with reference to the hacker slang term “Foo Bar“. The BarCamp movement arose as a spin-off from Foo Camp, an annual invitation-only unconference hosted by open source publishing leader, Tim O’Reilly.

BarCampBank events are organized internationally to foster innovation in banking, credit unions, and finance. BarCampBankSeattle will be sixth BarCampBank event and the first held in the United States.

What to expect

BarCampBankSeattle will be facilitated as an Open Space event

In Open Space, a facilitator explains the process and then participants are invited to co-create the agenda and host their own discussion groups. Discussions are held in designated areas or separate rooms known as ‘breakout spaces’ and participants are free to move amongst the discussion groups. Each group records the conversations in a form which can be used to distribute or broadcast the proceedings of the meeting (in hard copy, blog, podcast, video, etc). Each morning participants have the opportunity to announce new discussion topics / late-breaking sessions. At the end of the day the full group reconvenes for comments and reflection. This helps participants to re-engage in the full group over the duration of the meeting.

While the mechanics of Open Space provide a simple means to self-organize, it is the underlying principles that make it effective. The Law of Two Feet expresses the core idea of taking responsibility for what you love. In practical terms, the law says that if you’re neither contributing nor getting value where you are, use your two feet (or available form of mobility) and go somewhere where you can. It is also a reminder to stand up for your passion. From the law, flow four simple principles:

• Whoever comes are the right people
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
• Whenever it starts is the right time
• When it’s over, it’s over

What will happen

We never know exactly what will happen when we open the space for people to do their most important work, but we can guarantee these results when any group gets into Open Space:

1. All of the issues that are MOST important to the participants will be raised.
2. All of the issues raised will be addressed by those participants most qualified and capable of getting something done on each of them.
3. All of the most important ideas, discussion, data, recommendations, conclusions, questions for further study, and plans for immediate action will be documented in one comprehensive report — finished, printed and in the hands of participants when they leave.
4. The total contents of this report document can be focused and prioritized in a matter of a few hours.
5. After the event, all of these results will be made publicly available, so the conversation can invite every stakeholder into discussion and implantation — right now.

When & Where

• Dates: July 21st - 22nd, 2007
• Location: Still being decided
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner on both days will be available, along with beverages and snacks.
• Costs: We invite sponsorship from interested organizations, and will ask for participants to contribute $35.

• People and organizations interested in in sponsoring this event should contact Jesse Robbins.

How to sign-up & get involved

• 
• Join the the conversation at the BarCampBankSeattle Group
• Help spread the word!

• Add your name to the participant list on this page
• Write and Blog about this event, and forward it on to people you think would be interested.

Confused? Need Help or an explanation?
Please email Jesse Robbins or call +1.206.755.3739. I’m here to help you participate!

Entry Filed under: events, credit union ideas, Updates, credit unions, banking, blackrockfederal, conference, unconference, trabian, barcamp, barcampbank, wesabe, jesserobbins, barcampbankseattle