Madagascar: BARCAMP 10/2008-2018

octobre 10, 2018 in activism, Barcamp 1O, Bénévolat, CC, Citizen journalism, Copyleft, Democracy, English, Facebook, Foko Blog Club, Foko Citizen Media, FOKO MADAGASCAR, Freedom of speech, ICT, Information, Internautes, internet, IT, Madagascar, society, T4D-M4D, Technology, Volunteering

Barcamp 2009 @ Ivotel Ambohidahy

Barcamp 2008 @ Ivotel Ambohidahy

Barcamp 2008 @ Palais des sports Mahamasina/Ebit

Historically, Barcamp started in the North America, precisely the first Barcamp was held in Palo Alto in 2005. BarCamp was inspired by the Foo Camp concept ( Foo Camp is an annual hacker event hosted by publisher O’Reilly Media) that puts criterias of selection on participation. Consequently  Barcamp supports the idea of an open-to-the-public initiative without criterias and selections that rather relies on open-free participation of all. Only one week of preparation is spent in organizing it and it reached out around 200 participants.

What is Barcamp ?  For who is it for ? how does it work ?

Simply put, it is an open space gathering « democratic and unconference’ for public, without criterias selection or official invitation. Any individual, regardless of age, who has experiences and skills focused on common gains and benefits. It is most importantly linked to the use of technology web 2.0 as its sources of dissemination and sharing is very welcome.

The formula is EASY : you come, you share, you network, you gain experiences and exposed to networking with mindful spirit. Nobody is allowed to be a spectator.

Presentation should be short and is not subject to profile organization or institution profits. Barcamp is not a place for business marketing but rather a place of sharing among tech and open source users and developers. Beyond sharing extend, it also drives the spirit of brotherhood/sisterhood and solidarity.

10-year throwback journey

The very first BarCamp in Madagascar was initiated by Joan Razafimaharo. Easily the concept was understood and adopted by many and we had a lot of participants at that time . This first wave of BarCamp targeted mainly geeks, bloggers, internet users and any related area to those fields. We had the privilege of  welcoming a representative of Rising Voices ( a branch organization of Global Voices), there was also a participant from Voices Bolivia, which is a part of the same network as Foko Madagascar that came and shared with us. Just as a fresh reminder Foko Madgascar was the first platfrom that had promoted citizen journalism/blogging in Madagascar. The Second edition took place in 2009 and it was particularly focused on freedom of speech and expression and again we had a diversed participants pool of  social media users such as bloggers-geeks, simple citizens bringing up new and innovative ways to develop communities in their own perspectives.

What is next ?

You come on the 13th October and participate

When you come, be prepared to share with barcampers