Last night I met some very nice people from the OpenOakland Brigade of Code for America, these are grassroots who volunteer their time to solve our city’s problems through the use of technology, within their framework there is a group focused on reducing crime through volunteering and the use of technology. Basically our kind of people.
While we try to find out on which projects we can help each other, I will share this news with you. The City of Oakland and OpenOakland is having an Unconference at City Hall this Saturday, to tackle some pretty big issues.
Neighborhood Guard has been suggested as one of the topics of discussion but this being an unconference, means that a session on what Neighborhood Guard is all about will only happen if there is enough interest. Vote HERE
If you are interested in Open Government, Transparency, Citizens and City Government working hand in hand and not against each other to solve the City’s problems, then consider showing up for the CityCampOak
Please also check out the only Hackerspace in Oakland the Sudoroom and the new Oakland Specific Wiki with the easy to remember name Oaklandwiki.org
Official Invite to CitycampOak below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CityCamp Oakland Hits City Hall Dec 1st
An unconference supporting open government in Oakland
Media Contacts:
Steve Spiker
Co-Director
510-499-0098
openoakland@gmail.com
(Oakland, CA) – November 28, 2012 – CityCamp Oakland, on Saturday December 1st from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Oakland’s City Hall, aims to redefine the way we perceive and collaborate with government. Organized by OpenOakland, the local Code for America Brigade, the event is an unconference of more than 150 city staff, technologists, and community groups.
Jennifer Pahlka, founder and director of Code for America, will deliver the opening keynote. The event will close with a participant feedback session and keynote by Deanna Santana, Oakland City Administrator. Other organizations in attendance include Sunlight Foundation, Popuphood, and Urban Strategies Council.
Building on progress in open government by the Obama administration, and agencies like San Francisco’s Office of Civic Innovation and Sunlight Foundation, CityCamp Oakland provides a forum for government staff and citizens to gather, share ideas, work on common problems, and explore what open government looks like in practice.
Session topics will include leveraging open-source technology for job creation, government transparency, public safety, and civic engagement; building tools and relationships for citizen-government collaboration; improving access to public records to speed civic app creation; and to better manage technology acquisition..
CityCamp Oakland welcomes media attendance, but asks that journalists respect this rare opportunity for city staff and community members to build relationships by talking freely about their work, their frustrations, and their aspirations. Organizers request that journalists give full disclosure of their media role to groups in which they participate and that permission is requested from speakers to publish their views. For more information: www.citycampoak.org
OpenOakland is a volunteer-led organization supporting open, agile, and engaged government.
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