A year after the first ever Social Innovation Camp in London, Scotland's bringing the party northwards. From Friday 19th to Sunday 21st June 2009 at the Saltire Centre in Glasgow, SICamp Scotland will bring together some of the best of the UK and Europe’s software developers and designers, together with those at the sharp end of social change. I'm really proud that Channel 4's 4iP has played a central role in bringing one of Europe's top social tech events to Scotland, along with a host of other sponsors.
Until now regulars from the 'down south' tech scene (and those who could make the train/plane/hotel to London) have been able to get together have fun hacking social challenges. This June, developers from across the UK are invited to Glasgow, with just 48 hours to build some web-based solutions to a set of social problems - from back-of-the-envelope idea to working prototype, complete with software.
The Social Innovation Camp takes a set of ideas for web-based tools that will create social change and develops them over one weekend. Working with a diverse range of people, participants organise themselves into teams and help make a back-of-the-envelop idea into a working prototype - complete with working software - in just two days.
Social Innovation Camp is a non-profit company formed in late 2007 run by a small team of people based at the Young Foundation in Bethnal Green, London. They ran the first ever Social Innovation Camp weekend in April 2008; the second in December 2008. They also run a series of monthly Meetups for geeks and social innovators to share knowledge and skills. Further information can be found on the ‘About’ section of their main website: http://www.sicamp.org/?page_id=155
And for a chance to join us at the Social Innovation Camp weekend, you can enter your idea for a web-based tool to create social change through the SICamp Scotland website from Monday 30th March - we’re going to be looking for the most exciting ideas for how the web could change stuff that really matters.
Anyone can get involved: you don’t need to be based in Scotland. SICamp Scotland is supported by Nesta, BIG Lottery, Skills Development Scotland and, of course, 4iP. More on our involvement will be revealed in weeks to come. In the meantime, get your socially innovative caps on.
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