This post was originally published on commsgodigital and has been
re-published here with permission from Matt Murray, our Brisbane convenor

Just over five years ago I was the web manager at Walsall Council in the West Midlands. I was asked by my friend and colleague Dan Slee if I wanted to attend the first LocalGovCamp: an unconference where like-minded people talk about innovative stuff.

“Sure” I replied “When is it?”
“Next Saturday.” said Dan.
“Saturday? It’s on a Saturday? No thanks.”

Dan was incredulous that I didn’t want to attend, but I had a good excuse. I was moving back to Australia in a few weeks and my weekends were spent packing cartons and ebaying stuff. Dan has never let me forget that I passed this opportunity up, especially since with the benefit of hindsight, it was a seminal event in his career.

In the last five years there have been dozens of public sector unconferences in the UK, but they don’t seem to have taken off in Australia, yet. Hopefully that’s about to change.

Here are 9 reasons why you should attend GovCamp Australia on Saturday 19 July.

1) There’s a GovCamp Australia near you

Six cities are confirmed for GovCamp Australia: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

2) Come experience an unconference

There’s no agenda: participants decide on the day what they want to talk about. Fancy learning more about engagement? Write it down as a session idea. Want to talk about digital government? Write it down as a session idea.

You can learn more about how unconferences work in these two ace videos:

‘How unconferences work’ video

‘What is an unconference?’ video

3) Meet and connect with like-minded people

There will be a fantastic mix of people there from inside and outside federal, state and local government, from the worlds of technology and policy, of community and universities.

It’s for digital people, it’s for policy people, it’s for engagement people, it’s for communications people, it’s for senior managers, it’s for everyone!

Come along, meet new people and expand your network.

4) Talk innovation

There will be lots of opportunities to talk innovation, listen to others, ask questions and give advice.

The GovCamp Australia themes are: Sectoral collaboration, Digital innovation, Leading for innovation, Designing services and Engagement & participation.

5) Do innovation

It’s not just a talk fest, it’s also about carrying on the innovative thinking when you get back to work and actually doing something about it. GovCamp is about sharing ideas for public-purpose innovation in ways that support real-world momentum.

6) It’s free

GovCamp Australia is free. However it would be ace if you could do the following:

• turn up on the day (or if you can’t, make sure you release your ticket to someone who can)
• listen, challenge and participate in the conversations
• take responsibility for your own personal learning and development outcomes
• share your learning openly via social streams at the event or on other spaces.  This can be via Twitter, a blog post or an email to the organisers sharing your observations.

7) You don’t need permission from the boss

It’s on a Saturday so you don’t need permission from the boss. Invest some time in your professional development.

8) Be part of an ongoing conversation

Hopefully this event will be the beginning of an ongoing, nationwide conversation about innovation in government. Come along on Saturday 19 July and be there from the start.

9) You get to say “This one time, at GovCamp…”

That’s right, in the office after the event you can say “This one time, at GovCamp…” to impress your workmates, thereby displaying what a connected forward-thinking person you are having attended.

Just don’t bring a flute. 

Register now

What are you waiting for? Register on the GovCamp Australia website. Tell them I sent you and you may receive a fluffy kitten or a box of sparkly unicorn manure upon arrival.*

* Probably not, but tell them I sent you anyway 

Hang on, I have some more questions!

Take a look at these excellent FAQ on the GovCamp Australia website.  If you still have questions, send me an email or hit me up on the Twitters.

GovCamp is for people like you

GovCamp is for public sector practitioners, advisers and leaders who are excited by these challenges, who seek to better understand the risks and opportunities within emerging trends.

There are no clever corporate games; just dialogue and an open exchange of ideas.

It’s casual and as “off-the-record” as you need. And because it’s shared conversation, you’ll take away even more than you contribute.

GovCamp gives you an opportunity to explore issues and opportunities for new ways of practicing public purpose innovation while, importantly, being part of the conversation that can help shape new thinking.

With GovCamp, the way forward to new innovation dialogue isn’t complicated. You can…

• Attend an event  >>  Register for one of the events on our calendar
• Nominate a topic at an event >> Think about your priority issues
• Speak at a GovCamp session >>  You can be a mini presenter!
• Use social media to voice your view >> Use the popular social tools, or learn how at a GovCamp (or partner) event
• Co-host a GovCampfire >> Host a simple 2-hour session with a professional network or your colleagues… Talk to us about how.