At BarCamp Kyrgyzstan 2009 representing neweurasia

So BarCamp Kyrgyzstan 2009, so much anticipated by me, has finally started, in Bishkek, at the American University in Central Asia (yes, the one that lost most of its Turkmen students)! People have already asked me what BarCamp is, how it is cooked and what it goes best with. Wikipedia answers:

BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. The first BarCamps focused on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats. The format has also been used for a variety of other topics, including public transit, health care, and political organizing.

Sounds very nerdish, doesn’t it? My personal “simplified” answer would be:

BarCamp is an event (some call it un(non)-conference) that does not have pre-written agenda. It gathers people form different backgrounds, but mostly internet junkies – bloggers, social networkers, web designers, etc – who share their ideas with their peers and network with them. The agenda (content) of BarCamp is created by participants themselves – they do presentations on different topics, and usually schedule them in the beginning of the day. Some BarCamps even have Ideas Market,  where participants can present their ideas, be it commercial or not, to sponsors and, in case of success, get sponsorship. And BarCamps happen thoughout the world.

Less nerdish, I hope For more info, you can google for “BarCamp” and read what others write about it. And by the way, I am not participating there just as an ordinary blogger, but representing neweurasia, premier blogging network in Central Asia. If you are at Kyrgyz barcamp and read this post until 3:40 pm, Sept. 5, 2009, come to listen to my presentaion on neweurasia at 3:40 pm in conference room 310, AUCA.

Some photos from BarCamp Kyrgyzstan 2009.