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What is a Roots Camp?
A Roots Camp is a derivation of a Bar Camp, with a political focus. A Bar Camp is an open version of a Foo Camp, which is a participant-driven conference. Although the history of open conferencing can be traced back to the 1980s, it was Tim O’Reilly’s first Foo Camp in 2003 that sparked the current interest.
In these events, the "expert" and audience of a formal presentation are replaced with active learners entering the conversation with equal power. Participants gather at a big white board prior to the conference (or get things started on a wiki before the big day arrives) to write the topics they want to discuss, inviting any others to join in. Some topics draw no interest, but those that do often are treated to an enthusiastic and productive debate among those with sincere interest in the conversation.
Start your own Roots Camp. This is a tangible and effective means of outreach everyone is encouraged to take part in organizing.
Roots Camps for 3rd Party Members
Please add the site of the Roots Camp at you will be participating, and include your name as someone for whom others may seek out when attending.
Q&A
What if a topic is really important but still draws "no interest?"
The problem: One reason a topic might "draw no interest" is that it is unpopular and people want to run away from it. For example, the topic of abolition of slavery might have drawn "no interest" in some southern towns 150 years ago. Aren't there some unpopular topics that need to be discussed?
The clarification: Context is everything. In an unconference, what is right is what is of interest for the people in the room at that moment. It should never be considered a judgement on the merit of a topic if no one else joins the conversation when it is put on the Big Board. It is merely a reflection that the participants in the room that day have indicated things of higher importance to them.
This is a crucial aspect of an unconference and one of the primary reasons it is such an effective format for conversation. The act of writing a topic on the board is an endorsement that this is the subject of highest interest for at least one person. The act of selecting that topic to discuss out of all the ones written on the board is an indicator that someone else feels the same way. The conversation that follows will then include only motivated people. Compare this to the traditional top-down agenda, where those in power dictate what goes on it (or is left off of it) and every conversation must include those who don't want to contribute.
If a posted topic fails to generate interest, there are several options. First, it is possible that looking at the Big Board and the size of the small groups elsewhere would suggest making another attempt in a future discussion session. Second, the focus of the topic might be too broad, too narrow or otherwise unclear. Third, you may need to sell your topic idea to other participants before suggesting it again. Nothing wrong with that.