UKCharityCamp is back
Here’s a space to share and to learn about what’s new, what’s good, and what’s changed since last year.
The third UKCharityCamp will take place on November 13th this year, at the Studio in Birmingham. It’s an “unconference”, an event built around its participants, specifically folk in the UK charity sector, with a focus on all things digital.
Why we’re doing this
Well, we had such a great time in 2023 and 2024, and folk wrote such kind things about the first two, we feel it’s an established part of the calendar now. There’s lots of excellent meetups, Slack channels, and conferences, but nothing else quite like it. Nowhere else where groups of charity sector people can have such a range of face-to-face conversations about digital in a single day. You’re having to do more with less. Here’s a space to share and to learn about what’s new, what’s good, and what’s changed since last year.
What an unconference is
The format is about maximising the space for folk to learn from each other. I’ve been going to UKGovcamp since 2009. It’s massively deepened my thinking about digital, and the diverse folk I’ve met have inspired me and my work.
There are no “speaker presentations”. We’ll have spaces for conversations, and times for them to happen. We’ll invite everyone who shows up to write what they want to talk about on a post-it note, and then we’ll create an agenda. It’ll show which conversations are happening where, and at what time.
Then you decide which conversations to join, when.
Good unconference sessions are about having discussions with a chance for everyone to participate. They’re not meant for slide decks, but open conversations about things that matter to the folk there.
Everyone with an interest in third sector digital is welcome
So the UKCharityCamp unconference will be a place for the sector to have these conversations. It’ll be free to participants, and open to anyone on a 1st come, 1st served, basis. We’ve seen a range of people at previous events; from trustees and people at smaller charities who have to “do digital” as well as everything else, to heads of digital at larger organisations. There’ll be some agency folk and freelancers there too, but this is essentially a place for those working in third sector organisations.
We want to encourage people from as many different communities as possible to attend this event, from a broad range of geographical locations, representing a wide range of lived and learned experiences. To remove some of the financial barriers to attending, we’ll be providing travel bursaries for those who need them. Just ask.
The kinds of things we’ll be talking about
The agenda will be worked out on the day, by the people who are there. You can look forward to folk bringing their most burning questions, and to have real trouble working out which sessions you’d like to join. We’d expect sessions on recruiting for digital roles, what good practice with AI looks like, where to focus if you have to do it all, working with digital partners, and loads more. Last year’s agenda is here.
We’re very grateful for the involvement of other sponsors in bringing this event to life: Torchbox, UKGovCamp, Promo cymru, Third Sector Lab, Joy, and Tilt are all helping out.
It’ll be a genuinely inspiring day, and I hope to see you there. Visit the UKCharityCamp website for tickets.