The 5th Canberra Barcamp is fast approaching – and if you have been before, you’ll know just what that means. But for a lot of people – its a new label, and probably a bit of a puzzle.

Is there a bar? What sort of cocktails will they have? Are there tents? A campfire?

No? Then just what they heck is it? Let’s just say that there is a good explanation – but its probably not worth worrying about too much now.

What you need to know is that BarCamp is a gathering to share ideas, meet new people and learn new stuff. It is free to attend and is a voluntary run, non-commercial event.

Anyone can speak, run a demonstration, host a discussion or even perform a song! Expect sessions to cover all sorts of topics, and vary widely in style. There is normally a lot of interaction between the speaker and the crowd – each asking questions and offering ideas. Its a great place to bring tricky problems for discussion by a diverse group of smart people.

Barcamp Canberra is part of a larger series of events that happen across the world each sharing a name and a couple of common aspects. They emerged from the tech scene in California – but now extend into many non-tech topics and communities.

Barcamp Canberra in past years has included a number of great talks regarding government and technology – reflecting both the location and the background of the barcamp movement. But a key thing about a self organising conference is that you can’t predict what the talks will be on the day. Based on past years, you could expect talks on solar panels, website development, creating maps, soil science – and any number of other things.

The magic of barcamp is the coming together of people with different skills and experience and seeing how they can share what they know for mutual benefit. Art meets science.

Don’t be put off by the seemingly vague plan for the day – come and see, it just works.

Look out for announcements on twitter @barcampcanberra

If you’ve been to a previous barcamp – how would you explain it to a newcomer? Post your ideas in the comments below.

As an unconference, its hard to predict what the day will bring – but no one was injured, and the new venue remained intact (which must be some small measure of success). About 130 people attended and there were about 50 talks. CupcakeCamp proved to be popular. There were zombies and pirates and Gov2.0 experts. Coffee and talk flowed freely. Lots of photos from the day have been posted to flickr.

If you came along – did you enjoy the day? Was there a particular session that you liked, or conversation that inspired you? Or was there something that you didn’t like or would do differently next year? Post a comment with your thoughts below. If you are a blogger – feel free to include a link to your blog post about BarCamp Canberra 2011.

BarCamp Canberra will be returning in 2012. If you are interested in becoming an unorganiser please let us know. BarCamp relies on your participation and there is always room for improvement. Getting involved is the best way to ensure that BarCamp Canberra stays awesome!

This year’s gathering will be held at Noble Palace in Woden, Canberra. This is opened to all barcamp attendees plus partners and children.

Details:

• Date: Sunday 20th March 2011
• Time: 10.30am to about 12 noon
• Place: Noble Palace, 8-30 Corinna Street, Phillip, Canberra.
• Cost: About $25-$27 per person (depending upon what the table has ordered)
• Register at: http://bcc2011-yumcha.eventbrite.com/

RSVPs are required as the restaurant is a very popular place and gets booked out very quickly.

Please note that this is not a free event. Based on past yum cha experiences at this restaurant, the average cost per person is about $25-$27/person.

Parking is available near the restaurant but can sometimes be difficult to find. Alternatively, there is underground parking available at the supermarket entrance. There is apparently 2 hours free parking at the underground car park.

Looking forward to seeing you there for some yummy yum cha goodness!

The best two badges will each win an awesome prize of a ticket to TEDxCanberra 2011 (which sold out within 48 hours last year…)

The rules: nothing rude, something preferably smaller than your body size

Things to consider including on your badge:

• name
• twitter name
• topics you’re interested in
• any other creative stuff!

If you are planning to speak, you may add your name and presentation topic at the BarCamp Canberra wiki.

If you do, we’ll have a post-it note with your presentation details ready for you when you arrive to stick on the schedule at the time and room of your choice.

We’d also like to see which topics you’d like to see discussed. You can add them to the wiki page as well.

With a brand new shiny venue in the ANU College of Business and Economics (Building 26C), we’re ready for a big day on 19 March, with room for 150 people to present, network, chat, listen, debate and share their visions, ideas and knowledge.

As ever, depending on you, the attendees, we’ll have speakers on topics such as:
Social Innovation, Gov 2.0,
Web, Design, Makers/Hackers,
Science Communication,
Skeptic/Critical Thinking,
Sustainability/Environmental,
interdisciplinary topics and more.

Sign up now for BarCamp Canberra 2011

And, while you’re here, you can join the BarCamp Canberra community, via Twitter, Lanyrd, SlideShare, Flickr, and the venerable Google Group.