Dear all,

The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) https://www.alt.ac.uk/ and Wikimedia Germany https://www.wikimedia.de/en/homepage/ are inviting you to an open evening “Education, open participation and democracy: critical reflections” on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 from 5pm – 9pm (CEST). The event, inspired by the OER20 Conference https://oer20.oerconf.org/ theme “The Care in Openness” will focus on the ways in which Openness, individuals and communities can foster a participatory and democratic culture in Open work and in society in general. The event will run in parallel to #OEB19 https://oeb.global/ and will take place in the main offices of Wikimedia in Berlin.

Through the event we aim to open a space for critical conversations and questions: Who is Open for and who is it open to? How can Open be leveraged as a force for participatory culture in society and education? Which roots of Openness do we need to be especially critical of when we claim that Open is here to save us all from the world of proprietary, industry-driven and techno-solutionist claims around education and participation in society? How do larger narratives around web culture play into the ways in which education, participation and the web are framed?

We are delighted to have a group of dedicated activists and researchers as guests and contributors to this evening: Lorna Campbell, Laura Czerniewicz, Maren Deepwell, Martin Hawksey and Audrey Watters. Find out more on our guests and the agenda on our blog https://blog.wikimedia.de/2019/11/07/open-for-a-cause-fostering-participation-in-society-and-education/.

We hope that this event will stimulate discussions that can continue at the OER20 Conference and encourage participants to consider making a submission for the OER20 Conference https://oer20.oerconf.org/call-for-proposals/.

The event’s facilities put a limit on the maximum number of attendees. Registration https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrh5vmgl8vYyPhg7_3iuqseQlPw_dbTrCUiSevWX4cVyG7WQ/viewform?usp=sf_link is free and open until November 22, 2019.

So please feel free to sign up and bring your colleagues and friends who are interested in Open movements and communities in general and/or in Open Education in particular. We are very much looking forward to welcome you here in Berlin!

Best regards,

Christina