Open Belgium: Open Programme Gathering

Open Belgium is a yearly community-driven conference on Open Knowledge and Open Data in Belgium, organized by Open Knowledge Belgium. In just one day +300 community members, researchers, industry influencers and government officials come together to discuss various open efforts in Belgium. This year's edition - Open Belgium 2018 - will take place on 12th March in Louvain-la-Neuve. As it's an event for and by the open community, anyone interested in the open movement can help decide what the programme will look like. The Open Call for Presentations is open until this Sunday, 14th, so that everyone willing to give a talk at the conference can submit his or her proposal(s). Thereafter, all submissions will be reviewed and the final programme will be made through an Open Community Gathering and discussion on Tuesday 16th January at BeCentral in Brussels. Please feel free to register here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-belgium-2018-open-programme-gathering-registration-42116458461

Can anyone join this Open Programme Gathering? Yes, anyone can, unless those who have submitted a proposal to give a talk in order to avoid conflicts of interests. :-) Besides that, it's an open gathering and discussion, so feel free to come and join the discussion, even if you're not yet familiar with open knowledge or open data. Snacks and drinks are on us. Good to know prior to the open programme gathering

The main focus will be on keynotes and panels, as the location is centred around one big foyer and four break-out rooms. To raise the quality of the conference, the maximum number of sessions should be limited to 14.

If you reserve your seat as part of the organising committee, you can expect to get a presentation with all proposals in your mailbox soon after the Open Call for Presentations has closed.

Where to find more information about Open Belgium 2018?

Visit http://2018.openbelgium.be for all information related to the event. It might be useful to take a look at last year's presentations as well (http://2017.openbelgium.be/presentations).

What if I can't make it?

First of all, that's a pity. But you want to help organize Open Belgium? We're very grateful for that: simply register and select your 'no seat, but keep me in the loop ticket'. We'll come back to you with more offers. ;-)

Are we only going to talk about the conference programme?

Of course not, there will be some time left to meet and talk with other open enthusiasts. Further, the civiclab meetup is right next door, working on the Airquality project "InfluenceAir". What can I do for now?

Think twice and make a choice between either submitting your proposal to give a talk or registering for the open gathering on Tuesday, January 16th

How to get in touch with the organiser?

You can contact the organiser directly at julia@openknowledge.be or +32 474 26 56 18.

• What to bring
Motivation :-)

• Important to know
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-belgium-2018-open-programme-gathering-registration-42116458461