OERcamp global: Review and Impact

From December 9 to 11, 2021, an international OERcamp took place for the first time. So far, they have taken place in German-speaking countries and provided an important platform for practitioners to exchange experiences and ideas. The UNESCO has highlighted the importance and driving force of OERcamps in the German-speaking community and organized the first OERcamp globally in cooperation with – how could it be otherwise – Jöran und Konsorten Agentur für zeitgemäße Bildung.

The program was available throughout due to the time difference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also in terms of flexibility, the conference format with Zoom was a very good fit. Karaoke evenings and puns are of course part of the OERcamp. During the 48 hours, a wide variety of keynotes, sessions and workshops were offered. Participants and speakers could register for free and received a zoom link to the Plenary Hall. From there, break-out rooms could be entered, in each of which one event took place and further break-out rooms could be set up.

OESA e.V. hosted a session on Public Spaces as Open Spaces (in English) on December 11. We used the example of the robolab of the public library in Hamburg (Germany) to present the design of public spaces according to the OPEN definition and discussed which opportunities and challenges arise. Important was the field of community management: On the websites of public institutions, comment functions are often deactivated because it is time-consuming and there are legal and ethical issues to consider. This raises the question of positioning in the area of tension of public communication between freedom of speech and censorship. We take this as an opportunity to develop a concept for the implementation of OPEN approaches with a list of conditions for success.

We are very excited about the expansion of OERcamps internationally and look forward to future ones. Cheers!

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