News 10th July 2013

Save the date – OGP Civil Society Day (October 30) and Annual Summit (October 31 & November 1) | Paul Maassen

by Tim Hughes

This was taken from an email sent by Paul Maassen (OGP Civil Society Coordinator) to civil society organisations engaged in the OGP around the world.

Just before the summer starts I wanted to make sure that all of you have these dates in your agendas.

The OGP Annual Summit will take place on October 31 and November 1 in the QE2 Conference Centre in London. The draft agenda is shaping up nicely with plenty of space for civil society, government and all others to have frank conversations, listen to inspiring speakers, make new commitments and discuss delivery of the old (including the launch of the first 8 IRM reports), explore new open government frontiers, launch working groups, access the right knowledge, skills and contacts and have fun on top of it. A ‘call for proposals’ will be launched soon to make sure everybody can propose speakers and sessions and offer to self organize those.

So, the ideal spot to discuss OGP past, present and future. What worked, what didn’t, what is needed going forward.

On Wednesday 30 October, as a lead into the main event, we are planning a 1-day civil society pre-conference event. The Open Knowledge Foundation put up a small blog about this up today because they will be one of the key organizations we will work with closely to make this real.

The call for proposals will also ask you about what you need for that day – and of course you can always drop me a line or tweet too. The idea really is to create a space for and by civil society where we can have the conversations civil society needs to have with civil society, whereas the summit itself is ideal for conversations with the rest of the world. Both should offer lots of space for community driven, workshop style breakout sessions as well as something more plenary. Very much thinking in progress here so don’t pin me down.

So, for now sit back, relax and just pencil down the dates in your agenda. Much more detailed information on draft agenda and funding opportunities, and a much clearer ask for input for content will follow soon.

Paul Maassen – OGP International Civil Society Coordinator