It's time to start thinking about how to get the western edge of the Triangle more involved in the growing community of open government events taking place this year. As a past attendee of several of these events, I wanted to make sure these upcoming events are on your radar, and ask you to get involved in the growing collaboration between civically minded citizens and the fast-growing local tech sector.
Sadly, in the past, participation from folks on our side of the Triangle has been disappointingly low. Let's make sure Chapel Hill and Carrboro are well-represented this year!
Triangle Open Data Day is two exciting days of talks and workshops at NC State's Centennial Campus on March 5-6, 2016. This event is geared towards those new to open data and is perfect to get a base understanding of how to get started with open data. The event include keynotes, lightning talks, and a beginners hackathon.
National Day of Civic Hacking is a series of events in partnership with Code for America happening on June 6, 2016. Civic hacking communities all over the Unites States will participate in community-oriented workshops and hackathons to make progress for selected projects in each community.
CityCamp NC is an annual event bringing citizens, government, and businesses together to openly innovate and improve our quality of life through technology happening on September 29-October 1, 2016. CityCamp NC includes keynote speakers, an unconference, hackathon, and the kickoff to NC Datapalooza.
NC Datapalooza is an open data startup competition to catalyze positive community and economic impact with coaching and cash prizes culminating on November 14, 2016. Teams will form at CityCamp NC and work over the weeks leading up to the finale to refine their prototype.
NC Datapalooza and CityCamp NC are joining forces this year to create a more streamlined process for participants. The NC DataJam event, formerly the NC Datapalooza kickoff, will coincide with the CityCamp NC hackathon in early October. Teams emerging from CityCamp NC will have a chance to pitch their open data project at All Things Open before the NC Datapalooza finale in November.
NC Open Pass holders also get access to free pitch events for NC Datapalooza and discounted rates for the All Things Open conference held at the Raleigh Convention Center on October 26-27, 2016.
A single ticket, the NC Open Pass, buys you admission to all of these events. You can save now by purchasing an early bird pass for $40 through March 2, 2016; prices will increase to $50 starting on March 3, 2016.
(Note: While I'm a totally satisfied past patron of several of these events, since there's a money ask involved I thought I should be very clear that I do not profit individually from your purchase of the NC Open Pass. I just think it's an awesome series of events and that you should attend.)
