On 24, 25 and 26 May, members of the School of Data network came from all around the world to gather in Ottawa for the 2015 Summer Camp. There was a lot of work to do: the new School of Data fellows were tasked with preparing a detailed roadmap of their fellowship while representatives of the member organisations of the School of Data network were asked to work on the future of the project.

This Summer Camp was exceptionally focused and productive which allowed us to achieve a lot in a little time. Participants worked from 9am to 6pm, while coordinators started earlier and finished later.

How we succeeded in making 25 people from 16 countries work together during 3 intense days is still a mystery, but the photos taken during the event help shed some light on the process.

The first ingredient is a great coordination team ready to work 12h a day. Of course, the preparations for the Summer Camp started several months in advance. From left to right : Dirk Slater from Fab Riders (lead facilitator), Zara (top), Milena (bottom), Marco, Cédric.

And a group of very motivated participants. The ‘moose’ sign has been a core part of Open Knowledge’s facilitation toolkit for years. And people love it.

Then you need a lot of group discussion. Here, a governance session with Milena as a facilitator and note taker. From the left of the table to the right: Antonio (former fellow, Peru), Cédric (coordinator), Ignasi (Spanish local instance), Bardhyl (School of Data Macedonia), Natalia (Escola de dados), Anna (School of Data Germany), Marco (coordinator), Nisha (former fellow, India), Juan (Social-TIC, Mexico). At the bottom left is Charalampos (School of Data Greece).

A lot of writing in small groups helped participants share their insights without being overwhelmed by the bigger group. Someone from the group then shared back to the larger group. From left to right: Sylvia (Ecole des données, France), Katelyn (coordinator), Natalia (Escola de dados, Brazil).

From left to right: Julio (2015 fellow, Ecuador), Sander (Open Knowledge), Sheena (2015 fellow, Philippines)

The drawing activities of the Summer Camp were the most anticipated event. Thanks to them, participants are able to share more than words ever will. From left to right: Natalia, Marco, Sylvia.

Sharing is a core value of the network, so sharing workshops are a central to the Summer Camp. Antonio (former fellow, Peru), Camila (2015 fellow, Costa Rica), Julio (2015 fellow, Ecuador).

From left to right: Bardhyl (School of Data Macedonia), Ignasi (Escuela de dates Spain), Cédric (coordinator).

Mariel (Social-TIC, Mexico).

And of course, post-its. From left to right: Antonio (former fellow, Peru), Nisha (former fellow, India), Juan (Social-TIC, Mexico).

Lots of them. Here with David (2015 fellow, Ghana), Nkechi (2015 fellow, Nigeria), Anna (School of Data Germany) and Sheena (2015 fellow, Philippines).

Post-its, post-its everywhere.

We do love posts-its. But then you have to digitize every single one. Jennifer (Code 4 South Africa).

The cake was an essential part of the facilitation strategy.