O K FESTIVAL - Open Knowledge in Action

The 2012 theme of OKFestival is Open Knowledge in Action, looking at the value that can be generated by opening up knowledge, the ecosystems of organisations that can benefit from such sharing, and the impacts that transparency can have in our societies.

What kinds of new professions, ideas and community initiatives can emerge within our governments, markets, networks and neighbourhoods as a result of these engagements?

Open knowledge is a comprehensive concept that involves sharing knowledge in all its forms – from genes to geodata, from literature to programming code – so that it can be freely used, modified and shared by anyone. This idea, based on the Open Definition, provides an opportunity for positive transformation within our information society, where old hierarchies are replaced by agile, diverse, networked and experimental progress and cooperation.

In an era of global digital communications, significant benefits are gained in all sectors of the society by opening up knowledge, including science, culture, governance and economy.

OKFestival 2012 features a comprehensive week-long programme of lectures, workshops, hackathons, satellite events, meetings, film screenings and participatory sessions organised around 13 Topic Streams built by international teams of Guest Programme Planners with the help of the OKFestival Organising Team.

This format is a bold experiment in international collaborative organising. With topics that address open data and open knowledge in many forms, from open democracy and government data to open and smart cities to open business and corporate data to open design and open hardware to data journalism to sustainability, OKFestival 2012 will highlight emergent ideas and initiatives in a way that has never been seen before.

Ticket Sales and Travel Bursary applications are opened.
Early Bird tickets are available until July 31st

This is the story of the world's first Open Knowledge Festival.
Updates via @OKFestival on Twitter.