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by Laurent Bossavit.
Original Post: One of the best ways to invent the future...
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...is to attend a conference. Here is one that just appeared on my radar - and for reasons that will become clear shortly, I'm mightily tempted not just to attend, but to present something.
The best conferences are just that: invitations to shape the future. Back in 2002 when I attended the XP conference in Sardinia, it felt so invigorating, exciting, mind-expanding it felt to be surrounded by people who had a vision of how the world - or some little part of it - could be made a righter place to live. (Another of my favorite quotes: "The greatest obstacle to transforming the world is that we lack the clarity and imagination to conceive that it could be different. -- Roberto Mangabeira Unger")
How could I not be interested in a conference presented as follows: "Computers, networks, and other forms of technology are now pervasive in our information-based society. However, most users still function as passive consumers of technology. To evolve into a true knowledge society, it is critical that we transform computer-based human activities to engage users in the active process of creating, connecting, and collaborating together."
The C5 conference will organized in january 2008 in Poitiers, France by Smalltalker extraordinaire and fellow Dojo enthusiast Serge Stinckwich. When I Googled previous editions of the conference, a number of things became clear.
First and foremost, it appears that it might be an occasion to meet Alan Kay in person. It's not certain yet, but that alone would make the trip worthwhile - for an OO enthusiast, meeting the person who invented OO is too good to pass up.
Next, the conference, which originally had a major focus on Squeak and Croquet, is opening up to the full scope implied by its name (C5 is an acronym for "Conference on Creating, Connecting and Collaborating through Computing"). Serge has confirmed that XP/Agile, with its emphasis on shared responsibility for the design of software systems and customer collaboration, could be a fit topic for the conference. And it seems only logical to want to be more than a "passive consumer" at such a conference...
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