BarCamp Yerevan 2011 Coming This Weekend, Features Special Guests from Abroad

About 500 IT specialists, engineers, developers, bloggers, online journalists and social media activists will gather on June 4–5 to participate in BarCamp Yerevan 2011. At the Paramaz Avedisian building of the American University of Armenia, participants will discuss the development of technologies and social media in the region and world, reads a press release issued by organizers today.

A barcamp is usually a “non-conference” in the area of information technology, new media and the Internet. A “non-conference” is the unofficial, informal part of the conference supporting open discussions and a free exchange of ideas and opinions.

The philosophy of BarCamp is as follows: all presentations are given by participants themselves, with no formally invited guest speakers and without the formality of a traditional conference. Unlike traditional conferences, the schedule of events is “produced” by conference participants and created only after the conference opens, as participants add the presentations they want to hold on a white board.

Sponsors and supporters of BarCamp Yerevan 2011 are Beeline, Internews (in the framework of the “Alternative Resources in Media” program supported by USAID), Opera Software, Deem Communications and PanARMENIAN.Net.

“We are interested in the BarCamp movement since it gives people an opportunity to discuss developments in alternative media resources in a free and easy environment. Young people, including many journalists, will get informed of the latest developments of internet technologies in the BarCamp format,” said Internews Media Support NGO founding director Nouneh Sarkissian.

BarCamp Yerevan 2011 will host special guests from abroad, including VimpelCom’s Head of PR Department, CIS Artem Minaev and Brand Communications manager Ekaterina Turtseva, famous Russian blogger Dmitry Chernishev (mi3ch), Opera Software’s Charles McCathieNevile, technical and social developments specialist Adrianus Warmenhoven and BBC News World host and one of the authors of the BBC’s social media guide Pooneh Ghoddoosi.

Registration for the un-conference is available on the BarCamp Yerevan website: www.barcamp.am

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barcampevn

Twitter: @barcampam

Conversations can be followed by the #barcampevn11 hashtag.