Who our presenters are
All of our presenters are Campers. Unlike many other conferences, there are no invited speakers; no paid speakers. Anyone who wants to offer a session can do so. Typically, a little more than half of our sessions are led by a single Camper, and the rest are collaborations of two to four Campers.
The selection process for sessions is organic. That is, at the opening session on Saturday evening, after the welcoming dinner, we each propose whatever sessions we like, first in small groups, and then to Camp as a whole. Those with similar interests can thus learn about each other and collaborate if they choose to. At the end of the discussion, we post sessions in scheduled time slots, each session leader acting in his or her own behalf. It sounds chaotic, and it is, a bit. But the result is always wonderful.
Content
Session content is eclectic. We have had sessions about marketing consulting services, book and article authoring, price structures and business models, intervention techniques, building a training business, agile development, presentation development, book discussions, decision making, communication, project management, bubble production, and on and on.
What we study and learn is limited only by the imagination and energy of attendees. Whatever your own personal learning goals are, if you bring them to Camp, you can be certain that your fellow Campers will stretch your mind and provide more insight and ideas than you ever thought possible.
Session formats
PowerPoint is virtually absent from Camp, though there are usually a few sessions that use it profitably. Most sessions are lively discussions led by the presenter.
One unique feature of Camp is our active encouragement of the "reverse session," in which the session lead sets the topic, and the attendees collaborate to produce the content of the session. Typically, the objective of the leader of the reverse session is learning about the topic, with the attendees acting in the roles of resource and guide.
Daily schedule
Most days, with a few exceptions, have three session slots: 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM to Noon, and 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. In each slot, we usually have two or three alternatives. Attendance at all sessions is optional, of course.
One session slot, on Thursday morning, is devoted to governance. Campers convene as Camp Leadership Council to attend to Camp business, and to elect officers for the coming year. All decisions are made by consensus.
A second session slot, the last slot, is devoted to a Closing Ceremony. It's a morning of celebration, hopes and wishes for the future, and lots and lots of warm goodbyes.