Workshops for HacktionLab Summer 2023

The following is a list of ideas for workshops, talks or other activities for the forthcoming HacktionLab Summer 2023 taking place in June in Sheffield, UK. The *Nerd gag* measures how technical and jargony the session might be, from "on tight" being accessible to all, to "ungagged" being no-holes-barred tech talk. In the middle there's "breathing room" and "rather loose".

Session times

TBC, but here’s a guide…

Friday

• 9.30 - 11.00 - Sessions
• 11.00 - 11.30 - Break
• 12.00 - 13.30 - Sessions
• 13.30 - 14.30 - Lunch
• 14.30 - 15.30 - Session
• 15.30 - 16.00 - Break
• 16.00 - 17.00 - Sessions

Saturday

• 9.30 - 11.00 - Sessions
• 11.00 - 11.30 - Break
• 12.00 - 13.30 - Sessions
• 13.30 - 14.30 - Lunch
• 14.30 - 15.30 - Session
• 15.30 - 16.00 - Break
• 16.00 - 17.00 - Sessions

Sunday

• 10.00 - 11.00 - Sessions
• 11.00 - 12.00 - Brunch
• 12.00 - 13.00 - Session
• 13.00 - 13.30 - Break
• 13.30 - 14.30 - Sessions

Types of Sessions

• Talk: 30-60 mins - please say if you need a projector / screen etc
• Workshops: typically 60 mins - let us know your requirements
• Skill Share Sessions: typically 60 mins - hands on in collaboration with others around a theme
• Round Table Discussions: typically 60 mins - around a theme
• Lightning Talks: typically 5-10 mins - these may be themed together or at random

Example

Title of workshop?

Format

talk / workshop (interactive) / skills share / round table / lighting talk

Proposed by

Your name

Length

30-60 minutes, 5-15 for a lighting talk

Equipment

projector, speakers, paper, pens, posits, chairs, etc

Description

a description of the workshop

Nerd gag

How much technical background will people need to be able to follow the session? Nerd gag measures how technical and jargony the session might be, from "on tight" being accessible to all, to "ungagged" being no-holes-barred tech talk. In the middle there's "breathing room" and "rather loose".

Reflective & Philosophical

Objectivism for Lefties? (wip)

Format

talk

Proposed by

Mike

Length

30-40 mins plus discussion

Equipment

projector, maybe speakers

Description

The Russian-American author Ayn Rand was a controversial character in her lifetime and still is today. She’s often considered a apologist for selfishness and capitalist values by her detractors and is very much not a natural bed-fellow of the left. In this talk I will take a look at who she was, her novels and other writings, attempt to take a nuanced look at her World-view, and open the discussion as to whether there's something useful that can be learned from them.

Nerd gag

on tight

Outside the Echo Chamber: can listening and acceptance (wip)

"All alone, or in twos: the ones who really love you walk up-and-down outside the Wall. Some hand-in-hand, and some gathered together in bands. The bleeding hearts and the artists make their stand. And when they've given you their all, some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy, banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall."

Format

talk/discussion

Proposed by

Mike

Length

30 mins

Equipment

projector, or maybe just some paper, like a flipchart

Description

it seems that we have a lot of polemicised opinions these days, othering each other, defaming character rather than debating ideas (ad hominem), being safe and secure in our echo chambers. I'd like to discuss how we can use techniques such as active listening, radical acceptance (aka acceptance), and non-violent communication to open up our hearts and the space for discussion, and maybe have a greater understanding of both our 'friends' and 'enemies' alike.

Nerd gag

on tight

Emergent Technologies

Ecotech

Format

talk / workshop (interactive)? / skills share / round table

Proposed by

thebrentc

Length

45 minutes

Equipment

Description

Environmental issues around computing and digital technologies, probably with a web technologies focus.

TBC: Background, Practice (e.g. green hosting, assessment, software and system design approaches), possibly a case study

Nerd gag

on tight/breathing room - practice might become loose but hopefully we can moderate this

Non -alternativeInternet: the Fediverse and peer-2-peer

2023 - the year twitter died (WIP)

Is there a reason for twitter to exist anymore ?

Will a federated social media protocol finally displace the normies

does anyone actually use an ActivityPub network?

does anyone actually use twitter ?

Are Silos a good thing

Programming and other nerding

The maths behind Mandelbrot and Julia

Format

talk

Proposed by

Mike

Length

45 mins

Equipment

projector

Description

A revamp of a talk on the Mandelbrot and Julia sets that I first gave at BarnCamp in 2011 and updated for the Wizard Amigos Code Camp at the Astral Ship in Autumn 2022. In the talk I take a look at the maths behind the beautiful Mandelbrot and Julia set images that appeared in the late 1980s and have continued in every increasing sophistication and resolution since. I’ll attempt to explain imaginary and complex numbers, iterative algorithms, pixel plotting strategies, with a live demo you can run in your own web browser, and code you can fork and develop yourself. Bring your laptop and explore with us.

Nerd gag

ungagged

Other

melting stuff in your microwave (wip)

using your microwave to make rubies and other jewellery

Sovereign commemorations

It is a king's birthday (Saturday 17th June) so feels like we could do something

'Alternative' events and groups networking

Format

talk

Proposed by

Jonathan

Length

45 mins

Equipment

projector

Description

Radar - radar.squat.net/en/why-radar - Activist-led technology for international listing of events and groups, which campaigns, pressure groups and "social movements" at local level can join in with, to share and syndicate their events/groups info across the world

Nerd gag

~50%?