Anthony Zacharzewski, director at The Democratic Society (demsoc), on how CityCamp is building on its first year’s success:
Hack your way to a better Brighton and £20,000
Digital businesses, designers, technologists and creative thinkers who want to make their city a better place can now get free tickets to the CityCamp innovation event on 2-4 March, where more than £20,000 is available for social innovation and technology projects.
The first CityCamp, co-produced by Wired Sussex, brought together more than 200 people from public services, business and community groups to problem-solve around the big issues facing the city. This year, it goes bigger, wider and deeper. Last year's £10,000 prize fund has more than doubled, and will go into a much wider range of prizes for initiatives that use social media and new technology for wellbeing, health, community growth or public good.
The event starts on Friday with a "Learn" afternoon, where speakers from the city's public services will talk about the city's opportunities and challenges. Will McInnes from Nixon McInnes is one of a number of speakers from the city and beyond who will inspire participants with ideas of what can be done.
Saturday is the "Discuss" day, where people volunteer to lead hour-long discussions on issues of concern to them. The event uses a barcamp format, so people come ready to participate, and the agenda is set by the group as a whole.
Sunday is "Build", where teams pick up on Saturday's ideas, or bring their own, and turn them into prototypes, designs, or proposals for innovation that are pitched to the whole group and a panel of judges at the end.
Sixty free tickets for local businesses are available at http://ccbtn.eventbrite.com, and you can find out more about the event at http://citycampbtn.org