Edgeryders is coming to Cairo, like now. We got wrongfooted by some previous commitments of UNDP Egypt, including the coming up of Ramadan, so we need to do this immediately.
@Nadia and I are both coming to Cairo. We will fly in on June 1st. Meetings will start on June 2nd, and we will organize together a workshop for Egyptian edgeryders on Thursday afternoon, June 4th.
@Hegazy, @Hazem, we are counting on you to make this all happen, even on such a short notice. I am not sure what the agreement is with @SamarAli. perhaps she is actually not expected to show up in Cairo for this, but rather work online (Nadia, can you enlighten us?). Of course, should you come, SamarAli, you would be more than welcome.
This mission is super critical. We will be shadowed by two senior officials at UNDP and UNV – and I do not mean people from the Egypt Country Office, but from Headquarters. it is really important that we meet some spectacular social innovators/hackers, ideally in the workshop, but if not we will schedule a visit and go see them. I really want to give them the experience of how people like you go about social innovation outside the institutional space. Hazem, could you suggest some “tactical urbanism” project/group we can visit? Hegazy, any other ideas?
Hegazy: other than the above, your job is shadowing us. We will have meetings with UNDP, the Egyptian government, youth NGOs. Dress accordingly . Both Hegazy and Hazem: please help reaching out to the Egyptian edgeryders (both existing and new) to make a great workshop. Nadia will post presently a title. We will need social media firepower, a Facebook event, a venue etc.
Of course you can share it, @zaraavi! Actually, thanks. Maybe it would be a good idea to coordinate. For example, @Nadia or others could post an event from the Edgeryders Facebook page, that then we all can share with Arabic text, maybe?
I can throw in 10-20 hours of general support from distance during the 26th - 29th.
You can tell me stuff anytime, but that’s when I can do the work. I’ve been involved in event planning a little bit before (makers/academia) but there are only a few things that can be done over distance - if you have something, let me know.
Would it be helpful to connect Egyptian makers/engineers to you from abroad at some point?
yes! We would love for people from the makers movement to show up at the workshop.
I would not mind to get in touch with hackerspaces. Hackerspaces.org lists several in Egypt, of which one is in Cairo. Do you have any friends, or friends of friends? In fact I would need to get in touch with this crowd not only in Egypt, but in all STF Global countries, with Casablanca being most urgent, and Casablanca and Kiev being the most important.
Yesterday there was an online meeting between @Nadia, @Hegazy, @Hazem, @SamarAli and others and they started to make plans. Apparently the workshop will now be two days long (3rd and 4th, with 4th being the main day). Venue information is coming.
Go for it @SamarAli. However, this is the only offline moment in STF Global, is it realistic that the Alexandrians would come? For the rest of the project, that happens online, definitely yes: typically hackerspace people know people that do cool projects.
I have a former colleague who is from Egypt and should be “running” a lab at mit now. Was a while since our last ping but I could see him being interested. Unfortunately probably the best I can realistically get him to is to call in via skype or so for an endorsement of your initiative and perhaps something like Q&A or AMA. Most of my maker/engineer/science friend have a pretty busy schedule. Sry. I might also get someone from Kiev (now Oxford) going though I expect that would be a foaf connection, but you never know. Should I forward a pertinent skype account name to them and you can brief them a little/clue them in on their role? That way you would only have work (can probably also be taken over by a local) if you can be relatively certain that there will be some useful contribution from the other side?
I’ll get going for a Casablanca connection asap - currently this is a bit of a white place on my map (hawhaw) - but this is certainly a good prod to get going in that direction. Again - I would expect the people to be either to busy or too poor make full workdays available/to travel respectively - but if you can live with a skype call kind of arrangement it is a easier sell. Also that way you’d have more people “that seem normal” in the scenery which may be useful if high level folks see them interacting nicely with our LOTE end of spectrum. Just a thought. If I can get anyone to consider to get physical, you can be sure I’ll try my best to have them do it! I’m afraid our local hack-space will probably be lying low tomorrow but I can get started on other end before that.
I don’t know him directly - if you can give him a nudge that would probably be great. By Tuesday is also the earliest I could realistically do something. I kinda thought he was from Chicago - but perhaps I am wrong (or both is right). If you think I could be of help somehow - give me a signal…
I already talked to some people who attended last years workshop. Very good feedback. I’m getting into touch with @Hazem, @SamarAli, @monarezk & @Elghamryto arrange.
Question: Is there some sort of Agenda for this workshop? I assume managing the logistics will be on us? And, who are confirmed attendees, whom should this be marketed to do? Just some details to pin down.
sorry was kinda offline yesterday and missed it …ok so it is happening and fast
just quick thoughts …for the venue I think @labanita could host us at Rasheed 22 ?
also was just talking yesterdays with people from Cairo hackerspace about edgeryders and OSCEdays and they are in resonance with what we are doing and they have some thoughts on how as a hackerspace they could be integrated with the informal car workshops around them and how they can also fill some gaps in the market.
Sorry for the disappearance, I’m looking forward to see you all in the workshop. I think that The GrEEK Campus would be a perfect place to host the workshop.
PS: I’ll read all the posts by tomorrow and see what could be done to make the workshop hit its goals.
@Alberto, there’s mainly 4 hackerspaces in Egypt. Cairo, Alexandria, Minia and FabLab. The three active ones are Cairo, FabLab and Alexandria. I know personally the founder of Alexandria Hackerspace and can reach the FabLab founders too.
. Both Hegazy and Hazem: please help reaching out to the Egyptian edgeryders (both existing and new) to make a great workshop. Nadia will post presently a title. We will need social media firepower, a Facebook event, a venue etc.