Education, open participation and democracy: critical reflections - 27 November 2019, Berlin [1]
![](https://www.alt.ac.uk/sites/alt.ac.uk/files/styles/large/public/Annual%20Conference%202019%20-%20featured%20images%20%2831%29.jpg?itok=RP-hQdzg)
The Association for Learning Technology and Wikimedia Deutschland are inviting you to an open evening: “Education, open participation and democracy: critical reflections”. The event, inspired by the OER20 Conference theme “The Care in Openness” will focus on the ways in which Openness, individuals and communities can foster a participatory and democratic culture in Open work and in society in general.
This event aims to claim and open a space for critical conversations and questions: Who is Open for and who is it open to? How can Open be leveraged as a force for participatory culture in society and education? Which roots of Openness do we need to be especially critical of when we claim that Open is here to save us all from the world of proprietary, industry-driven and techno-solutionist claims around education and participation in society? How do larger narratives around web culture play into the ways in which education, participation and the web are framed?
The event will take place on Wednesday 27 November 2019, 5pm - 9pm, at the Wikimedia offices in Berlin. Spaces are limited, so register your place for for the event [2] before 22 November 2019.
We are delighted to have a group of dedicated activists and researchers as guests and contributors to this evening, including:
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Laura Czerniewicz, Director of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), University of Cape Town in South Africa
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Maren Deepwell, Chief Executive of the Association for Learning Technology
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Martin Hawksey, Chief Innovation, Community and Technology Officer, Association for Learning Technology
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Audrey Watters, Education writer at Hack Education, independent scholar and author
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Lorna Campbell, Open education technology, policy & practice at the University of Edinburgh, ALT and Wikimedia UK trustee
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Christian Friedrich, Education and Science Advisor at Wikimedia Deutschland
We hope that this event will stimulate discussions that can continue at the OER20 Conference, and encourage participants to consider making a submission for the OER20 Conference. The call for proposals for OER20 closes on 1 December 2019, and you can submit your proposal on the OER20 website [3].