2017 Agenda

Aspiration events are first and foremost convened to strengthen the ties and social networks of technology practitioners in the nonprofit/nongovernmental sectors.

The #npdev session list is co-developed with participants, facilitators, and partners in the time leading up to and during the Festival. We strongly encourage you to join in the fun at this unique and interactive gathering!

The agenda is designed and facilitated using Aspiration's unique participatory model, in an environment where powerpoint slides are discouraged and dialogue and collaboration drive the learning.

Our philosophy centers around getting participants into small-group discussions where they can discuss topics they are passionate about and get answers to their questions and curiosities. Sessions at Aspirations have particular traits; we de-emphasize presentations and lecture, and instead focus on "break-out" sessions that are self-organized whenever possible .

Wednesday November 15

Working Sessions I

• Finding and hiring developers - Milena
• Data and user research design - Sarah
• Working open - Matt
• Queering the Internet - Norman
• Creating healthy change organizations - Dirk
• Summit agenda brainstorming for digital security practitioners - Lisa, Amanda, Martin
• Movement hosting infrastructure - Elijah
• How to Tor - Austin
• Open source in proprietary corporate infrastructure - Ryan
• Technologies for mass communications beyond email - David
• Data privacy for organizations - Tomas

Working Sessions II

• Managing multiple websites - Suzi
• Infrastructure for the Commons - Jane
• Designing online to offline engagement - Josue
• Developing a state-wide capacity building network - Evelyn
• Technology and resistance in a partial connectivity context - Charles
• Challenges in newsroom technology - Liam
• Visual language for storytelling - Sabiha
• Facilitating data analysis - Aman
• Digital privacy 101 for activists - Martin
• Creating websites for users with low-bandwidth - Grant
• Diversity in system administration - Mallory, Jaime

Thursday, November 16

Working Sessions III

• Best practices for open source documentation - Jen
• Bridging the digital divide: Indigenous perspective - Kanyon
• Reducing stress and preventing burn-out - Anand
• How to create network-centric participatory resources - Dirk
• Education and pedagogy - Norman
• Radicalizing hackers and hackerizing radicals - Cooper
• Drupal support group - Courtney
• Organizational digital security - Jack, Lisa
• Governance models for distributed infrastructures - Karel
• Disaster tech support for NGOs - Chris
• Weaponizing Big Data - Lydia

Skillshare Session

• 2017 Skillshare Topics

Demo Session

• Affinity - Matt
• Temporary remote wireless networks: Burning Man case study - Bron
• SecureDrop - Jen, Emmanuel
• Hacking contracts (add info)
• Security Education Companion (Electronic Frontier Foundation) - Bill, Lena, Elliot
• Backdrop CMS - Jack
• MigraWatch - Alicia, Fred
• CiviCRM new look- Tim
• Amnesty Decoders - Milena
• How to use Signal - Cooper
• The Technology for Social Justice Field Scan - Maya
• Creative Commons Search - Jane
• Drupal for nonprofits - Clayton
• Collaborative Knowledge Foundation tools - Alex
• Software selection and self assessment application prototype (Everett Program) - Yesenia
• Organizational Security Checklist - Lisa

Working Sessions IV

• Best community engagement practices for service providers - Brenna, Nikole, English/Spanish bilingual session
• Reducing barriers to volunteering - Amaya
• Collaborative text editing on Git - Dirk, Lisa
• Peer reward systems - Steve
• Creative tools for storytelling and advocacy - Steven
• Ergonomics - Bruce
• Low hierarchy project management - Andrea, Sarah
• An international perspective on activist surveillance - Dave, Marty
• Countering online harassment - Lindsay, David
• Ethical considerations when covering the alt-right - Freddy
• How to do inclusive and accessible tech - Anna

Friday, November 17

Working Sessions V

• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Annual update - EFF Team members
• Podcasting for storytelling - Chris
• Needs assessment for grassroots organizations - Lisa
• Backdrop CMS overview - Jen
• Data formats best practices - John
• Activism in Santa Ana - Luis
• How to make sure your work suits you - Dirk
• Online training platforms: Pros and cons - Norman
• How to use corporate tech infrastructure in a safer and more secure way - Bron

Working Sessions VI

• Admin user experience - Suzi
• Fairness and biases in predictive algorithms - Grant
• Kanban program development model - Genevieve (did not take place)
• What is circuit riding - Dirk
• Operations Cookbook Initiative - Lisa, Ken, Josh
• Worker owned cooperatives: Work agreements and accountability - Lottie
• Distraction: How does it work and how we can stay focused - Marty
• Training young women trainers in Costa Rica - Sammy
• Product design for communities - Alicia, Fred
• How to do restorative justice in online communities? - Lindsay, Cooper
• Movement hosting infrastructure: Applications layer - Elijah
• Free and open source software - Kyle (did not take place)

Working Sessions VII

• Freelancing sustainability - Dirk
• Creating a childrens book about digital rights - Tomas
• Maps for storytelling: Best practices - Sarah
• How to set up the governance structure of a new open source project - Nathan
• Working and communicating remotely - Suzi
• Radical networking - Marty (did not take place)
• Roles in organizational digital security - Jack
• Understanding how big corporations work - Bryan
• React.js - Grant
• Tech is not neutral: How to make it better? - Bron
• Regular expressions - Bill
• How to provide an application over Tor - Austin
• How to talk about activism and security in a non scary way - Cooper
• Physical office security - Bruce