2020 Agenda

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

The Dev Summit agenda is designed and facilitated using Aspiration's participatory model, in an environment where powerpoint slides are not a thing, 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 Aspiration events have particular traits; we de-emphasize broadcast behaviors and fetishizing expertism, and instead focus on working sessions that are self-organized whenever possible to meet the specific needs of those present, in accessible, inclusive ways.

Please note: This is a truly dynamic agenda, and sessions are likely to move around and evolve. We thank everyone in advance for the flexibility.

Wednesday November 18

Opening Session (9.00 PT / 17.00 UTC)

Dev Summit 2020 will be called to order with a friendly and fast-paced kickoff that includes words of welcome, non-verbal participant introductions, along with overviews of the agenda, participation guidelines and meeting logistics.

Story sharing from across our community (10.05 PT / 18.05 UTC)

We'll start the program by lifting up stories and projects from across our network:

• Campaigning and organizing for justice in Texas
• What's new and what's happening with Tor Browser and Tor Community
• Fundraising during Covid using open source tools
• Access Now Digital Security Helpline: Supporting security needs of civil society groups & activists, journalists and human rights defenders
• Gender-based violence: the tolls of raising awareness in Mexican online spaces during 2020
• SignalBoost - Lessons from the real world of secure and anonymous organizing and protest
• Organizing to build solidarity across the Decentralized Web community with the DWeb Principles
• OpenStreetMap and the state of open mapping in 2020

Working Sessions I (11.20 PT / 19.20 UTC)

Working sessions will invite participants to explore and share knowledge on topics identified in pre-event dialogues. Facilitators will briefly introduce the objective of each session, and participants may then elect to join the session of their choice.

Confirmed sessions are below, and we look forward to co-creating additional sessions in each Working Sessions time slot!

• Indigenous opinions on the state of tech: How we can leverage skills and organize within and outside of traditional tech culture
• Moving an organization to a place where we can talk meaningfully about our mission and values
• Leveraging our collective 'sense of crisis' to avoid going back to business-as usual
• Running virtual meetings that have heart and don't suck
• Campaigning for housing rights in East Los Angeles
• Scaling of data portability: what is possible?
• Relational organizing and the tension with technology

Closing Session (12.40 PT / 20.40 UTC)

The closing session will invite participants to weigh in on what has been most useful during the course of Day 1, and refine their goals and priorities for the agenda of Day 2.

Social time (14.30 PT / 22.30 UTC)

We're still figuring out the plan, but we'll give folks options for hanging in more unstructured and hopefully non-annoying virtual spaces.

Thursday, November 19

Opening Session (9.00 PT / 17.00 UTC)

The day will start with a summary of Day 1 reflections and a Day 2 Agenda Overview.

Working Sessions II (9.20 PT / 17.20 UTC)

Confirmed sessions are below, and we look forward to co-creating additional sessions in each Working Sessions time slot!

• Weaving collective care in our work and activism
• Strategy and leadership vs tools: striking a sustainable balance
• The state of press freedom and what you can do to help Freedom of the Press Foundation
• Advocating for health and safety with a "progressive" administration
• Sharing and comparing “believable accountability processes”: Peer sharing on what has worked and what hasn’t worked
• Security practices cross-share

Skillshare and Demo Session (11.10 PT / 19.10 UTC)

Participants will be encouraged to share any skill they desire. The session will be structured so as to minimize group size and maximize 1-on-1 sharing opportunities.

• Add your skill offers or skill requests here: https://pad.riseup.net/p/aspirationdevsummit20-skillshare

Closing Session (12.40 PT / 20.40 UTC)

Participants to weigh in on what has been most useful during the course of Day 2, and register their goals and priorities for the agenda of Day 3.

Open Mic! (14.30 PT / 22.30 UTC)

Got a musical skill, spoken word to speak, a tall tale, a non-marginalizing joke, or something else you would like to share with the group?

Friday, November 20

Opening Session (9.00 PT / 17.00 UTC)

The day will start with a summary of Day 2 reflections and a Day 3 Agenda Overview.

Working Sessions III (9.20 PT / 17.20 UTC)

Confirmed sessions are below, and we look forward to co-creating additional sessions in each Working Sessions time slot!

• Coops Solidarity Session
• Using technology to identify police who refuse to identify themselves
• What EFF is working on and what you can do to support them
• Practicing self care and avoiding burnout in the time of Covid
• Challenges and lessons on moving to work from home with immigrant populations
• Learnings and best practices for working with youth during a global pandemic

Working Sessions IV (11.10 PT / 19.10 UTC)

• Facilitating leadership development as a group learning process
• Remote work practices cross-share
• Mentoring and integrating newer tech people on teams (and benefiting from fresh energy)
• How to do malware analysis
• Powermapping and data journalism research
• Product Management for Nonprofits
• Organizing mutual aid and trauma-sensitive support after the fires

Closing Session 12.40 PT / 20.40 UTC)

The group will summarize key outcomes from the event, share appreciations and bring the meeting to a close.

Adjourn (13.00 PT / 21.00 UTC)

Dev Summit 2020 is done, done and done-r!

Self-organized meetups and other fun

We will invite decentralized leadership to create a range of opt-in spaces for socializing and easing into the weekend.

Job Board and Book Recommendations

Hiring or job seeking?

• Dev Summit 2020 Job Board

Reading or watching something you want others to know about?

• Dev Summit 2020 Book Recommendations