American Library Association 2010 Annual Conference 1

I participate in American Library Association 2010 Annual Conference in Washington June 24-29.I’am here with my president of The Danish library Association.

I will try to do a diary in the form of small blogs that will tell about my experiences. Some in English and some in Danish.

Today is the start of the conference. There is an Unconference, and we're curious to experience the form of this special Unconference. We think it cut be an inspiration to our own Annual conference in Denmark.

What is an Unconference?
An unconference is a participantguided experience that harnesses the unstructured conversations people usually have between conference sessions into the conference itself. Unlike most conferences where talking heads and group leaders decide what is important, unconferences are organized by the crowd. Unconferences are about sharing the knowledge and passion we have for our profession and taking what we learn into the world to make a difference. Everyone has something to share.
Everyone has something to learn. We can all change the world.

About this Unconference
Attendees will collaborate online prior to the Unconference to identify topics they’re interested in presenting to the group or facilitating a discussion about. Everyone will be both teacher and learner, discussing the topics they’re most passionate about.
The hashtag for the unconference is #unala10.

Unconference Schedule
There will be five different types of events during the unconference:
9x9 Long Lasting Greetings - Exchange 9 business cards with 9 people you
do not know in 9 minutes.
Pecha Kucha presentations - The presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Never boring! Fast Paced!

Group Sessions - Topic and format TBD by the group.

Flash Debates - The format is to have two teams of three people debate each other on a fixed topic. Trapping the opposition and anticipating their arguments beforehand are encouraged. Clever use of funny insults and rebuttals are all part of the fun. The goal is to have fun and a sense of humor while showing off your knowledge. Each speaker gets 2 minutes to make their case. We will alternate with rebuttals in a 2-2/2-2/1-1 format for a total of 10 minutes for each debate. Topics for the debates and teams TBD by the group.

Fishbowl - This is a group discussion where everyone can participate, but only three people can engage in the discussion at a time with everyone watching. You know, like fish in a bowl. Topic for the discussion will reflect the events of the day as determined by the group.

The exciting program for today:

Proposed Schedule
Time Event
9:00-9:05 Greetings and brief explanation of the day
9:05-9:20 9x9 Long Lasting Greetings
9:20-10:20 9 Petcha Kutcha Presentations
10:20-10:30 Break
10:30-11:00 Filling in the schedule
11:00-12:00 Group Sessions 1
12:00-1:15 Lunch (on your own)
1:15–1:20 Set up for Flash Debates
1:20-1:25 Teams organize their topic
1:25-1:35 Debate 1
1:36-1:46 Debate 2
1:47-1:57 Debate 3
2:00-3:00 Group Sessions 2
3:00-3:10 Break
3:10-4:10 Fishbowl
4:10-4:15 So Long, Farewell. Go Change the World.