About
Why Technology in Nature?
by Wendy Hanamura, DWeb Camp Event Producer
About four years ago over dinner, Brewster Kahle leaned over to me with an idea.
What would it take to get us out of our groove? To change the way we technologists channel our talents—away from just making money or just doing academic research—toward building the kind of societies we want to live in?
"Sounds interesting," I said. "How do you think we'd do that?"
You have to understand that Brewster, who founded the Internet Archive, was also one of the original Burners back in 1990. On top of that, he comes away totally energized by the open-air hackers event outside Berlin every four years, called Chaos Communication Camp (CCC). What if we could fuse the self-reliant creativity of Burning Man to the utopian-tech energy of CCC? What would happen if we brought together hundreds of dreamers and builders dedicated to reimagining the technologies, laws, markets and values we need for a better Web? The Web we want and deserve?
That's how DWeb Camp was born.
For the past few years, we've been searching for the right spot. I couldn't believe it when we discovered the perfect location just an hour south of San Francisco. It's a historic farm—still deliciously rough and raw—yet surrounded by wildflower fields, redwood forests and stunning vistas of the Pacific. Most important to us: the Farm's new stewards seek to use this beautiful land to spark new connections, to nurture Silicon Valley into a healthier place.
So we hope you will join us on this fertile ground to plants the seeds for something new and exciting at the first ever DWeb Camp.
Origins
Back in 2016, we convened an early group of builders, archivists, policymaker and journalists at the Internet Archive's headquarters for the first Decentralized Web Summit. Back then, Brewster Kahle, issued a challenge to these early developers: let's use decentralized technologies to “Lock the Web Open,” this time for good.
2016's gathering was a call to the Dreamers to build a better Web.
In 2018, we held the Decentralized Web Summit – Global Visions / Working Code to demonstrate of how far the community had come. With scores of prototypes and dapps now built, we followed Larry Lessig's dictum that there are four regulators needed to change society: tech, the laws, the markets and the norms. More than 1000 experts from these four areas explored how to take the Decentralized Web to scale.
Now in 2019, we're heading outdoors. What will happen when you put 500 committed people in a beautiful, natural, coastal space? We hope to leave you inspired. Recharged. Connected. Grounded. Ready to change the world.
DWeb Camp Pillars
Be A Bridge
Build bridges, not moats. The building of bridges enables connection—to yourself, to your community, to the environment. Remember to leave space for others to join in.
Be a weaver of community. When you weave diverse materials together, you create a brand new whole. Weaving people together can be the first step to creating a culture of inclusion.
Come Ready to Grow
How can we re-imagine and co-create a more just and sustainable world--both online and off? We recognize that our shared futures require multiple imaginations and diverse experiences. So be open to the unknown and create space for ideas you’ve yet to have, and for the ideas of others. Abandon preconceptions and allow events to change you.
Be bold! Ask questions and try new things. Dare to be naive, take risks and celebrate failure!
Nourish Yourself
Practice collective self-care to nourish your mind, body, and heart. Our creations take on the characteristics of their builders. Healthy technologies cannot be built by strained minds and stressful social relationships. Healthy resilient ecosystems flourish when the soil is well nourished.
So remember to look up at the sky. Greet each other as people not as projects or as opportunities.
Joy of Missing Out (JOMO)
Guess what? At DWeb Camp, there will be more than you can ever possibly experience in one day or one week. So we encourage you to be present and content with where you are at any given moment.
Instead of comparing your experience to that of others, accept your experience at camp for what it is, not what you think it could have been. Be intentional with your time and that of others, but do not fret over time spent simply enjoying your stay.
Oh the joy of missing out.
When the world begins to shout
And rush towards that shining thing;
The latest bit of mental bling–
Trying to have it, see it, do it,
You simply know you won't go through it;
The anxious clamoring and need
This restless hungry thing to feed.
Instead, you feel the loveliness;
The pleasure of your emptiness.
You spurn the treasure on the shelf
In favor of your peaceful self;
Without regret, without a doubt.
Oh the joy of missing out.
—Michael Leunig
Take Care of Each Other
We share a civic responsibility to care for each other, our camp, and the planet. So when you learn something new, bring someone else along. If someone needs assistance, pitch in and help!
Share what you have. Always leave a place better than when you found it. Leave no trace. Seek to generate zero waste through the creative reuse of materials.