iCommons iSummit '07

The iCommons iSummit is the annual gathering of the broader Creative Commons community and is coordinated by iCommons. The summit is attended by members of the community to discuss, devise and celebrate all things open and collaborative. The summit is held in a different location every year and brings people together both physically and via the 'virtual summit' held simultaneously in Second Life.

In 2007 the Shuttleworth Foundation expanded its involvement in the iSummit from participant to partner by spearheading the inclusion of a track dedicated to education at the 2007 iSummit held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The track aimed to provide a focused platform for the exchange of ideas and other interactions through a process of participatory event facilitation. This event format allows all participants to share their thoughts, experiences and plans with others as opposed to only hearing from panelists, so doing strengthening and broadening individual and institutional networks.

One output of the event was the paper 'Open Sourcing Education: Learning and Wisdom from iSummit 2007'.

There were also some blog posts and discussion on the iCommons website during and after the event on both the content of the education track and the facilitation approach employed:

• Open Sourcing Education
• Let's tear down the top-down conference