Orlando Geeks + Charity = My Suggestion

At BarCamp in September there was a food drive, and I think for what it was the project was considered a success. I like the idea, and I would gladly give food to local needy families.

Another way our event could have an impact on the world is by participating in the One Laptop Per Child Project. $200 is a lot of money for one geek to give on her own, but if a group of 200-500 geeks donated $10+ each, we could buy 10 to 25 laptops.

Simply Give

The XO laptop was designed by some folks from the MIT Media Lab (and I'm sure lots of collaborators) to stimulate kids' minds and get them thinking at a higher level. Take a look at the literature on the OLPC site. There is a definite desire to cross the barriers of language with this project. It's not just about Africa, but that is a part of the world where this project has focused lots of attention.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education

That's my thought. I think it fits the mission of BarCamp to encourage the passion for technology. From the BarCamp Wiki: "BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment."

Updates:
The dialog is over on the BarCampOrlando Google Group, as of 2/1/08 there are 27 messages in the thread, several people have given positive or negative comments. Some folks explain why, others don't. There is also some inside baseball happening here, and for now I won't reveal it.

Needless to say, we are no longer planning a BarCamp, because there is nothing "ad-hoc" about it. Everything is getting discussed in committee, and we're planning the thing like 6 months in advance. This is not Agile Programming.