Opening Remarks
Summary
On day two of Civic Design 2022, the host welcomes attendees back, noting themes around power structure shifts in design. They recap previous day topics and outline the conference’s organization, emphasizing accessibility of all session materials, including sponsor-led free sessions. Attendees are encouraged to engage via Slack for questions and discussions, using specific threads to keep conversations organized. The speaker credits sponsors like Babel, Nava PVC, and Mo Sketch for their crucial support, and promotes a digital swag bag with exciting offers like a free Sketch subscription. The importance of a respectful and safe virtual community is reinforced through an explicit code of conduct. Shivangi, the dedicated scribe, is acknowledged for capturing session notes, enabling participants to fully immerse without needing to take notes themselves. The overall focus is on creating an engaging, supportive, and inclusive environment for all participants.
Key Insights
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Sponsor sessions at Civic Design 2022 are free, non-overlapping, and offer content comparable to the main program, making them valuable learning opportunities.
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The conference program page allows users to view all relevant content and switch times to their local timezone, reducing scheduling confusion.
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Slack is the primary platform for attendee interaction, with dedicated threads for questions per session to maintain clarity in communication.
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A digital swag bag includes valuable offers, such as a free one-year Sketch subscription, engaging attendees beyond sessions.
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Dedicated customer support is available via Slack’s help-customer-desk-service for real-time assistance with technical or conference issues.
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Conference notes, videos, decks, and resources are made available rapidly after sessions to relieve attendees from note-taking burdens.
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The code of conduct is prominently emphasized to maintain kindness, respect, and safety in the virtual conference community.
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Cohort participants have private Slack channels for more focused discussions and social interaction within smaller groups.
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The event organizers credit their sponsors as essential contributors enabling the conference, highlighting the power of partnerships in civic tech events.
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A dedicated scribe, Shivangi, helps participants by capturing detailed notes, reflecting the importance of accessibility and inclusiveness in virtual conferences.
Notable Quotes
"Sponsor sessions are completely free and offer content just as valuable as the main program sessions."
"If you want to avoid time zone confusion, you can switch the conference schedule to your local time on the program page."
"Please put your questions inside the thread specific to the talk so we can keep everything organized."
"Our sponsor sessions are not sales pitches; they are serious, high content learning opportunities for everyone."
"There is no need for you to take notes because session notes, videos, and decks will be shared as soon as possible."
"If anything's going wrong on your end, please reach out to help-customer-desk-service in Slack for tech help."
"Even though we are virtual, we are still community and must treat each other with kindness and respect."
"You can access the digital swag bag by scanning the QR code or visiting fld.me/cd2022 for cool sponsor offers."
"Our dedicated scribe Shivangi is making sure all the notes are captured so you don't have to worry about it."
"If you are a cohort participant and don’t see your private Slack channel, please let us know so we can guide you."
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