BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.

To some people, BarCamps are chaotic in the way that they are organized, but it is in their apparent chaos that so many connections are made, ideas are shared, and knowledge is exchanged. First-time attendees may even find it exhausting because there are so many conversations and ideas flying back and forth among participants.

There is no advance agenda – you make the agenda when you arrive. If you really want some advance advice, try these great tips from Emma’s Guide to Great BarCamping. You see, there is something you can bring to a BarCamp – your knowledge and a desire to share.

Oh, and there are rules for BarCamp, but they are not quite what you might expect!

Intercom, the magazine of STC, had an article about BarCamps in the January 2009 issue (link to PDF). (You do not need to be a member of STC to read this article.)

BarCamp London, March 28-29

BarCamp London 6 is a free-to-attend weekend unconference for designers, developers and geeks of all types.

Of course the event is on Twitter at @barcamplondon. Twitter users are encouraged to use the hashtags #bcl6 and #barcamplondon6.

Other BarCamps in Europe in 2009

Look at the list on the BarCamp wiki, and you will see that there are events taking place all over Europe this year: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and more. The London event is but one of the BarCamps taking place in the UK. Note that some BarCamps will be held in the local language, so be prepared if that language is not one that you master.

Follow the BarCamp wiki for news of a BarCamp in your neighborhood.

If you attend one of these BarCamps – and especially if you have a presentation, we’d love to post your experiences here on this blog. A BarCamp is a great forum for talking about anything under the great technical communication umbrella.