The unConference Toolkit

Abstract

The unConference Toolkit was developed in preparation for the inaugural Digital Youth & Learning unConference hosted by Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT; dotrust.org) in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2013. We believed an unConference approach could disrupt traditional perceptions of what happens at a knowledge exchange. It is thought that blending research, theory, practice, and policy discourses can lead to more participatory knowledge creation as well as more research savvy organizations, such as DOT's. Knowledge exchanges are seen as one way to accomplish this goal. However, this can be challenging to achieve. And so, with this challenge in mind, DOT set out to conceptualize and deliver a more innovative approach to such exchanges and knowledge mobilization, particularly within a global context: an unConference. Drawing on leading-edge research (focused on ICT, youth, gender, learning and pedagogy, and entrepreneurship) as a catalyst, DOT hosted an unConference focused on changing the way researchers, youth beneficiaries, practitioners, and policy makers interact with knowledge and building a network of like minded individuals to create economic, education, and entrepreneurial opportunities in East Africa. Although unConferences have been around for several decades, they are only now finding their way into more research-informed knowledge sharing events. As we, and our colleagues in East Africa, embarked on this unConference project we struggled to find relevant resources to help us design this event. This toolkit reflects an amalgam of resources we both found and innovated. We hope it will be helpful to others considering a more organic and participatory approach to sharing and mobilizing knowledge.