UnLondon and UnLab specialize in the unconventional
The definitions behind
UnLondon and the Unlab may be
vague but their purposes are not.
UnLondon, the registered nonprofit organization, gives groups in London the opportunity to host their events by giving them increased legitimacy.
“We want to provide overhead stuff,” said Bill Deys, one of UnLondon's founders.
“When an event is proposed, we can help get money for it.”
For example, Podcamp London, an “unconference” that is free to all attendees and provides free-form seminars on the Internet and other tech-focused discussion, it relies on sponsorship, which can be hard to achieve. UnLondon is a registered group that can go to the government and their connections to bigger businesses to ask for grants. They also have plenty of connections to the media to help promote various events they work with, said Deys.
Those interested can find UnLondon online, where membership is free.
The UnLab is a little more tangible — as in, an actual location. The “geek club house,” as Deys calls it, is located at the University of Western Ontario Research Park. It will have all the tools needed — such as computers and soldering stations — for London's “white hat” hackers, the good kind, web designers and computer programmers to work on projects. The lab is also not just about hacking, it focuses on civic engagement. Members are encouraged to develop their ideas there. “If it fosters actual business (for those members), it's gratifying for us,” said Deys. The group will be working on an app to decipher London's six-day garbage collection schedule in late September.
Part of the philosophy driving both UnLondon and the UnLab is the concept of Open Data, which would allow Londoners the opportunity to read government data like police and crash reports, without worrying about copyright or patent. Through some UnLab projects, that information could be arranged in an accessible way, like the garbage app.
Currently, membership for UnLab has reached about 75 and a recent open house saw 50 interested people attending. The membership for the lab is paid — currently $20 a month — because of the physical space and hardware. For UnLondon, the membership has no real set number as people are just free to register online.
And ideas are not confined one category — hence the two groups' vague definitions.
“We're, on purpose, more generalized,” said Deys. “(We want to) help everybody do a lot of different stuff.”
For more information on UnLondon and the UnLab, check out http://unlondon.ca or http://twitter.com/billdeys.
UnLondon, the registered nonprofit organization, gives groups in London the opportunity to host their events by giving them increased legitimacy.
“We want to provide overhead stuff,” said Bill Deys, one of UnLondon's founders.
“When an event is proposed, we can help get money for it.”
For example, Podcamp London, an “unconference” that is free to all attendees and provides free-form seminars on the Internet and other tech-focused discussion, it relies on sponsorship, which can be hard to achieve. UnLondon is a registered group that can go to the government and their connections to bigger businesses to ask for grants. They also have plenty of connections to the media to help promote various events they work with, said Deys.
Those interested can find UnLondon online, where membership is free.
The UnLab is a little more tangible — as in, an actual location. The “geek club house,” as Deys calls it, is located at the University of Western Ontario Research Park. It will have all the tools needed — such as computers and soldering stations — for London's “white hat” hackers, the good kind, web designers and computer programmers to work on projects. The lab is also not just about hacking, it focuses on civic engagement. Members are encouraged to develop their ideas there. “If it fosters actual business (for those members), it's gratifying for us,” said Deys. The group will be working on an app to decipher London's six-day garbage collection schedule in late September.
Part of the philosophy driving both UnLondon and the UnLab is the concept of Open Data, which would allow Londoners the opportunity to read government data like police and crash reports, without worrying about copyright or patent. Through some UnLab projects, that information could be arranged in an accessible way, like the garbage app.
Currently, membership for UnLab has reached about 75 and a recent open house saw 50 interested people attending. The membership for the lab is paid — currently $20 a month — because of the physical space and hardware. For UnLondon, the membership has no real set number as people are just free to register online.
And ideas are not confined one category — hence the two groups' vague definitions.
“We're, on purpose, more generalized,” said Deys. “(We want to) help everybody do a lot of different stuff.”
For more information on UnLondon and the UnLab, check out http://unlondon.ca or http://twitter.com/billdeys.
