What happens when 40 incredible minds from the online business, media, PR and engineering space gathering together for a weekend of debate, action and fun?
The inaugural GeekRetreat brought together 40 Internet professionals (including journalists, entrepreneurs, strategists and developers) for a weekend to discuss and debate how to make the South African Internet better.
From the beginning, we were determined that GeekRetreat would be a memorable, even life-changing experience. According to Elan Lohman, General Manager Online at Avusa Media, ‘The greatest thing of personal value to me was that everyone wanted to be there. No bosses had told us to attend.’ This is the most important feature of the retreat. With the schedule largely developed by participants, there is a focus on independence and responsibility – two important factors necessary for taking the agenda forward after the weekend.
Out of the passionate debate came about 20 projects that GeekRetreat fellows will take forward in the coming months. From an outreach project to apply the skills of the community to solving specific public service needs, to a crowd-funding initiative to support new Internet ventures, to a Geek PR campaign to put the sexy back into geek entrepreneurship – these 40 fellows are certainly set to making a difference to the South African Internet industry.
Colin Daniels, Head of Digital for the South African division of the Trader Media Group, put it well: ‘Geek Retreat ’09 was by no means a panacea for solving South Africa’s Internet-related problems... but at the very least it allowed a small sample of great minds to discuss the myriad issues affecting both them and the country and to mobilize an enthusiastic team that will work towards making a positive difference.'
The retreat was such a success that the fellows called for another event near Cape Town in mid-January. Perhaps Toby Shapshak’s prophecy that ‘Geeks shall inherit the Earth’ will indeed come true. At least we’ll try to make a positive change in South Africa while trying.
Pic by hfordsa on flickr licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license
