MidCamp Madness and Planning Human-Centered Events

From our start four years ago, the MidCamp organizers wanted to offer a fresh and welcoming approach, more inclusive of Chicago’s diverse Drupal community (and beyond). 

The "Drupal camp-planning chat" is becomming increasingly common, but in this talk we'll focus on what makes MidCamp awesome and unique—we pull in ideas from other successful camps around the world; we're always brainstorming how to create value for attendees; and we plan inclusivity and accessibility into everything.

Here are some examples of the human-centered items that we've incorporated over the years:

• "Off the island" initiatives to include local groups who foster diversity in the tech space
• Walking lanes
• Foolproof session recordings
• Keynote transcriptions
• A code of conduct
• “Blind” session selection
• Non-alcoholic social events
• Venue walkthroughs to help attendees plan their accessibility routes

In this session, we’ll discuss how these ideas took shape, how we made decisions, and how we executed. We'll give guidance for both camp organizers and attendees (and maybe convince you to join us). Most importantly, we'll hopefully help you with fostering diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity in your own sphere—whether it's a camp or just your workplace.