Berlin Campaign Forum is where you set the agenda and we help you find others who share it. This way you’ll talk about what really interests you. Speakers and workshops are there to provoke thought. As a result you learn more and really connect with people. This is the way events should be.
BCF at a glance
Who’s going to be there? At BCF campaigners, fundraisers, media officers, volunteer managers, digital experts, managers, etc. meet to connect with and learn from each other.
When and where will we meet? The 2024 BCF will happen from October 23 to 24 2024, both full days. Like last year, we’ll be at the Kulturcentrum UfaFabrik, in Berlin, Germany.
How much is it? We have a solidarity-based pricing model with different prices per country depending on its median income, please select country and then ticket type to get the price.
What’s the language? The main event language will be English. As the majority of participants will be non-native speakers, we encourage using simple language.
Do you want to sponsor this year’s BCF?
Here’s all you need to know.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https://campaignforum.eu/sponsoring/” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Become a sponsor” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”20px” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color=”#5feeb6″ button_border_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”Roboto Slab||||||||” button_icon=”=||divi||400″ button_icon_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Sponsorships allow us to offer discounted pricing for participants from countries with a below EU average GDP as well as subsidised spaces for volunteers. This helps maximize participation, diversity of expertise and quality of shared learning.
From past experience, sponsors benefit most from the event by building relationships and sharing their learning and success in small-group sessions as well as presentations.
The principles on which the ‘open space’ parts of Berlin Campaign Forum events are organised.
Why Open Space?
What do you find the most valuable time at events (excluding the eCampaigning Forum)? Is it listening to speakers? Watching panel discussions? Talking with others in the breaks/meals? For most people, the breaks and meals are the most useful part of most events because we get to talk to our peers about real issues we face. What if events were organised as a series of semi-structured ‘breaks’ and with few/no speakers? What you’d have is an innovative form of gathering called Open Space.
What is Open Space?
Open Space is a well established (30+ year old) methodology for facilitating people to get the most out of coming together. It has been successfully run for only a few people or for thousands. Duane Raymond – the eCampaigning Forum event organiser, has been running events like this for over two decades.
Over the last decade, events have increasingly adopted and adapted the open space principles. You may have heard them called un-conferences or birds of feather sessions. It works best when the other people in the room are peers with something to give as well as get. That is why FairSay Forum events ask you to ‘apply’, and not to ‘register’: so that only those with something to share are actually accepted.
Open Space operating principles
Whoever comes are the right people
You don’t need lots of people; just people who care
Only one? Maybe use the time to reflect on what you’ve learnt so far
Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
About letting go of expectations: coulds, shoulds; whatever is, is; work with it
You’ve got your objectives for the event – find a way to achieve them
When interesting stuff starts is the only time it could have started
Creativity does not happen according to a schedule
When it’s over, it’s over
Done in 10 minutes? Great! Move on.
When its not over, keep going until you’re done
The Law of Two Feet: Move when it is right for you
Move when you are neither learning nor contributing
It’s up to you to take a stand get your own needs met
If someone is hogging air-time, vote with your feet
Bumblebees: Cross-pollinate ideas
It’s ok to sign up for multiple topics occurring at the same time; its possible to be in multiple places at once
Butterflies: look delicate; deceptive impact
May never participate in a session or they hang out in the cafe
Sit down and have a quiet, reflective talk with one of them; a chance remark may impact you’re thinking and you take it back into the larger group and it affects others
Irritated by people who never participate in sessions? Know they do serve a useful purpose. You’re one of them? Don’t need to feel guilty about it – in open space you’re valued.
Be prepared to be surprised: Never before and never again will this group be together.
How does it work?
Everyone can suggest topics during the event. This occurs in a large group and the open space agenda will be organised on-the-spot by the facilitators.
Each topic has a convenor (and a space). Convenors ensure the group starts and that participants know how to self-facilitate (including splitting the group in smaller sizes, documenting it and decide when the discussion has finished)
Explore the topic as a group. There is no pre-set agenda or format for a topic group. You can brainstorm, each present your experience, pose a question to answer… it’s up to you.
If the discussion is finished, end, even if it is before the scheduled time. If it’s still going at break time, reconvene in the next time slot or during the break. If there is too much ground to cover, diverging interests or the group is too large, split.
Why does it work?
We are social learners: we all learn best by connecting and sharing with experienced peers. Actively connecting and sharing with experienced peers stimulates success and innovation. Passively listening to speakers doesn’t. FairSay’s Forum events focus on convening the right people to boost fundraising success and innovation.
Thus every participant must have relevant experience to be accepted. The agenda is self-organising small-group discussions. Participants find this methodology refreshing and rewarding, enables great learning and is excellent for connecting people and ideas.
Learning with other experienced participants
Most events tend to be large impersonal gatherings with a full agenda of speakers and a silent ‘audience’. Organisations respond by sending their new staff to get ‘trained’ and their experienced staff to ‘speak’. But these ‘factory’ events put little thought or time put into helping people connect with others who share their interests in a structured, purposeful way – only random meetings with new people and catching up with existing contacts.
The most interesting conversations are with experienced practitioners sitting beside us, actually connecting on topics of mutual interest is random and must be squeezed into breaks and lunches. Yet sustained success happens because experienced staff continually learn from peers and improve. To achieve this, an event organised on fundamentally different principles is required: one where all participants are experienced and they are the focus of the event, not the speakers.
Ignite Talks – what they are and how to prepare
Ignite style talks are short presentations (7 min max) to everyone that are meant to be tasters of ideas, achievements, innovations, findings, etc. ‘Traditional’ ignite talks are 5 minutes of pre-timed slides that change at 15 second intervals.
Because they are so short, they should be rehearsed several times to ensure the ideas can be conveyed within the 7-minute window. At the 6 minute mark, a 1 minute warning will be given. At the 7 minute mark, a horn will sound if the presentation isn’t completed and the presentation will need to end. The next presenter will then come to the stage. There is no time for question and answer.
Slide format
Presenters don’t need to use presentation slides, but most do. Ideally these should be in Powerpoint format with a 16:9 ratio slide. The file needs to be provided well before the presentation, at a minimum 1 day before. These slides will then be loaded onto the laptop in advance and checked they work.
If you wish to use your own laptop and/or use a different presentation format or ratio (traditional default is 4:3), you need to test it beforehand and for using your own laptop, ensure you have the necessary connectors (usually VGA).
Filming, tweeting & photos
Ignite style talks are normally recorded on video. If you don’t want this, make it clear ahead of time to the video team and re-confirm to the Ignite support person. If there is something you don’t want on video, mention it just before/after you say it so it can be removed. If you don’t want people to tweet what you say or to take photos of slides, also mention that.
The video team will put a lapel microphone on you separate from the room microphone.
Progression
The ECF organiser/facilitator and Ignite support person will determine the order of the Ignite talks. Know what order you are in and be ready to go to the stage as the previous presenter is finishing. The ignite support person will load your presentation. You are responsible for your own introduction as you will simply be given the stage. After you finish, the next presenter will need to take the stage and the Ignite support person will load their presentation.
Beyond the Ignite
If you want people to contact you or wish to talk about the presentation with others, include how in the first slide (e.g. Twitter handle) and last slide (e.g. open space, Twitter handle, email address) of your presentation.
by Duane Raymond
Any questions?
Berlin Campaign Forum is a joint initiative of:
We’d love to hear from you! Just shoot us a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
wegewerk GmbH
Saarbrücker Str. 24 / Haus A
10405 Berlin
Germany
Do you want to sponsor this year’s BCF?
Here’s all you need to know.
Interested in volunteering to help run the event in exchange for a free place?
Want to join the Berlin Campaign Forum but don’t have the budget or can’t afford it? Why not volunteer?
Each year we have a team of volunteers to help ensure the event runs smoothly, drawn from the ECF community itself. It’s a great way of making sure that the facilitators really understand the event, and the participants’ needs, and of enabling people to attend who couldn’t otherwise.
The roles
Team members need to be willing to muck in with whatever needs doing, from photocopying and moving chairs upwards, but we usually allocate each team member one or more focus tasks, such as:
contributing to the Berlin Campaign Forum conference pages
collating and checking presentations and supporting presenters for a particular stream
taking photos and compiling an audio-visual slideshow for the closing session
supporting the open space agenda-setting
capturing outputs
Team members need to be available to attend the full conference, arriving noon on the first day (Tuesday, Nov 7, event start 18:30) to help with set up through to the end of last day’s closing session.
In return you get:
the chance to come! (We do our best to make sure volunteers get to as many sessions as possible, tasks permitting.)
meals
accommodation on site if you need it.
Selection criteria
We want to offer the chance to attend BCF to those who couldn’t otherwise attend. We prioritise:
Applicants from very small organisations with little or no training budgets
Students/ interns with some relevant experience
Activists who campaign on a voluntary basis
Freelancers
How to apply
If you’d like to apply, please send us (contact@campaignforum.eu) a CV (or link to a LinkedIn profile or similar) and a SHORT statement (no more than 300 words) covering:
Why do you want to attend BCF?
What do you think you could contribute?
Any specific relevant skills and experience (We’re especially interested in photography, video, writing, Powerpoint-wrangling, WordPress-wrestling, Storify-subjugation, running unconference/Open Space format events)
Whether any of the event streams are of particular interest to you
Why do you need to come as a volunteer team member?
Whether you will need accommodation. (If we have volunteers who are local/can arrange their own place to stay we may be able to expand the team.)
Applications ASAP, but 30 days before event latest
Open space / un-conference style
Open space (aka un-conference) sessions are participants proposed and led session which attract the right people to learn from the amazing conversations.
Unlike traditional start-to-finish speaker-led events, in open space events it is designed to help you meet peers, find those with shared interests, exchange experience and fulfill your own learning needs.
Open space events work by:
People showing up with the right mix of attitude for sharing and expertise on the topics
Participants setting the agenda at the start of the event by proposing topics they wish to discuss.
Participants quickly discover who is interested in the same topics and these topics are assigned to a time and space to have the discussion
The repeat for other topics and add new agenda topics every few rounds.
Based on the idea of speed dating, this session gives companies and agencies the chance to pitch their service or product in just 5 minutes to small groups of participants.
Plenary speakers provoke and challenge us with innovative ideas and practices ranging from case studies to the latest research. They present to all participants.
Peer Presentations
Prepared presentations or workshops to a self-selecting group of participants led by a Campaigning Forum participant(s).
Ignite Talks
Multiple rapid 7-minute presentations to all participants at the end of each day. Prepared and delivered by participants.
90-minute interactive workshops prepared and delivered by participants to a self-selecting group of participants.
Pitch your services to Campaigning Forum participants in 5 minute bursts over drinks
Attending the Berlin Campaign Forum is a great way to connect with peers and potential clients and showcase your expertise through the contributions you make in the small group sessions.
Many of the agencies who participated in the past found the event to be a fantastic way of getting to know the sector, potential clients and issues they grapple with. However, a space in the programme was needed for them to talk about their company and services as well as how they can help not-for-profits and union participants with campaigning, fundraising or technology.
That’s is why we introduced a special ‘speed pitching’ session before dinner on day 1 to give sponsors and other service providers the chance to quickly showcase what they have to offer in a fun, high-energy format.
Based on the idea of speed dating, this optional pre-dinner session gives you the chance to pitch your service or product in just 5 minutes to small groups of participants. Groups will move around the room to catch as many pitches as they can in just one hour. It will be loud, it will be chaotic, and it will be fun.
You’ll get table space and wall space or flip chart, you can bring a laptop or tablet, but your pitch is up to you. We’ll lay on the drinks and the crowd control(ish).
Who can join? How much is it?
The Berlin Campaign Forum sponsors and hosts wegewerk and FairSay will be there. If you’d like to join them, just tick the box for speed pitching in your application or contact us. Participation costs 90€ which we’ll use to help cover the room hire and drinks.
It works well because it provides a great chance for suppliers to connect with clients without disrupting the peer-led ethos of the event.
Guidance for promoting an ECF event to your contacts and networks.
What is the Campaigning Forum?
The Campaigning Forum is the annual gathering of the world’s leading campaigners, fundraisers and communicators campaigning for social change in the digital age.
The focus is on campaignING, not campaignERs because campaigning is something that involves multiple disciplines and contributions to succeed!
Originally called the eCampaigning Forum (aka ECF), when the focus was on getting campaigners to use digital for campaigning, the emphasis switched to campaigning because digital is now so ubiquitous and will be part of the conversation anyway, while campaigning remains a discipline in need of constant adaptation, new challenges, new approaches, etc. It has thus outgrown this ‘e’ label since good campaigning also involves digital and fundraising (and good fundraising and digital work involves campaigning).
Organised annually since 2002. It has inspired the creation of other events like re:campaign in Germany, Fwd in Australia, Camp16.nl in Netherlands and ECF Europe in Berlin and Vienna.
Organised with the highly popular and effective ‘open space’ methodology (aka unconference, bar camp and more) for peer knowledge exchange.
The main gathering of the global ECF community (3,600 members and growing daily)
Who should participate?
The profile ECF event and community will appeal to most it:
campaigners (and campaigning managers)
fundraisers (and fundraising managers)
volunteer managers
digital managers
digital communicators
digital innovation/strategy
ECF events it can host up to 140 participants.
Promotion planning tips
What: Decide if you wish to promote thewhole event or a specific stream(campaigning, fundraising, digital leadership or future forum).
Where: Single-ask emails work best, everything else (email newsletter, Twitter, Facebook posts, LinkedIn) less so. But using them all is the best approach as it reinforces the promotion across multiple digital channels.
Tracking: Will you use the same tracking for everything or track each channel. Just adapt the code in the table below (?s=TAG). For example using ?s=Care2 to track everything the same or ?s=Care2_FB for tracking Care2 Facebook posts.
When: The normal rate (£550) ends 30 days before the first day and the late-rate (£650) starts 30 days before the first day – so promoting it before that would be most effective. There is also limited on-site accommodation.
Key asks
ASK
SHORT LINK
TRACKED LINK
Join ECF 2022
https://fairsay.com/ecf
https://fairsay.com/ecf?s=TAG
Join the ECF community
https://fairsay.com/ecflist
https://fairsay.com/ecflist?s=TAG
Spread the word about ECF 2022 and the ECF community
as above
as above
* For tracking, replace TAG with a tag identifying your promotion.
Key points
People come to ECF first and foremost because of the participants (listed on the ECF 2022 page). So be sure to provide a link to ‘who else is participating’
People justify the budget to managers based on the agenda and speakers so also include a link (on ECF 2022 page).
Video clips from past participants are provided on the ECF 2022 page (YouTube hosted) if you wish to share those
If they are interested but can’t join the event, suggest they:
Join the ECF community email list
Tell others about the event and community
Sample copy to adapt
Factual style – example 1
Subject:I think you’ll like this event | Headline:ECF 2022: the event for NGO digital knowledge sharing
Have you heard of ECF 2022? It is one of the most eagerly anticipated annual events for campaigning, digital and fundraising professionals. This year is is Mar 31-Apr 1 in Oxford, UK. The event is special because only experienced people can (see the participant list so far at https://fairsay.com/ecf) go and it had a large focus on experience sharing with only a few participant presentations, panels and speakers. You can see more at https://fairsay.com/ecf
If you wish to go, decide soon – on-site accommodation is limited and the price goes up March 1.
If you can’t make it, at least join the global ECF community (3,800 and growing daily) for active discussion on achieving campaigning and fundraising with digital media. See more at https://fairsay.com/ecflist
Finally, just because you can’t go, your colleagues and other not-for-profit sector contacts might be able to – so do forward this email to them.
Factual style – example 2
Subject: ECF 2020 event for not-for-profit innovators and agitators
OnMar 31 – Apr 1 in OxfordI’m organising the annual (since 2002) eCampaigning Forum (ECF 2020) event. It brings together campaigners, fundraisers, digital professionals, communicators and more from the UK and around the world (literally). You cansee the current participant list.
Social and digital innovation and impact is at the heart of the ethos of the event. It is run on the open space (aka unconference) methodology with only a few presentations /speakers/panels which allows for more connecting and knowledge sharing like happens online with the ECF community.
Emotive/storytelling style (written by Rachel Collinson)
Subject:The best piece of advice I ever ignored
One of my favourite tutors at art college recently died of Ovarian cancer. She was a brilliant lady who passed away far too young.
I miss her.
One of the many reasons I mourned her passing was that she was genuinely dedicated to the success of her students. Since attending other institutions, I’ve realised this is actually a rarer quality than I would like.
Not long after the beginning of my course in Graphics, she gathered everybody in my class around her – about 35 of us – in our 1990s lumberjack shirts and baggy jeans. She said a strange thing. At least, to the arrogant teenager I was then, it sounded odd:
“You will learn just as much from each other as you will from me, so make sure you keep coming in to the studio.”
Nonsense, I thought. You have so much more experience and we are all just starting. How can you say that?
So, alas, I didn’t pay heed, and studied alone for much of the time. I did alright in my degree, but certainly felt estranged from the folk who did follow her advice. Many of them got jobs as soon as they finished their degree. Two of them ended up as design rockstars, zipping from celeb bash in New York to poolside party in Los Angeles.
The time came to make up for my error when a charming client badgered me to come along to the ECF Conference. “It’s brilliant!” he said. “Most of what I know about how nonprofits should do digital, I learned there.” I was a little excited but also skeptical. He nagged me about it so much that eventually I relented and decided to investigate.
When I looked at the agenda, I was not sure if I could leave my team alone for a whole two days, and requested special permission just to be there for one. The organiser, Duane Raymond, called me up and said “This is a pretty extraordinary conference. You really need to be there for the whole time to make the best of it.” I laughed and said “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m a creative type. I’m used to this sort of thing.” Duane, accommodating chap that he is, agreed to make an exception for me.
A couple of hours in to ECF, however, I realised that I had made a big mistake. Not because I didn’t get it – but because I got it too well. I immediately wanted as much time there as I could.
Why? This conference is one where all participants make up the agenda as they go along. Each morning, we gather and decide on the things we want to learn about from each other. We end up with something like a smorgasbord of learning, all ad hoc.
I was enthralled by the intelligence, varied experience and knowledge that comprised each session. All this from people who wouldn’t usually get to a conference podium for even ten seconds.
Pages of notes were flying out of my fingers. I had a stack of business cards several inches high. My head felt full of shiny new ideas. I even made new friends.
I’ve been back every year since.
I strongly encourage you to attend the conference that has given me so many opportunities and skills. To learn from other people in the same situation as you.
https://www.fairsay.com/ecf
See you there?
For a newsletter article
Headline: 2020 eCampaigning Forum (ECF): Mar 31 – Apr 1, Oxford
Join 140 campaigning, fundraising, volunteering and digital innovators and thought leaders for this annual 2-day knowledge sharing event. With the agenda organised around participant connecting and sharing you get inspired, learn and network more effectively than any other sector event. The big issues this year are likely to be preparing for after the UK election, integrating fundraising with campaigning and getting online supporters volunteering.
Link: https://fairsay.com/events/ecf?s=tre
Headline:ECF 2020: 2-day event for digital not-for-profits
Heard of ECF? It has been an annual event since 2002, bringing together experienced not-for-profit campaigners, fundraisers and communicators from around the world to share experiences about using digital media for achieving change. It has influenced the last decade of digital campaigning and now has space for more people. find our more at https://fairsay.com/ecf
Supporting images
These images can be downloaded and used for web pages, social media sharing, etc.
Do you want to sponsor this year’s BCF?
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