DIY DAYS is coming to LA on Oct 28th and we’re excited to share a new site we’ve been working on.  http://www.diydays.com

When we started DIY DAYS back in 2008, the goal was to share information and creative process within a social environment. As we prepare for what will be our 9th event, we are excited to announce a number of new additions to DIY DAYS that will focus on action.

Wicked Solutions for a Wicked Problem (WS WP) will be a center piece of the event. A wicked problem within the educational space will be targeted. WS WP is a “think tank meets hackathon” that will combine design thinking, storytelling and co-creation in an effort to move from concept to working prototype within a 48 hour period. DIY DAYS LA will close with a presentation of the prototype to a live audience.

Robot Heart Stories is an experiential educational effort that will have students in two underprivileged schools, one in Montreal and one in Los Angeles, co-creating stories that will move a robot (connected plush toy with GPS capabilities) from Montreal to Los Angeles. The project kicks off Oct 17th at the FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINÉMA and concludes on the 28th at DIY DAYS LA. The journey will be documented and the children can check in with the robot’s progress as she attempts to find her way home. The student’s stories will be brought to life by designers, illustrators and animators and copies of the children’s work will be placed in an “actual rocket” that will be making its way into space this fall. The project mixes social gaming mechanics with creative writing while at the same time enabling the students to learn using math, science, history and geography.

SPEAKERS
In our first wave of speaker announcements we’re thrilled that Henry Jenkins, Tommy Pallotta and Christy Dena will be joining us. We’ll be sharing more speaker and program details in the coming weeks.

We are still looking for interesting people and projects. So if you know of someone or something that would be an amazing addition to the event please drop us a line at work@workbookproject.com with the subject “Diy Days LA.”

TICKETS
DIY DAYS LA is free and tickets will be available on a first come first serve basis. Starting on Sept 12th you’ll be able to get them from http://diydays.com

PARTNERS
We’re proud to partner with the UCLA Library as one of their Open Access Week events. Open Access Week is a global event, now in its 5th year, promoting Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research. UCLA is giving us access to their amazing Charles E. Young Research Library which has recently been renovated.

CINEMA SPEAKEASY PRESENTS ‘SHOW & TELL”
In a special section of DIY DAYS we’ll be highlighting amazing innovative work. We’ve teamed with Cinema Speakeasy to put on a “show & tell” that will give creators of film, games, music, design projects, immersive experiences and anything else that deals with storytelling a space to show. Space is limited so make sure to contact us early. For more details check out http://diydays.com/2011/08/special-showcase

VOLUNTEERS
Last but definitely not least, we are looking for a few good women and men to help us put on the event. It’s a fun great way to meet people and network. Not to mention volunteers are what help to keep DIY DAYS free. It is the volunteers who share their time and talents that make DIY DAYS possible. We are in need of folks to help with logistics, tech, and documenting the event. If you’re interested you can find more details here http://diydays.com/volunteers

DIY Days is returning to LA on Friday October 28th for a FREE day of talks, workshops and networking. This year we’re excited to announce a collaboration with UCLA and Open Access Week. In addition to the having inspirational speakers sharing insights, we’ll also be rolling out a number of action oriented initiatives that focus on co-creation and open access.

The upcoming event in LA marks our 9th DIY Days event in less than 3 years. Big thanks to the volunteers and speakers who donate their time to help make the events free and accessible to all!

photo by mike hedge

LOOKING FOR SPEAKERS AND PROJECTS
As we pull together the program we’re looking for innovative projects and people who would make wonderful speakers. So if you know of something that you think would be a good fit please let us know. Also if there are certain topics of discussion that you feel are critical to the funding, creating, distributing or sustaining of creative work drop us a line.

We’ll also be expanding the “What are your working on / what do you need?” based on the amazing response it received at DIY Days NYC this past Spring.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS
Last but not least we’re looking for volunteers to help with logistics, shooting and technical support. If you’re interested and willing to give us some time on the 28th please let us know. The events aren’t possible without you!

Send all correspondence to work [@] workbookproject dot com with the subject “DIY Days LA.”

Tomorrow from 10am to 5pm EST we’ll be holding our 8th DIY DAYS event at the New Shool in NYC. We have an exciting lineup of talks and workshops. For those who can’t attend in person we’ll be streaming and we welcome everyone to checkout the conference dashboard .

DIY DAYS NYC is part of the WorkBook Project’s efforts to provide resources and networking to the creative community. If you’re interested in getting involved with the WorkBook Project or DIY DAYS please contact us work [@] workbookproject dot com

The Universal Record Database, otherwise known as the “definitive site for human achievement” is an interesting crowdsourced project that encourages users to share, break and tell stories around the world records they set. President and co-founder Dan Rollman shares how URDB has grown into an online and offline community.

UNIVERSAL RECORD DATABASE – DAN ROLLMAN
What do ‘Most money destroyed for profit’, the ‘Longest shhh’ and ‘Most flaxseed cracker people created in one minute’ have in common? They are all records held on Dan Rollman and Corey Henderson’s Universal Record Database, otherwise known as the ‘definitive site for human achievement’. Dan Rollman takes us through the thinking behind the project and shares how URDB has built a dedicated community.

More on URDB
www.urdb.org
http://twitter.com/urdb

RADAR featured URDB in Season 1