Help Needed Main Topic Organizing PirateCon

PirateCon 2017 will be April 29th

Our PirateCon 2017 survey is done. Thanks to everyone who participated.  Based on the 22 responses, we chose April 29th as the date for PirateCon 2017.

While we know this date conflicts with the Mass Alliance campaign workshops, April 29th received the most votes and gives us a few more weeks to get the conference together.  Thankfully, Mass Alliance has other campaign workshops we hope prospective candidates will participate in. Check out the listings and their contact info at our events calendar.

We are looking for locations and would like to chose it at our February 14th IRC meeting. Ideally, we would like a space near public transit with a 100-200 seat auditorium, two to four conference rooms, a place for registration and fast wifi/ethernet. Ample parking in the area is a plus. If you know of any such places (or variations there of) that won’t bust our budget, please email us at info@masspirates.org.

PirateCon 2017 was $10/person, and we have no reason to change that. Based on the survey results, we will work on offering childcare for toddlers and older children. Children are always free, though child care may not be.

If you want to get a jump on registering, please make a donation on-line or send us a check at Massachusetts Pirate Party, PO Box 440056, Somerville, MA 02144.

We streamed the audio from PirateCon 2016, and want to expand to audio and video streaming.  We posted the 2016 audio recordings and there are some video and audio recordings from other PirateCons. Check the menu above.

The topics that got a majority of responses were: pirate strategy, net neutrality, open government, organizing, running campaigns, surveillance and countersurveillance, and proposing local legislation. While we will focus on these topics, we will have an hour or more of lightning talks where conference members can speak on other topics.

One proposed workshop would walk participants through using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to open up government. Between Massachusetts having some of the worst FOIA laws and the new presidential administration, FOIA will be a vital tool to have at the ready.

If you wish to help or you have any suggestions for site locations, speakers or panelists or child care providers, please email us at info@masspirates.org.

The survey results and suggested topics are listed below:

How long should PirateCon last?

The usual one day is fine 12
Saturday & Sunday 10
Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday 5

When Should we hold PirateCon?

Saturday, April 8th 13
Sunday, April 9th 7
Saturday, April 29th 16
Sunday, April 30th 12

Where should we hold PirateCon?

Boston, Cambridge, Somerville Area 18
Between 128 and 495 4
Route 128 belt 3
West of 495 3

How would you prefer to get to the conference?

Public transit 16
Car 10
Car to public transit 5
Bicycle 5
Bus (PeterPan, etc) 1

Where do you live?

Greater Boston 13
Western Mass. 4
South Shore 2
Worcester county 1
North Shore 1
Cape Cod & Islands 1

Should we arrange for childcare at the conference site?

Yes 10
No 9

Conference Topics

Pirate strategy 16
Net neutrality 15
Open government 15
Organizing 14
Running campaigns 14
Surveillance and countersurveillance 14
Proposing local legislation 12
Building third-party coalitions 11
Corporate power 11
Copyright 9
Filing FOIA and public records requests 8
Income inequality 7
Patents 6
The war on drugs 6
Environment 6
Minimum wage 3

Other topics participants suggested were:

  • Mass incarceration in general/its intersectional effects
  • The housing crisis in Greater Boston
  • The next four years…
  • Article 14 protections Public Banking 10th Amendment
  • Education reform
  • Women’s March outreach
  • Autonomous Democracy
  • Local legislation as democracy practice
  • ranked choice voting
  • How to encrypt all your communications (privacy for everyone)
  • Decentralized Governance with Blockchain Organizations
  • Immigration
  • Sanctuary cities as first step to self-governance
  • Practical models for self-governance
  • Chaos theory perspective of governance models
  • Crypto how to
  • Big Banksters
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