About margins

margins is a free one-day conference for people from marginalised backgrounds that work in/with/around technology (or hope to break into the industry!). It will be a day filled with workshops and talks that are centred around technology, inspiration and solidarity.

margins tries to provide an inclusive space for an open, honest and genuine conversation about what it means to work with/in/around technology as a person from an under-represented background.

margins will be held on the 22nd June 2019, at the University of Nottingham (UK).

Conference Format

margins is a small, informal and intimate conference that is split into two tracks that run at the same time: One for workshops and one for talks. Lunch and snacks will be provided for free. While the schedule is not finalised, margins will run from around 10am until 4pm-ish. The event is a community-event and entirely volunteer-run.

Your Audience

margins’ attendees are a mix of younger students and older adults, interested in working with/in/around technology. Most of them will be looking to either break into the industry or aiming to switch their career path to tech. In our previous conferences, we saw a diverse mix of backgrounds, interests and skill sets.

Submissions

Regardless of where you are on your personal journey or career, if you are a member of a marginalised group working with/in/around tech, please consider sending in a proposal!

• Workshop Leaders: You (and your team, maybe?) are excited about sharing technology-related knowledge! This could be very hands-on training (how to build a portfolio, how to write your own twine game), experimental (how to start with RaspberryPis) or more conceptual (how to figure your skill set out). We are looking for 40mins and 80mins workshops for ~30 people.
• Speakers: You are someone who approaches technology from a different angle. Maybe you are queering bots on Twitter, working towards an afro-futurist world or hacking tech for transparency? Maybe you are building communities and sharing resilience? Maybe tech is very personal for you and you’d like to communicate your journey? We are looking for 30-40mins talks.

All of the given examples are just examples – we welcome experimental, different and personal talks/workshops!

We especially welcome First Time Speakers – check out details for our First Time Speaker programme here!

Important Dates

• Friday, 15th May 2019: Submission closes
• Beginning of June 2019: Feedback about Acceptance!
• Week around 10th June 2019: Check-In with you
• On the day: Delivery of Talks and Workshops