#openEpic 2016
The 14th edition of ePIC conference will take place in Bologna (Italy), on October 26th to 28th 2016. For the first time it will be co-organized by Bestr and Cineca together with the conference leaders Serge Ravet - also member of Bestr steering committee di Bestr - and Don Presant.
Up to date information can be found on the website openepic.eu; conversations take place on Twitter's @openEpic profile and #openepic hashtag. The beautiful and new Opificio Golinelli, a "citadel for knowledge and culture", will be the ideal location to reflect about innovation.
ePIC Conference was born in 2003 as a focus on ePortfolio.
Besides starting a dialogue to bring together the various european and international initiatives on ePortfolio, it was meant to analyze the fundaments, the functionalities, the implications and possible evolutions of this technology, with special reference to its innovative potential for education, learning and social context.
As years and editions passed, ePIC Conference held onto a dynamic identity, capable of including in its scope many emerging technologies and themes showing the potential to activate reflections and innovation processes: digital identities, trust and relations as an internet of subjects, standards for technological - and not only technological - interoperability, Open Badges.
A distinctive character of the ePIC Conference is the ability to start from very specific innovative technologies and relate them with wider social themes: how education is made, what it means to be active citizens, how it is possible to build our society and make it better. Thus it is possible to keep a tight and deep focus on technology, without forgetting its human applications and implications.
A specialistic conference, with a wide civic glance: this is the ambition of ePIC 2016, with the goal of opening up, and to use technology to open up new potentials.
OpenEpic 2016 has an international Advisory Committee and its audience is made of those working with education, educational technology, human resources, social entrepreneurship, social activism, hacking. OpenEpic 2016 is for those using, experimenting with or willing to experiment with Open Badge, Blockchains, Personal Ledgers, ePortfolio; it is to share projects, get to know ongoing projects, find new partners.
The program will be published later on, meanwhile and until June 27th it is possible to submit an abstract on Open Badges, Personal Ledgers, Identities, Trust or Blockchains and how these can contribute in evolving education, lifelong learning, the workplace, culture, healthcare, cities, governments, markets, etc.
More inspiration can be found in the conference themes and context. Academic contributions (papers, short papers, posters) and especially workshops and hands-on activities are welcome: even the usual presentations will be presented with an innovative method aimed at encouraging interaction with the public and active listening.