[hackerspaces] Hacking at Random - august 13-16 2009 - Vierhouten, NL

[Aldert Hazenberg]

Hacking at Random

   International technology & security conference. Four days of
   technology, ideological debates and hands-on tinkering.

   On August 13-16, 2009 the 20th anniversary event edition of the
   four-yearly Dutch outdoor technology-conference will take place near
   Vierhouten, NL.

What is HAR?

   Since 1989 the international community that builds the internet has
   been getting together on a series of conferences to discuss the state
   of contemporary technology, the future of it and the sociological and
   political consequences of their work. The participants vary from
   students and people with personal interests to researchers,  
scientists
   and entrepreneurs who are widely recognized as the best in their  
field.

   The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, the average level of  
knowledge
   is high and outside of the official lectures the site is buzzing with
   energy, ideas and projects. The New York Times likened the 1997  
edition
   to a "Woodstock for Hackers". We do our best to keep that atmosphere.

   When these conferences first happened twenty years ago, the internet
   was like the Wild West, a new frontier to explore. That has changed,
   virtually every household in the Western world has access to the
   internet and, just as happened in the Wild West, new questions have
   risen. Questions of governance, sustainability, integration with
   existing power structures, shortage of IP space and energy,  
censorship,
   security, etc. The notion of hacking, to use a system in a creative  
way
   that was not thought of when it was invented, has also shown to be
   applicable to fields outside of ICT technology.

Where is HAR?

   The location (+52 19' 50.02", +5 49' 27.98") is near Vierhouten, a
   small settlement in the beautiful Veluwe area renowned for its  
culinary
   industry. The former socialist youth-camp [1]de Paasheuvel provides
   some good old-fashioned Dutch [2]gezelligheid. A variety of camping
   areas will cater to our broad range of camping and non-camping
   audience: varying from secluded spots in the foliage to larger fields
   for those of you who want to cluster together to form a village.

   There is a train-station nearby, in Nunspeet. From there it is a
   10-minute drive to the festival terrain. Some form of transport from
   the station to the terrain will be arranged, but the truly  
adventurous
   among you may choose to take a hike: it is definetely within walking
   distance and the surroundings will not disappoint.

Who is HAR?

   You, me and some hundreds (if not thousands) of other like-minded
   folks. In true spirit, there will be no visitors but only volunteers.
   In order to keep costs low, expect to lend a hand here and there. You
   might be operating the A/V-equipment in one of the lecture tents,  
sweep
   the floor in the bar tent, check in visitors at the entrance or pour
   drinks at the bar. A great way to discover new talents, or develop
   those hidden ones you never suspected you had!

   Of course, there is a somewhat smaller group of madmen and women that
   will lay (and have been laying) the groundwork for another great
   edition in the year leading up to the event. This event could  
easily be
   dubbed "the next generation". Because, yes, the original crew that  
has
   been working hard on these conferences have earned a relaxing holiday
   by organising the four preceeding events. A new generation is eager  
to
   take over, and continue their legacy. Not to say that the old farts  
are
   not interested, au contraire my friends. There is a healthy mix of  
new
   blood and experienced hands currently working on the necesarry
   preparations.

   In fact, this is reflected nicely in the foundation that was set up  
to
   handle all the paperwork and other legal requirements: [3]the Hxx
   foundation. Its board is a 50/50 mix of old and new: Aldert Hazenberg
   and Mischa Peters have been involved to a great extent in all past
   events, Koen Martens made his organising debut 3 years ago on WTH and
   Mathijs Schmittmann is our new kid on the block.

   In case you are wondering "but where is Rop Gonggrijp", no fears:  
he is
   right around the corner and [4]believes we "pesky new-generation
   event-hackers" are going to do just fine. He will help out where
   possible, but more on that below.

   Of course, HAR will not be happen without huge sums of money. We have
   tried to keep ticket prices low, even in these times of financial
   crisis, so we are attracting a number of sponsors and donors. But  
don't
   worry, HAR will not be called "Yoyodyne Inc. HAR2009" even if  
Yoyodyne
   coughs up millions of euro's.

And more..

   As this is being written, the last work is undertaken on the
   ticket-webshop, which we hope to have online early december. At the
   same time, the program committee, led by the more than qualified Rop
   Gonggrijp, is preparing the call for papers and otherwise  
developing a
   solid lecture program that'll make your mouth water (even if you have
   visited every single conference between WTH and now and seen em all).

   Of course, planning has started on an in-promptu power infrastructure
   and intranet, with uplink to the interwebs. And naturally, there will
   be various foods and beverages.

Subscribe

   If you want to receive the latest news on HAR2009 as it happens, be
   sure to subscribe to the relatively low-volume announcement list.  
Send
   an email to [5]announce-subscribe at har2009.org or visit
   [6]www.har2009.org and enter your email in the subscribe form.

   Perhaps you're thinking "hey, I want to help!". If you have some time
   in the next months and are prepared to make a commitment, send an  
email
   to [7]help at har2009.org.

   The wiki is available at [8]http://wiki.har2009.org/.

   Potential sponsors can mail directly to [9]sponsoring at har2009.org.

   Press inquiries can be sent to [10]press at har2009.org.

References

  1. http://www.paasheuvel.nl/
  2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gezelligheid#Similar_words_in_other_languages
  3. http://www.stichtinghxx.nl/
  4. http://staging.har2009.org/index.php?p=73
  5. mailto:announce-subscribe at har2009.org
  6. http://www.har2009.org/
  7. mailto:help at har2009.org
  8. http://wiki.har2009.org/
  9. mailto:sponsoring at har2009.org
  10. mailto:press at har2009.org


Aldert.

-- 

Aldert J.B.P. Hazenberg
Email	: aldert at rotz.org
Phone	: voip/skype on request
IM	: several on request

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new  
discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..."

     -- Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

The fundamental problems in IT security are no longer about technology.

     -- Bruce Schneier