We now have sufficient presentations of general interest to a hackerspace for our 2023 Hax festival on April 1, 2023.
We're still looking to add a few more information security presentations.
Our infosec time block is now called Skullspace Security CSides.
Skullspace is seeking presentations/talks/speakers for the morning and afternoon of Saturday April 1, 2023.
There will be two time blocks:
Email mark@parit.ca (mailto link) or use our form by March 2nd, 2023.
Our initial batch of talks will be announced at our March 3rd event.
Skullspace is a 2,500 square foot hackerspace in downtown Winnipeg.
We are tinkers, tech adventurers, convention benders, explorers, makers, and DIYers.
These things are done in a spirit of curiosity and playful cleverness.
We work as technologists, developers, factory crews, operators, engineers, students, security gurus, technicians, tutors, business owners and much more.
Many of us have musical bents as instrumentalists, DJs, producers and explorers of new soundscapes. Some of us are obsessive gamers of either the video and/or table-top kind. We pursue the dream of a "manufacture anything" future with our 3D printers and low-cost CNC machine, among many other hobbies.
Through all of this we live and breath the fictional motto to "hack the planet!"
We celebrate that "hack", "hacker" and "hacking" have been reclaimed from the meaning acquired in the 1980s and 1990s through War Games, The Morris Worm, etc.
I have seen grocery store signs proclaim that I should consider "food hacks". A McDonalds menu urges to me come up with a "menu hack".
And these usages are correct. We are back full circle to the 1950s where the contemporary meaning came from folks trying to find the next great "hack" to run model trains with telephone relays. Our diverse hackerspace is a continuation of that tinkerer culture, 70+ years onward.
In this spirit, we are pleased to announce that our fourth Hax ("hacks") festival will run Friday March 31st through Sunday April 2nd, 2023. We will condense the hackerspace experience into an entire weekend.
For the morning and afternoon of Saturday April 1st, (April Fools day!) we are calling for presentations/talks of general interest to our broad hackerspace community.
Come tell us what you (or someone else) bent, broke, built, rebuilt or "hacked".
This covers a wide range of possibilities. We particularly want to hear new and diverse voices.
If you have something to say about the narrower (but very interesting!) world of infosec ("cybersecurity"), we've got a special place for that too. An organizer of The Long Con (formerly B-Sides Winnipeg) will curate a block of security-focused talks to cap off our Saturday.
This will bring back a taste of that popular event (last held 2018) and herald its possible future return.
We know that your time is valuable. That is why we are pleased to once again offer honouria to our speakers.
It's understandable that not everyone can make it to our classroom to share their knowledge and experience with our festival audience live and in-person. Submissions of remote talks, delivered from anywhere over video conference are welcome. We will exhibit these teleconferences to our live classroom audience where our sound system, projector and monitor will make you seen and heard. We'll permit a cyber audience to join-in to your remote talk.
Please submit your talk proposals by email to mark@parit.ca (mailto link) or use our Google Form (Google account not required) by March 2nd, 2023.
Do this before Thursday March 2nd, 2023 as we will announce our lineup on Friday March 3rd.
If you're not in a position to submit a presentation proposal, consider referring us to someone who may. We'll embrace every referral we receive.
If you're in a position to direct referral efforts in many directions, consider prioritizing voices that are under-represented in hackerspaces: specifically women, indigenous persons, visible minorities, persons with disabilities and queer folk.
April 1st will be here in no-time. We look forward to gathering and meeting so many new people.
Mark Jenkins
Lead organizer
Skullspace Hax festival