Open Tech Calendar

An event for every citizen

"The Govt is not coming to save you!" is one of the harshest post modern realities for our new world. We are often overwhelmed, depressed and individually isolated. In our (Virtual) workplaces, organisations and society, the need for change is greater now that ever. But then we see radical new technologies that help us align quickly, Extinction Rebellion really putting the climate change agenda "In our faces", and armies of local people who organise day to day, responding to Covid-19 challenges. We see the power of people.

“It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.” This quote from steve jobs, made back in the days of the original Mac development team, says a lot about how Steve viewed people and selected them for teams. It also speaks to the kind of team and team behavior he admired. By seeking out the pirates, Steve took the idea a big step further.

The question is: how do you navigate effectively and seize the opportunities without capsizing your crew? How do you stay true to your course, when everything is up in the air?

Alex Barker, from Be More Pirate will host this session and share everything she's learned about being radical, agile, fair, and collaborative both from the heroes of the Golden Age of Piracy, and the movement that has come as a result of the book.

Learning Style and Outcomes for this event :-
Alex's session will be a blend of stimulus followed by questions and provocations to be discussed in breakout rooms. (You have the right to opt out of this if you are uncomfortable with this type of learning)

It will center around the key themes in Be More Pirate, with updated source material from Alex and Sam's new title 'How to Be More Pirate' : a practical, 'field guide' to pirating, based on real case studies from within their network.

You will learn about 'the mutiny mindset', why it's necessary to question, challenge, and eventually break rules, and how to strike the right balance between challenge and cooperation.
We'll explore why pirate codes are a genuinely useful form of governance especially in a crisis, with modern examples to show how they support decision making, and build strong organisational culture.
We'll look at how to cultivate radical thinking, explore 'forbidden' territory at the edges of the map, and introduce the idea that 'different' might be the very thing that saves you.
We'll dive into the concept of building a strong 'crew'; why it differs from a plain old team or a tribe, and why crews were so essential to Pirates' success.

You will leave, hopefully, motivated and believing that you have both the agency and the responsibility to take some action to create a better world, armed with a clear first step to kick-start your creative rebellion.

There will be a Q&A session to allow you to ask Alex questions. The event will be recorded and be part of the Future of Work In Scotland's body of knowledge. Stewards will be available if you need help or feel unsafe and you can call for assistance/support at anytime.

Bio
Alex is a rising star and a woman to watch! She spoke in Edinburgh last year at the University Business School and is an amazing, inspiring speaker, teacher and fire-starter! She has a charismatic, challenging and questioning style that will make you want to join the pirate rebellion and do something to fix this broken world!

She works alongside Sam Conniff, author of the bestselling book Be More Pirate. She leads their growing network of modern 'pirates' and is currently writing a follow up book 'How to: Be More Pirate' that explores the most interesting and inspiring stories from the movement. Previously, Alex worked as communications manager at the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) and has many years experience supporting social entrepreneurs, building networks and doing research into social change.