/Journal
09. UX Camp Europe
Festival & Workshops
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
In June 2022, I was invited to shoot for UX&I GmbH at UX Camp Europe, which is held annually at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in Adlershof.
Actually, UX Camp Europe was previously held annually at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in Adlershof, except that in 2020 and 2021, due to pretty realistic health concerns over holding large-scale public events, it had to be cancelled. And so, in 2022, UX professionals from across Germany (and the world) travelled to Berlin, having waited over two years to do so.
As you can imagine, there was an unignorable excitement in the air.
Each day at UX Camp was structured similarly. First, in the morning, everyone gathered in the large lecture hall to pitch workshops they would host that day. A show of hands from the audience indicated how much space was needed for each workshop (a small show of hands equalled a regular classroom - a flourish of hands equalled a lecture hall). The workshops were then categorised, assigned a time and location, and integrated into the schedule for the day. Topics ranging from soil depletion to mental health were pitched to the crowd. No subject matter, or person, was unwelcome.
There was also no hierarchy to be found at UX Camp. Everyone was both teacher and student, simultaneously. And perhaps because of this quality, or perhaps because some guests had waited two years to attend the event, there was an acknowledged feeling across the weekend of equality, respect and gratitude.
It was such a pleasure to be present at UX Camp Europe this year and to document the many workshops, lectures and interactions I saw. For the participants of the camp, the waiting period of over two years was over. They were finally able to re-connect, share and learn once more.
