Who

A group of women from all over, but incidentally in Amsterdam at the time, made train trip to Brussels one day, on their way to a feminist tech event. The year was 2001. One said, "I have an amazing idea." The rest raised their unplucked eyebrows with curiosity, remembering the last idea she'd dreamed up had lead to the creation of the Gender Changer Academy....

Since 2001, the network of women who help organize the Eclectic Tech Carnival or /ETC as it is also known, has grown both far and wide. We are geographically some-what diverse and have varied expertise in computing, technology, art and activism, so you can see we are an eclectic bunch. Since the northern summer of 2002, we (or some subset of the collective) have successfully organized an Eclectic Tech Carnival every year.

What

A get-together to exchange computer related skills, ideas and art. By women and for women.

Why

To connect, network and socialize in real life. The global village has come at the price of community. We are interested in tech things and like to play with it. We know there are other women who are also interested. There is little opportunity for us to get together. And there is even less open space for women to learn new skills. It is especially hard for those with little resources to make a start.

We want to change that!

We want to help women feel confident enough to 'hack' their own way into northern and male dominated, digital, tech society. We can do it!

We want to share with other women what we know and think about Free Software and Open Standards.

Why the name /ETC?

Well, /etc is a directory in the file system Linux uses. All the important configuration files are found in this directory. We asked ourselves, "If we were part of the Linux file system, what would we be?" The /etc directory seemed the best place for a fun event filled with women from all walks of life, interested in tecnology. Hence, the Eclectic Tech Carnival or /ETC for short was born.

Where

In 2007 there were two /ETCs: one in Linz, Austria in collaboration with Servus and MAIZ, and one in Salvador, Brazil in collaboration with G2G.

The /ETC 2006 was held in Timisoara, Romania in collaboration with h.arta (a group of three artists) and D Media (NGO for independent media).

The /ETC 2005 was held in Graz, Austria in collaboration with ESC - http://esc.mur.at/.

The /ETC 2004 took place in Belgrade, Serbia in collaboration with Zena na delu (Women@work).

The /ETC 2003 was held in Athens, Greece.

The /ETC 2002 was held in Pula, Croatia.

How

We are all volunteers. We rely on donations and accept them with glee ;-) In the past we have received funding from HIVOS, MamaCash, Global Fund for Women and the Linz City Council.

The project is a collective action. We think computers and technology are not only vital tools in today's world, but also a lot of fun. We want it to be fun for those who come to the event. If you would like to come to the carnival or to facilitate a workshop, please contact us or fill out our registration form.

By using and teaching others to use Free Software and Open Standards we have more freedom and control over our work and projects in whatever we do, be it activism, art or technology or a combination thereof.

We believe that to be independent of the experts and so called authority figures you need to be auto-didactic and DIY. Learn to fix your own bicycle, car and computer. In fact women are already very technical. They use sewing machines, weave, spin and knit.

There will be communication barriers, a good metaphor for ICT sector. We will become Information and Communication Tweakers in order to break these barriers.

By asking what women want and what they have to offer we strive to be inclusive. Please contact us if you are interested in the carnival.

It will be okay to break things.

It will be exhausting.

Join Us!