The ‘Unconference’ you shouldn’t miss: The Goa Project 2014

For most start up events, it’s not common to sit in a room and watch the standard format unfold in front of you. How about an event where you mix up with like minded people, vote on the your favorite topics and discuss at the beautiful beaches of Goa? The Goa Project, launched in 2013 as a  successful experiment is back with a bang for the 2014 edition.

Entirely volunteer-run, The Goa Project is an “unconference” which aims to bring the movers and shakers across India and elsewhere in the region, to Goa for a weekend of learning, sharing and fun.

The second edition will take place on 7 and 8 February 2014 at the Stone Water Eco Resort in Goa. There are 6 unique tracks discussed at Goa – Arts & Entertainment, Geekery,  Media  & Entertainment,  Society, Design and Fringe. Apart from these tracks, there are performances and workshops to entertain the crowd.

According to the “unconference” format, the public is welcome to speak on any topic (except religion and politics), in the form of a “funnel”. Nominations are accepted where speakers provide their ideas and some background information on themselves, and are then thrown open to voting by other attendees of The Goa Project.

Each track has its own curator, who then finalizes the list of presenters and keynotes that will provide depth and breadth across that discipline, as well as hands-on experience and learning for attendees of those workshops, classes and talks. Take a look at the funnel here.

The Goa Project has launched crowdfunding  campaign on Wishberry.in to meet 10% of the event cost and has raised 1.5 lakhs within 48 hours of the launch.  In fact, the project has created a record for being the fastest campaign, beating the previous record of 4 days. The campaign has surpassed it’s target and has currently raised 354K as of today.

As the crowdfunding campaign is to meet 10% of the event cost, the volunteer team is looking out for sponsors who can support The Goa Project. If you are interested, please get in touch here.

The first edition of The Goa Project, which took place in 2013 attracted 250 participants across a wide range of disciplines – with keynotes by the likes of John Kuruvilla of Air Deccan, Vijay Nair of NH7, Shiladitya Bora of PVR Directors Rare, and Sunita Maheshwari of Teliradiology solutions. Several interesting collaborations organically grew out of the experience, with examples such as X, a movie with eleven different directors, and Menstrupedia, which found supporters and partners for their Comic book that aims to demystify menstruation for young girls.

Apart from the location, funnel process for discussions and awesome interactions,  one of the best things  about The Goa Project is the Volunteer team. The team consists of people highly reputed in their own domain who have put their best foot forward to make this happen.  Their credibility and dedication is one of the important pillars for the success of The Goa Project 2013.

Why should entrepreneurs attend this? Casual environment, great people to connect and awesome conversations are the top 3 reasons.  The Goa Project is for anyone who is looking to learn from the ‘DOERS’ , discuss ideas in an open minded environment and have fun!

Nominate yourself here for the awesome ‘unconference’ experience of your life.