OxfordJam exists as a direct result of the ambition and goodwill of all who attend. It is truly a crowd-sourced event. And when we say ‘crowd-sourced’ – we mean it! Without exception, all programmed content was proposed by participants. We can take no credit. The OxfordJam team simply list it online so attendees can decide in advance which sessions are important to them, and which are less so.

So how does it work?
Well, first we ask you to select your sessions online so we can manage numbers and allocate different sized sessions the right spaces. You don’t have to book in advance strictly speaking, but it sure makes our job easier if you can!

Register for OxfordJam LIVE, our online community by clicking here. You’ll then be able to set up a profile, meet other attendees online and set up one to one meetings with them, view the schedule and book in to sessions and start and contribute to group discussions.

The next thing to note is that the entire event is free to attend. You can make a donation here (and we’ll love you forever if you do!) but, again, you don’t have to. If you want to contribute a session however, then you do have to stick your hand in your pocket and pay up for the privilege. We recognise this turns traditional conference dynamics on their head somewhat, but that’s no accident. We think our attendees’ attention and the quality of their experience and interaction is worth every penny.

You can walk-in, walk-out, take your pick of sessions and engage with people at your own time and pace. We’re not here to shepherd you around your own event. We have the whole venue from early in the morning to late at night during which time it’s your space – so make of it what you will…

Every session contributor is under strict instructions to be inclusive and run their sessions in a participatory manner. Hold them to this. There is no space for podium moments at OxfordJam, except at our infamous cabaret! But more on this in a moment…

OxfordJam is a space for collision. No, that doesn’t mean being a klutz and bumping into your fellow participants! It means you’re attending because you value impromptu conversations over structured lectures and reading between the lines rather than repeating rote-style. From its inception OxfordJam has valued serendipity and the space in-between, so relax, kick back, and enjoy hanging out with something rather more than your average set of conference participants…

A few more things…
We know you’re raring to go, but first a couple more very important points. OxfordJam is a gift economy. The event is made or broken by what people contribute and how receptive you are to helping others. Please bear this in mind throughout the three days. The Old Fire Station is an important part of this gift economy as they are providing the venue. It has to work for them financially so please keep yourself well fed and watered at their fully stocked bar and restaurant while you are here!

Last, but by no means least, we hope you will be able to join us at the legendary OxfordJam Cabaret, running on both Wednesday and Thursday nights. It simply cannot be missed! Your presence is requested as audience AND as performer so if you have a skill or talent that’ll entertain your friends and colleagues, (or a friend or colleague whose talent you know would entertain us!), then please make yourself known to the OxfordJam team.

If you are interested in participating then we have two ways for you to get involved this year, other than just coming along!

You can run a session or contribute to The Marketplace.

Run a session

If you want to run a session then please provide us with a few details to ensure it fits with OxfordJam:

1. An outline of your proposed session.  A punchy title and a few sentences is all we need;
2. OxfordJam is participative and interactive with no space for lecturing, ‘podium moments’ or Powerpoint!  Briefly explain how your session will fit with this ethic and what you will do to make your session really engaging;
3. A short biography of each contributor and contributing organisation (one paragraph is fine!);
4. When would you like your session to take place.  We have sessions running from Wednesday lunchtime into the early evening; throughout the day on Thursday; and Friday until lunchtime; and
5. How many participants you aim to attract.

Contribute to The Marketplace

Last year we noticed that an awful lot of people had something to offer or were looking to meet a particular need they had.  So this year we are opening The Marketplace to match these offers to needs, and vice versa.  We’ll have a large space dedicated to The Marketplace and we hope to fill it with all manner of Market-y type activities.  So if you:

• Have a product or service to offer;
• A need that needs to be met; or
• Want to run an activity (such as a business card exchange, live pitching, speed dating, etc)

then get in touch.  Drop us a line by email with:

1. Your contact details;
2. A short biography of your organisation / project; and
3. A couple of paragraphs outlining how you see yourself involved in the Marketplace.

Other info we need

As per previous years all contributors make a financial donation to OxfordJam.  This allows the event to be free and completely open access to all participants.  So finally please let us know what level of financial donation would you or your organisation will make in order to run a session or contribute to The Marketplace (we suggest £25-£500 depending on your turnover.  You decide!).

We hope this will encourage contributors to take responsibility for their own promotion by engaging their networks to guarantee strong attendance at sessions.

Let us know the above details as soon as possible so we can review your proposed session and work with you to make sure it’s a great fit to OxfordJam in 2012 and a fantastic success!

We look forward to seeing you March 28^th – 30^th in Oxford.

All the best,

The Oxford Jam Team

Ada currently studies Environment and Sustainable Development in the UK, exploring ways to integrate green issues into development agenda. In addition, she is proactively looking for mechanisms and innovations to induce philanthropic and private investment for social good; at OxfordJam’11 in particular, she hopes to connect with like-minded individuals, learn from experienced social entrepreneurs, and introduce impact investors with great opportunities to make a difference in the Southeast Asia region. :)

So if you are attending OxfordJam and want a taste of what Skoll has to offer then check out their ticket offering here.

Description:
Drawing inspiration from the hit TV show, ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’, our closing session will use improvisation, humour and games to explore what’s next for OxfordJam, session contributors and participants alike, and the wider world of social entrepreneurship..

Join us in closing OxfordJam for 2011. Expect the unexpected. Demand the impossible. Dream the future. Laugh. Have a drink and get ready for the weekend…

Booking:

Rachel has 9 years of business experience spanning the consumer goods, property, financial services, ICT and design industries and worked for companies including Orange, GuestInvest and CapGemini. She has worked for 5 years on sustainable business in the UK and Sydney, Australia. Prior to ICAEW she worked at Futerra Sustainability communications, where she led projects for clients including L’Oreal and the London Development Agency.

She speaks regularly at events, recently including the TBLI investor salon, Carbon Trust Standard, KPMG, Environment Agency road show on the Carbon Reduction Commitment, the ICAEW SME conference and the ESRC sponsored seminar series ‘When worlds collide: contested paradigms of corporate social responsibility’. She is secretary of the ICAEW CR Committee and sits on a Green Futures Social Entrepreneurship Advisory Group for Unltd*.

Rachel is an experienced convener and facilitator on sustainability issues and has led roundtables on issues including; ‘Tomorrow’s Global Company’ report for UK Finance Directors; on David MacLeod’s independent review on employee engagement for BIS; how to embed sustainability into the ACA qualification for ICAEW members; and for The Finance Innovation Lab she has led a work stream looking at how the Lab can communicate about its work effectively, faciliated at the internalising externalities workstream and at Lab Assemblies.

Experienced in academic writing and trained in Research Methods and market research Rachel has a BA in Psychology, an MA in Marketing, specialised in CSR for which she won the Brian Francis Memorial Award and was invited to present findings at various conferences including the Academy of Marketing and European Marketing Academy in 2007.