Analysis: What feeling is City Camp Atlanta trying to create?
The event of CityCamp Atlanta was designed as an un-conference to promote an environment of collaboration among community members. This was meant to help brainstorm and implement innovative solutions to many of the problems faced at a local civic level. Consisting of and welcoming a wide range of volunteers from people such as residents, entrepreneurs, and technologists to even elected official events and government members, CityCamp Atlanta 2025 serves as the perfect outlet for many of these great minds to put together their creative capacity and develop their own attendee-led agenda and program for the improvement of the local community. However, due to the nonprofit nature of Civic Tech Atlanta, which was the main host for the event, various aspects of the event could be improved upon in the future to fully ensure that the event reaches as wide an audience as possible, and truly creates the collaborative atmosphere it seeks to deliver. While initially three were planned, interviews were conducted towards both a volunteer and an organizer and it was clear that certain things could have helped spur morale and improve the way attendees had felt about the event in general. While it was nice that this event fostered an environment that boosted a sense of community, it was clear from the interviews that motivation could have been lacking at times, especially due to the less-than-ideal organization and decreased sense of motivation from the extremely long event timing, shedding light on a new path that could ensure future events don’t fall victim to the same shortcomings.
Feelings from this event can be described as revisiting and motivated towards a common cause or causes. Multiple people agreed that after participating in the event it feels as though there is a purpose towards a greater mission at hand. Coming into the event before any action has taken place, how do people feel?
“Walking into the room, there were a bunch of tables, with papers with ideas, and people talking in clusters… all the post-it notes with ideas… It was cool to arrive and kind of already be in the middle of the action.” – Henah Valez
Upon signing up and registering for the event, it has been noted that 150 people signed up yet only 30 people were in attendance. It seems as though sign up was not as widespread as people expected. The post-registration emails sent to attendees about the specifics of the event were rather lengthy which may have deterred people from attending. In addition, it was also noted upon registration that the event could take up to eight hours. As this was before the event officially began, this could have left people feeling less motivated to attend, given that the event was extensive on a Saturday morning. Those that were directly involved, such as City Hall members, were more motivated than others. However, in order to get as many people that volunteer to attend, it may be beneficial to either shorten the email into multiple emails that would be sent throughout the weeks leading up to the event or possibly shortening the timeframe of the event, breaking it into quarterly sessions instead of annually. Now for those that did sign up and attend the event felt very serious upon entry. Being the event was hosted at a City Hall, people could feel as if this was a more corporate setting versus a modern laid-back and relaxed environment. Although this was an un-conference event, what does that mean to someone that has never attended a volunteer event, a conference event, or anything with a social gathering with a common cause similar to this?
“Having a set of goals on what comes out of the meeting and how, like an actual plan, on how those goals can be fostered and supported.” – Mariama N’Diaye
– Mariama N’Diaye
“I would describe this event as … Effervescent.”
Henah Valez
How can the term un-conference be better described to its attendees?
“When we have a good idea, we need some kind of pushing, or guidance, or advice…”
Mariama N’Diaye
Better Connectivity
This makes it easier to connect with the other community members. It is also worth mentioning that sometimes, people meeting each other for the first time can be very awkward with one another. In addition to being awkward and being disorganized towards un-conference at the beginning can leave people feeling weary. Now, this isn’t to say that any of this is in a negative light. Curiosity can foster innovation, however, this was a concern for a few. Entertainment was also mentioned as being a highlight of CityCamp Atlanta. Entertainment helps people feel engaged and keep the momentum going throughout the event. Examples such as the committed caricature artist and singers helped people to feel amped up and energized for this event. Though, from our interviews conducted with attendees, it was mentioned that the entertainment was lengthy, so a suggestion could be for entertainment segment pieces to be broken up and distributed evenly among the event’s timeslots. I have talked to a few people and having a 45 minute long entertainment segment kills the momentum before the innovation even takes place. Short bursts of entertainment might better suffice and keep people motivated towards the cause.
“ It truly felt like I knew that we are here to help US [ our community ]. Nobody is coming to save US “
– Henah Velez
“ … This event felt like ‘Hey, I do have an idea and I know it would be changed.’ “
– Henah Velez
Participating in the event, going from route to group, and interacting with like-minded people wanting to improve their community is a really motivating and effervescent feeling to have during the event.
Everyone can agree that once community members are participating in the event, it truly feels like everyone there is not only for a conjoined cause that they feel passionate about, but also that their voices and opinions can be heard. For those that have volunteered at many events, tour, social, and Civic community groups sometimes, after those events end, feel like the work is unable to continue or that it may be harder to pick back up where you left off. Though, many agree that after the event takes place, there is a stronger sense of bonds amongst the community. Attendees feel as though their ideas matter, and that the ideas and innovation doesn’t cease once the event ends. CityCamp Atlanta does an excellent job at conveying this feeling. It is an un-conference because you can start out with one team collaborating with ideas, overhear something in another team, and collaborate ideas with those groups as well. This is unconventional, yet serves a good purpose for a large, collaborative effort.
Due to the others being encouraged to hop from team to team, the room had a very strong feeling of community and connection. Everyone felt as if they belonged in that space, with those people, in that community– the room was full of a unified sense of belonging. Those that were volunteers felt it was natural and easy to talk about different causes. Everyone in the room had a purpose, even though they may not have known it yet. Some volunteers could be participating and have never volunteered for an event such as this, but their experience and their skill set (from their job, for instance) can be helpful in ways that they may not have thought of. Overall, the feeling of CityCamp Atlanta 2025 seemed to be exciting at a level of uncertainty due to the planning. Though, once the event started, everyone agreed that they need their cause in this matter.
All photo credit goes to Shaun Mosely with CityCampAtlanta.
Valez, Henah. Personal Interview. 9 October 2025
N’Diaye, Mariama. Personal Interview 9 October 2025
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