Michigan OER Virtual Summit

Over the course of 16 years, the Open Education Conference ("OpenEd") evolved into the largest North American-based conference for open education advocates and practitioners. In 2020, everything changed when the conference was left to the community to organize and a pandemic moved the event online for the first time.

Thanks to the dedication of hundreds of community members, #OpenEd20 was held virtually in November 2020. The event was supported by a 2-year interim organizing team built from the ground-up with input from the field. With many lessons learned, the team is gearing up to organize the conference again in 2021.

But what happens after 2021? That part has yet to be decided—and you are invited to help! Between now and September 2021, OpenEd is going through a strategic planning process to reimagine what its role in the field should be, and how to redesign itself sustainably with the values of diversity, equity and inclusion at the core.

This session invites attendees to participate in a conversation about the future of convenings in the open education field, and the place the OpenEd might occupy within it. We are particularly interested in adding new voices to the process and welcome those with all levels of experience in open education. Led by members of the strategic planning team, the session will seek to share some of our lessons learned, listen to the perspectives of others, and shape ideas together that can help chart the future of OpenEd.