Chaospatinnen on 36C3

Chaospatinnen on 36C3

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It’s that time again – the Chaos Communication Congress is coming! It may be the third time in Leipzig, but this will be many people’s first visit the Congress – perhaps even your own! Maybe you need a little help to get off to a good start.

Who are the Chaos Mentors for?

Are you a member of an underrepresented group in the hacker community, and unsure if you will feel safe and comfortable at the event? Do you have specific needs that make it more difficult to participate for you? Are you interested in topics such as privacy, security, hardware hacking, or network policies, but have so far had little-to-no connection to the community? Perhaps, you’re visiting Congress, but you have the impression that you are not one of these “hackers” and feel you don’t quite fit in?

Then we would like to welcome you to Congress and make it easier for you to get started! Feel welcome at the Chaos Communication Congress with the Chaos mentors!

You’ve come to the right place, and we would like to help you to have an exciting and beautiful stay. As a “Chaospatenkind” you get a godparent assigned and a group that suits you. Before Congress, the godparents are available for your questions, will welcome you on the first day, and explore Congress with you. Together we will find out where there are exciting workshops and talks for you, and we are there for you as a contact point if you need us. Before Congress we also act as the contact person for your questions, concerns, needs, or wishes. During Congress, we also offer a comfy meeting place where Chaosmentees can meet and get to know each other.

How does it work?

You have until December 8th to register, you can do this here. Please register as soon as possible as we will begin to create the groups before the 8th of December. Tell us a bit about yourself, for example, what attracted you to Congress, why you turned to the chaos mentors, what you are interested in, and if you have specific needs. This way, we can find a suitable godparent for you and put together a group with similar interests. Your chaos mentor will contact you and your group before the Congress so you can get to know each other. At the Congress you are an affinity group and can explore the Congress together.

Why are we doing this?

We ourselves have had a great time at the Congress for 1, 2, 10, or 30 years. But we know from our own experience how difficult the first step can be – many Chaosmentors were Chaosmentees at their first Congress. Thoughts like “A big hacker conference, do I even belong here?” are not foreign to us. But do not worry – once the first step is done, great people and the opportunity to learn a lot about yourself await. But the exchange is not a one-way street: the community at the Congress can learn a lot from you as well and thrives from the diversity of the participants. That’s why we want to encourage those who would otherwise hesitate to come without the Chaospatinnen. We focus on people who are not part of the mainly represented group cis, male and white. Of course, we will not exclude anyone.

For chaos mentors

Of course, we are again looking for the enthusiastic support from friendly, experienced, and reliable mentors this year. If you feel like taking on a group of newbies and looking after them, please register here.

Tell us something about yourself, your interests, and what you know a lot about, so that we can find suitable godchildren for you. Thank you in advance for your support.

Please note:

Running the Chaospatinnen is great, but also a lot of work. Therefore a few requests:

  • December 8th deadline: Sign up until December 8th! Sadly, we cannot accommodate registrations after this date.
  • Plan ahead: Please refrain from spontaneously referring people to us. We do not offer guided tours (persistent Fake News!) and the program is for those who have registered in advance. If you meet people at Congress who are looking for orientation and connection, please support them! Any hacker can become a Chaos Mentor!
  • Lost souls: Please don’t refer people to us who are already well connected to the Chaos, and who also don’t belong to a minority, just because it is their first Congress visit. Become their mentors instead, and re-discover Congress with them!
  • No tickets: ChaosPatinnen is only available for guests who already have a ticket to Congress. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide tickets.
  • Help us plan: Please make sure to specify your planned arrival date to Congress. This will help us match you up with the mentor who can welcome you when you arrive!
  • Call to action: Sign up here!

We are looking forward to seeing you at Congress!

the Chaospatinnen
Twitter: @chaospatinnen
Mastodon: @chaospatinnen@chaos.social