From top left, the Philadelphia skyline, a statue of Benjamin Franklin, the Liberty Bell, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia City Hall, and Independence Hall. (Credit: Wikipedia)
EdCamp Santiago has the honor and the privilege of holding the first EdCamp in Latin America. That just goes to show that the EdCamp Movement has now spread all across the American continent.
The first EdCamp, EdCamp Philly (Philadelphia), was held in 2010, “in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the County Seat of Philadelphia County” (Wikipedia entry for “Philadelphia”).
Popular nicknames for Philadelphia are Philly and The City of Brotherly Love, the latter of which comes from the literal meaning of the city’s name in Greek (Greek: Φιλαδέλφεια ([pʰilaˈdelpʰeːa], Modern Greek: [filaˈðelfia]) “brotherly love”, compounded from philos (φίλος) “loving”, and adelphos (ἀδελφός) “brother”) (Wikipedia entry for “Philadelphia”).
Philadelphia was a most appropriate birthplace for the Edcamp Movement to begin at.
You can agree with me that this hallowed place in American history, Philadelphia, home to the American ideals of equality, liberty, and fraternity, compunded by its linguistic legacy from the Greek ideal of brotherly love, was an auspicious beginning.
At Edcamp Philly, on the East Coast, we have our roots, our origins. From here the Edcamp movement has spread like a wildfire across America. Edcamps have been held in New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans, Omaha, El Paso, Texas, and in California. That’s coast to coast, from the East to the West.
So, what’s an EdCamp? It’s an unconference. OK, what’s an unconference? 
Here’s Kristen to explain:
You can find out more at the Edcamp Foundation.
Like any wildfire, once it gains momentum, its difficult to contain. The same is true of EdCamp. It spread beyond the borders of the USA and moved on to Canada. Edcamps have been held in Toronto and Vancouver. This weekend there will be more.
Yet the EdCamp flames of passionate educators, enthused and “fired up”, sharing their enthusiasm for learning, did not stop in Canada. It spread to Europe, touching down in Stockholm Sweden. From there the torch was passed to EdCamp Santiago.
What foreign country will be next to host an EdCamp?
After all, Santiago, Chile is the southern tip of the American continent. You could say we’re the end of the American world, the landmass of the American continent. We, the EdCamp Movement, can’t go any further South.
Brazilian Samba Dancers
So here’s my prediction. Edcamp is now going to reverse direction, and trace a path back, back across South America. It’s the return of the flame to Philly. Next stop? Brazil? Argentina? Peru? Ecuador? Panama? Costa Rica? Mexico?
Personally, I have a feeling the next stop will be Brazil. I wonder if the members of the Edcamp Foundation know how to dance samba? Might be a good idea to start taking some samba classes…
Meanwhile, in Santiago, Chile, we are three days away from our inaugural event. As you can tell by now, we are indeed most excited. It feels like waiting on Christmas. You know the feeling.
As a child, you knew the presents were there. Under the Christmas tree, but you had to wait until the day. When noone was looking, you touched the present(s) with your name on it, felt it, squeezed it, shook it up and down, traced the outline of its form, and wondered all the while:
What is it? On Saturday, here in Santiago, we will know the answer to that question…
profesorbaker
