Brasília hosts Campus Party for the first time

The capital city of Brazil is hosting a Campus Party, the world's largest digital technology experience, for the first time. The five-day event in Brasília will offer over 250 hours of activities on innovation, science, entrepreneurship, and creativity. A total 4,000 people have registered for the event, which begins Wednesday (June 14).

Under the theme Feel the Future, the first Brasília edition will feature six experts of the technology world, including data scientist Ricardo Cappra, artist Ani Liu, free software pioneer Richard Stallman, researcher Horst Hörtner, NASA's strategic consultant Matthew F. Reyes, and one of the creators of the event, Paco Ragageles.

The event takes place at Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center, and includes four themed stages (Main Stage, Creativity and Entertainment, Innovation, and Science), two workshop areas, one challenge area, as well as a desk with high-speed internet access powered by Ovini, a central server that is like the heart of the Campus Party.

There will be a forum on smart and humane cities in the future, as well as various workshops and challenges including hackatons, a programming marathon for developers.

The arena has a campsite with 2,800 tents for participants to rest in between activities in a frantic five-day event. Systems analyst José Roberto Pereira, a frequent attendant of the event in other cities, was the first campusero to pick up his credentials for the event. He says getting some sleep is a tough task. “We have a rallying cry to keep campuseros awake.”

Although Campus Party always offers a very wide range of activities, meeting up with other participants is what makes the event special for him. “We share information, if there's something you don't know you can learn from others, if there's something you do know you can share it with others, so it's like a big family there, the great Campus Party family.”

The event has something even for those who have missed the opportunity to get one of the 4,000 tickets for the arena. An open area is ready to welcome 50,000 visitors over the five-day meeting. There they can try simulators, watch robot combats or drone competitions, or visit areas for innovative academic projects, entrepreneurship, and startups.

Translated by Mayra Borges