A gathering of people interested in Open Government, Gov 2.0, and ways that technology may expand and improve civic engagement. All are welcome!

Examples of such initiatives include Portland's CivicApps. http://www.civicapps.org/

We're continuing the conversations from the Open Gov West conference held in Seattle in March (http://opengovwest.org/) by taking them on the road to meetups across the West Coast. Open Gov West brought together a diverse range of government folks, electeds, nonprofits, citizens, and technologists to discuss open government ideas and strategies.

Please register: http://ogwpdx061610.eventbrite.com/

Please note the new date, Tuesday, July 20th

Join CivicApps, Microsoft and the Software Association of Oregon at NedSpace Downtown to network, socialize, and publicly honor the best app entries for the first round of apps development. The evening will culminate in the "Best of Show" award, recognizing the top app among the "blue ribbon" award winning apps for Most Useful, Most Appealing, Most Original, Best Use of Data and Civic Choice apps.

Come meet with your fellow developers, entrepreneurs, potential investors/employers, and others. Register today to reserve your spot at http://civicappsawards.eventbrite.com

Hors d'oeuvres, beverages, and a no-host bar will be available.

A gathering of people in the Portland area interested in Open Government, Gov 2.0, and ways that technology may expand and improve civic engagement. All are welcome!

Meet and compare notes with others interested in open government. Sarah Schacht, Director of Knowledge as Power, will speak on international standards for sharing government documents in a computer-readable format and the movement to get government documents speaking in the same tagged language.

This is a 21+ event, with free wine, beer, and appetizers for attendees.

A gathering of people in the Portland area interested in Open Government, Gov 2.0, and ways that technology may expand and improve civic engagement. All are welcome!

CONFERENCE Open Gov West 2011 is a two-day nonprofit conference being held at the Jupiter Hotel in Portland May 13-14, 2011. OGW '11 is designed to bring the Northwest region together to explore opportunities to open government, increase civic engagement, and coordinate projects across governments. Now is the time to move from old models and technology to finding innovative, cost efficient, and transparent methods for accomplishing government’s core missions.The conference exposes attendees to new ideas, technologies, practices, and partnerships. The conference’s goal is to help your organization build relationships and gain insights which help you build a more transparent, engaged government.

APPS CONTEST The conference also includes an app development contest on Day Two, May 14. Developers entering the Open Gov West Cross-Gov Apps Contest have the opportunity to transform government data into useful information accessible to the masses—and to win prizes like iPads, marketing assistance, and technology prize packs. Governments from across the Pacific Northwest will send representatives from their own data.gov sites to offer developers advice and support, making this a unique opportunity for developers to interact directly with government data providers while building the applications.

The competition will run in the style of a code-a-thon, in which development begins Saturday, May 14 at 9 a.m. with a 7 p.m. deadline, with winners announced that evening. Sponsor Tropo will be providing $1,000 in developer scholarships and free development kits for participants. Developers are encouraged to purchase a ticket through Open Gov West or apply for developer scholarships. For more information: http://www.opengovwest.org/events/conference/opengovwest-11/1304-2/

For more information, please visit opengovwest.org. To register, please visit opengovwest.eventbrite.com.