SHIFT

SHiFT 2010 is now open

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

It's settled.
While some details are still open and without further suspense, we're ready to say: Happy 2010!

In other words, SHiFT will happen on the 16th-17th of April, 2010, at the Teatro Aberto in Lisbon (Portugal).

The theme this year is Do It Yourself. We will bring together the leaders and newbies of the communities we have serviced in the past 2 editions, with a single purpose: to empower you, so that you can empower others.

So, this is what you need to do:

    * Get excited by our Speaker selection
      (with more confirmations coming in every day)

    * Stare in awe at this year's pricing
    * Buy your ticket
    * Make plans to travel to Lisbon
    * Start planning your participation
    * Consider proposing your own talk

You can do all that on the website: http://shift.pt .
We'll be here, in sunny Lisbon, to welcome you to another great SHiFT. And to help you with anything you need - send us your questions and your feedback!

SHiFT is an unique event that brings together leaders and participants from all walks of life to discuss and share Social and Human Ideas For Technology.

SHiFT 2009 will happen in Spring 2010 - Important Announcement

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

SHiFT 2009 is shifted to Spring 2010

We are changing the dates of the SHiFT 2009 conference. The conference was scheduled to happen on October 16-17, in a little more than one month, and will now happen in Spring 2010 at dates to be announced shortly.

This is a very important decision, not lightly made by the team. We have carefully explained our reasons to our sponsors and speakers and we are excited with their feedback and very grateful for their understanding and collaboration.

You are probably surprised by this announcement and its timing, so close to the conference date, so let us explain the reasons that lead us to make this decision, that we believe helps serve the Conference's mission and community better.

For the benefit of those who can't read the entire explanation, these bullet points highlight the most important factors that shaped our decision:

Spring is a more favorable period for organizing SHiFT
This will allow us to drive more meaning and value from our partnerships
We will have a new, better, more SHiFTy venue
Prices will be under 100 euros

Read on to know the whole story and for the practical implications to those who have already bought tickets, proposed talks and made plans for the October 2009 event.

SHiFT Conference 2010

SHiFT means Social and Human Ideas for Technology. We are a non-profit, 100% volunteer-based organization that began a journey in 2006 to create a conference that would bring together people from all walks of life to debate how technology and humans can interact to make a better world in an unique environment. SHiFT has had two previous editions - in 2006 and in 2008 - and they were great by all accounts. So our decision to move the 2009 event to 2010 is in line with our mission and structure.

Shifting from Fall to Spring is something that has been on the table for some time. The September/October date period has, since the beginning, been a major difficulty in our project: summer vacations affected our capacity to mobilize our community and partners (not to mention our team), corporate budget decisions were made way before or after the event thus penalizing our planning, our academic partners were caught in between quarters, and overall it's tough to compete with the rentrée.

So we are going to seize the opportunity now to redesign our partnerships to drive more meaning and value from sponsorships, working even closer with our partners as to build the formidable environment of SHiFT, where ideas flow freely and without limitation. The environment will be set in a new and more SHiFTy venue, different from last year's.

Finally, and you're going to love this, we are also seizing the opportunity to re-align our pricing structure with our mission. Whereas we felt that SHiFT should have the same pricing strategy as other conferences that line up the same quality of speakers, participants, venues and in-conference services, we have decided that SHiFT must assume its difference and will serve its mission better by doing it differently.

So, in SHiFT 2010, prices will be unique and under 100 euros. Everyone should be able to afford going to SHiFT, and everyone attending SHiFT should have the direct opportunity to contribute to a better world. So, just like you could for the 2009 edition, you'll be able to allocate an amount of your choice to micro-financing entrepreneurial projects or micro-sponsoring SHiFT itself.

All in all, apart from the tight timing that makes this a little awkward, we are very happy with our decision and believe this only goes to making SHiFT an even better and unique experience. So, time for practicalities.

You have bought your ticket and/or made plane/hotel reservations?

Of course, we will refund all the tickets that have already been bought. We are already talking to these persons and have invited them to attend SHiFT 2010 at no cost. 2008 Golden Ticket holders will also be welcomed at no cost in SHiFT 2010.

If you have already made plans and reservations to attend SHiFT 2009 in October, please contact us and we'll do everything in our power to help you out.

Stay tuned

If you have any questions about SHiFT 2010, contact us at community@shift.pt - we'll be happy to answer all your questions and help you in any way we can.

We will soon announce the new dates and venue, so stay tuned to our blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Thank you all, participants, speakers and partners, for your support over the years. You rock, and SHiFT rocks on.

SHiFT Early Bird Season Extended (31st August)

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

It's summer time and everyone is a bit off these days, the early bird season for this years event had finished last friday and immediately we received some requests of people who had just returned from vacation to find out that it had ended.

Considering all facts, being August and the sun still shining high above, we to postpone the final date for the special prized tickets up until the end of the month, so if you haven't secured your ticket yet, please do it know, otherwise and when the list of speakers is finally closed it might be to late! :(

Remember that by buying earlier you're not only securing your place, you're also giving your help into a better event!

Sponsoring SHiFT 2009

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Our sponsors have been crucial part of SHiFT recipe since day one, as organizers we're pretty sure that it wouldn't haven been possible without them! So as we're getting ready for yet another SHiFT this year, it's time for us to call out for companies and individuals that want to share this project with us.

For those you wish to associate your company with SHiFT, our project and successful combination of conference and workshop in two amazing days also means a change to get your message to a brilliant and uniquely shaped audience including everyone from product managers and CEOs to those designing and developing the latest generation of web and technology related applications.

We've worked out a sponsor plan with plenty of possible possible sponsorship options and opportunities, providing flexibility not only, to showcase your work and services, but also to demonstrate your commitment to technology community in a way that best fits your needs.

Past sponsors have included SAPO, Microsoft, Anacom, Waveweb, Draytek to name just a few!
For more information on the benefits, sponsorship options and pricing, download the sponsors information pack or contact us (sponsor @ shift . pt)

Presentations are up

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ho ho ho,

it's the festive season and this is just a quick announcement to say we've uploaded most of the presentations for SHiFT'08 in our website.
You can quickly view which ones are available at the speakers page ( http://2008.shift.pt/page/speakers ) or simply navigate to the speaker of your choice.
We're also working on putting the videos online and we should have more info on SHiFT 09 soon. :)
Finally, here's a merry good Christmas and a happy new year to all of you.

Thank you

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

How time flies, it seems it was only yesterday we were making envelopes with balloons inside and special chocolate candy bars for SHiFT'08.

We know this post is past due but we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to make SHiFT possible this year (our beloved sponsors, our team, volunteers, etc), special thanks to the speakers (you guys rocked), our top-class illustrators (Bauke and Lucy) and finally, everyone who attended SHiFT.

Those three days touched our minds, spirit and soul. We hope you felt the same.

But now that all the commotion has ended, it doesn't mean we stopped.

We've been collecting the testimonies of our attendees, we're preparing to put the presentations, photos, illustrations and videos online real soon and were also preparing a survey in order to get some feedback and help us be even better on 2009.

For 2009?

Yes, things are set in motion and we can safely say that there will be a SHiFT in 2009.

Preparations have already begun and you can expect more news about this in the following weeks.

Thank you again and see you soon.

User Experience Week in Portugal

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

In the continuity of the spirit we raised during SHiFT'08 we'll continue to give you updates on the comming events and happenings in Portugal, in Europe or even in the World, where Ideas and Technology come together once again.

This time, we're happy to help some fellow portuguese in their endevour of organizing a User Experience Week in Portugal, it's a 3 day event lead by Peter Morville. First day (3rd Nov), everyone is invited for a free presentation, on the subject of User Experience Strategy, and the two following days, Peter will deliver two amazing trainings/workshops on User Experience Design and Information Architecture & Search.

If you'd like to register or know a bit more, our advice is that you'll read the full manifest on this event website: UXweek

2 Golden Tickets out, 3 to go

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Have you eaten your chocolate yet?

He had 5 golden tickets out there, 2 of them have already been found.

Francesca and Aurora, from Italy are comming to shift09 for free.

See you there,

Shift08

Golden Ticket

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We have a special gift for Energy Day, there's several Golden Tickets for next year hidden through out our gifts for today.

Can you taste them? :)

Pre-conference get together: Peter's Cafe Sport at 21h (Tuesday)

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

If you managed to get in town a little earlier for SHIFT, then walk by into Peter's Cafe Sport (about midway through the bars close to the river south of the venue) by 21h00 on Tuesday and have a drink with us and the other attendees.

Students will need to show proof

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

If you registered as a student, you might have noticed during the registration process that you would need to prove your student condition in order to enter the conference. To do so, you’ll have to send us a message to the info@shift.pt email address with a scan of ONE of the following documents:

This year’s school registration
College entry certificate (for students who just entered college this year)
Student’s ID card
Other documents proving that condition

Frozen school registrations for graduate students will not be accepted as proof.

If you can’t send this proof by email, then you’ll be asked to show it at the registration desk before entering the conference. If the proof is considered invalid, you’ll be asked to pay the amount remaining to a normal ticket. We will not make any reimbursements.

Workshop registration: how to save your seat

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

As you might realize, our workshops will have limited seats since it's not possible to sucessfully conduct one for dozens of people at the same time.

To reserve your seat, just login, then go into the workshop description page from our Programme and click on "Yes, I'd like to attend it" to save your seat.

People who made a reservation will enter the room first. After the reservations, seats will be available on a first come first served basis.

Schedule is now out

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We just published our complete schedule for the three amazing days we managed to put up.

As you may already know, the first day will be devoted to 9 free workshops. On these 3 hour long sessions, you can build up your knowlege with hands on material by leading experts in their fields.

The following two days will be devoted to the conference itself. More than 50 sessions will take place in 4 rooms, covering a wide range of topics. Tap into the most brilliant minds in the field of technology and beyond.

In between sessions, you'll have enough time to mingle and network with all of the amazing attendees that registered from all over the world.

You just can't miss all of this happening on one of Europe's most beautiful cities.

More information can be found on the Schedule and Programme pages.

Normal period extended and Late period scrapped

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Due to the generosity of our Sponsors, we were able to extend the Normal registration period until the conference date, therefore scrapping the Late period altogether. As a result of that, tickets bought on the spot on the conference day had their price reduced as well.

We are excited to provide everyone with a better price to attend SHiFT. More information is available on the Tickets information page.

Golden Ticket: win a free ticket to SHiFT

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Do you want to help spread out the word about how an amazing conference SHiFT is going to be and get something in return? Then enter our Golden Ticket Competition to win a FREE TICKET for SHiFT and some exclusive goodies!

You just have tell us your details, write a blog post about SHiFT, and get your visitors to register with an exclusive 20% OFF discount code. By doing that you receive an upfront discount code for 30% OFF. If your post leads to the highest number of registrations, you win our Golden Ticket.

Full details can be found on our Golden Ticket Competition page. Enter now!

Flight Discounts on TAP Portugal

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We made a deal with TAP Portugal, a portuguese airline, to give all of our attendees a better deal when flying to SHiFT. TAP flies to Lisbon from the main European capitals and cities and also to America and Africa. On top of the great deals you can get with TAP when you fly to Lisbon, we managed to get an exclusive discount with them:

20% OFF when flying Business Class
10% OFF when flying Economy Class

You can find the full instructions and discount code on the Flight Discounts information page.

Hotel Discounts on VIP Hotels chain

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We made a deal with VIP Hotels in order to get better rates to all our attendees. There are 10 VIP Hotels in Lisbon, ranging from five to two star hotels and we managed to get discounts UP TO 35% OFF.

Details on how to get the discount and the full list of prices can be found on our Hotel Discounts page.

UT Austin-Portugal + SHiFT

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The UT Austin-Portugal (CoLab) Program, launched in March 2007, is a long term collaborative project that aims to enlarge significantly the research and post-graduate studies in emerging technologies, with a particular emphasis on Digital Media, Advanced Computing and Mathematics. The program also wants to increase the commercialization of science and technology between Portugal and the global markets.

This program involves a partnership between the University of Texas and several Portuguese universities and laboratories and it's main objective is to strengthen joint investigation and advanced education on a short term and make so that this collaborative project is able to continue at the end of the 5 years of the CoLab Program.

As a way of co-promotion, UT Austin Portugal and SHiFT have partnered to bring portuguese students and educators a broader access to technology discussions and conversations. The first result of this partnership is the interchange of speakers in the events that both this entities promote and we're glad to have Geoff Marslett as a speaker for this years SHiFT next October. Geoff will be presenting on "Digital Tools as an extension of animated ideas" but also giving out a workshop during the first day of SHiFT.

Somedays before Porto will host The FUTURE PLACES Festival, a celebration of digital media work
currently being produced in Portugal and around the world, where SHiFT will also be represented with a small presentation on it's last day about how to use technology to leverage and help sprout local communities . The festival will feature web, digital video, and installation art work, as well as electronic music, 3D graphics, cell phone art and productions related to locative media, games and hybrid realities. We are interested in creative and new languages for interactive and visual expression, and their impact on culture, society and public space.

A growing speakers list

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We've been quietly updating this year's invited speakers list! Besides being extremely happy we're very proud to be able to have speakers likeAugust de los Reyes, Julian Bleecker, Geoff Marslet, Tara Hunt, Stowe Boyd, Andy Budd.

So keep an eye out for the speakers list - we'll be continually update it up until the conference day.

Normal registration period is now effective

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We just closed our Early Bird period. We would like to thank the dozens of people who registered in this first go; you're the best! If you registered in the Early Bird period but haven't paid yet, we're sorry to inform that you'll have to pay the Normal period fee.

That means that we're now on our Normal registration period. Prices are not as highly discounted now but you can still save by registering until the end of September, when we'll enter the Late registration period, where prices will be at their steepest. So, don't delay and register today. Remember that the venue will have limited seats.

For all the students out there, remember that student tickets are capped at 100 and we're dangerously approaching that number, so don't miss out and save your seat today by registering.

Bulk discounts now available until the end of September

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Bulk discounts are now available until the end of the September. So now companies and organizations can take full advantage for longer.

Just to remind you on how they work, when registering 5 people the 6th one goes for free. To do ity ou should register every participant individually under the same company/organization's name, then pay for first five and drop us an email so we can approve the last one as well.

Spread the Word

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We just made some nice badges and banners for you to use in case you want to link to SHiFT from your blog or homepage! Just pick on from our 'Link to SHiFT' page and copy the code next to it to your blog or homepage.

Bulk Discounts are now available

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

To allow for companies or institutions who want to send a group of people to attend SHiFT, we've introduced a Bulk Discount: for every 6 registered users, only 5 will have to pay, which basically accounts for a 20% discount over the full price.

To be entitled to use the bulk discount, all of the registered users will have to belong to the same company or institution's. Registered all the six, but do not proceed with payment of the 6th person. Drop us an email and we happily activate the 6th participation.

Bulk Discounts will only be available during the Early Bird period, so register now to save.

SHiFT 2008 is now Open!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We're now open for everyone participation, start by saving a seat and register now while the early bird price is on! Next submit your own proposal for a session!