From November 25 to 26, the global Open Education community came together once again for OERcamp.global 2025—a 24-hour online unconference designed to connect educators, researchers, policymakers, creators, technologists, and activists across every time zone. Powered by the spirit of openness and supported in close cooperation with UNESCO, the event offered free access, community-driven sessions, and countless moments of connection.
The event evolved into an inspiring global exchange with more than 60 confirmed sessions, dozens of countries represented, and new collaborations sparked around the world.
A Schedule That Spanned the Globe
This year’s programme kicked off with a powerful line-up of plenary topics:
- Open for AI. AI for Openness
- Open for Inclusive Education
- Open for STEM Education
- Open for Democracy
- Open for Mindfulness
- Open for the SDGs
We were treated to country perspectives from the Philippines, the Netherlands, Norway, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Scotland, South Africa, Germany—and many more.
Together, they illustrated how OER is shaped, challenged, and re-imagined across local contexts.
OERcamp.global 2025 in Numbers
OERcamp.global 2025 brought together a diverse international community to explore open education from multiple perspectives. The following snapshots highlight key figures from the event – from global participation and session formats to thematic focus areas and levels of engagement – offering a quick overview of what shaped OERcamp.global 2025.
Barcamp Sessions: Over 60 Windows Into Open Education
True to the Barcamp spirit, most of the event’s richness came from sessions proposed by the community. Just a few highlights from the 2025 programme:
- “How Open is Private Education?”
A data-driven exploration of openness across private institutions. - “Humanizing Technology: Developing Digital Intelligence”
A conversation about empathy, ethics, and digital skills. - “Breaking Barriers to Learning Resources: Textbook Availability”
A case study from the American University of Nigeria. - “An Open Design System for Learning”
A look at how design principles can support OER ecosystems. - “Advocacy Strategies for Combating Inclusive Access Programs”
A practical workshop on policy, activism, and student rights. - Reports from Peru, Chile, Germany, South Africa, and beyond—each illustrating the diverse realities of open education around the world.
From hands-on demos to policy debates, from AI-powered OER creation to sessions on accessibility, language justice, and crisis-response education:
OERcamp.global once again proved how wide the field of Open Education truly is.
Recordings Now Available on YouTube
Couldn’t join us live — or eager to explore more? Our OERcamp.global YouTube playlist features recordings of keynotes, panels, talks, and selected sessions, and new videos will keep appearing. So be sure to check in from time to time!
And if you’d like to start at the very beginning, the Opening Plenary is available right here.
Sie sehen gerade einen Platzhalterinhalt von YouTube. Um auf den eigentlichen Inhalt zuzugreifen, klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche unten. Bitte beachten Sie, dass dabei Daten an Drittanbieter weitergegeben werden.
Mehr InformationenThe Opening Plenary began with welcoming remarks and an introduction to the 24-hour global gathering. Guilherme Canela (UNESCO) opened with a short greeting before returning later for the keynote. In his message, he highlighted the uniqueness of OERcamp.global as a community-driven, 24-hour event and expressed appreciation for the support from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research as well as the German Commission for UNESCO.
A greeting from Karin Prien, German Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, followed in a recorded message. She underlined the enormous potential of Open Educational Resources while also emphasizing that OER is still a niche topic and that the key task ahead is to bring OER into the mainstream of education systems.
Afterwards, Roman Luckscheiter, Secretary-General of the German Commission for UNESCO, welcomed participants from around the world, noting over 700 registrations from 90 countries. He emphasized the importance of openness, international cooperation, and the role of OER in achieving SDG 4, highlighting events like OERcamp.global as a way to spread the word about OER worldwide.
Voices from the Community
Across LinkedIn, participants shared how energizing, meaningful, and global this year’s OERcamp.global felt. Many highlighted the truly international mix of perspectives — from Europe, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia — and how the event created space for conversations that are often missing in traditional conference formats.
Ajita Deshmukh reflected on discussing AI and openness through an India–Southeast Asia lens, emphasizing how communities in the Global South actively reshape digital technologies through cultural values and public-good infrastructures. Others, like Dr. Deepika Kohli, described OERcamp.global as a “unique and inspiring 24/7 event” and spoke about the excitement of exploring open tools and learning from global leaders such as Guilherme Canela and Roman Luckscheiter.
Participants celebrated the collaborative spirit, the smooth coordination, and the joyful learning atmosphere — from hands-on sessions and technical deep dives to unexpected moments (including an impressive number of Zoom cats!). Several educators, including María Ángeles Fernández Cifuentes, shared how the event left them energized and committed to returning next year.
Even marathon learners like Anna Chruscik made an appearance in the community posts—joining 18 sessions in a row!
What Makes OERcamp.global Special
Unlike classic conferences, OERcamp.global is built on radical openness:
- No fees
- No prerequisites
- No hierarchy
- Everyone can propose a session
- Everyone can join any room
- Everyone can learn and contribute
It’s an experiment in community-owned learning—and 2025 showed again how powerful this format can be when people bring their curiosity, generosity, and passion.
Looking Ahead
What resonated across all reflections was just how inspiring these 24 hours felt—a reminder of what becomes possible when a truly diverse, global community comes together to share, question, create and support one another. OERcamp.global 2025 showed once again that openness is not just a concept, but a lived practice shaped by people from every region, discipline and perspective.
And the journey continues: we are already preparing for the next OERcamp.global in 2027.
If you’d like to stay in the loop, receive updates, and be among the first to know when planning begins, make sure to subscribe to the OERcamp.global newsletter.
We can’t wait to see where this global movement of openness will take us next—and we hope you’ll be part of it.
Goodbye for Now—Reflections from Hour 24
The final hour of OERcamp.global 2025 brought everyone together one last time for a lively #TIL (today I learned) chat storm. Participants shared what they were taking away from the event—insights on diversity and pluralism in OER, sustainability, AI, gender diversity in STEM, local innovation, the power of collaboration, and above all: that the OER spirit is truly global and that “OER brings people together.”
The team also looked at who made up this year’s community: 737 registrations from 85 countries, representing all education sectors and including both long-time OER advocates and newcomers discovering OER for the first time.
A key reminder from the closing hour: documentation is a shared effort. Recordings from plenary sessions and many Stage 1 sessions are already being published, and session owners are adding their own materials, slides and videos to the schedule. Community posts, blogs and reflections—shared with #OERcampGlobal—are an essential part of this growing documentation landscape.
You can revisit the closing hour here:
Sie sehen gerade einen Platzhalterinhalt von YouTube. Um auf den eigentlichen Inhalt zuzugreifen, klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche unten. Bitte beachten Sie, dass dabei Daten an Drittanbieter weitergegeben werden.
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Toller OERcamp Global Recap – mehr Inspiration bei Telkom University Jakarta.