Editor’s note: Written by Uzbekistan contributor Akmal. Yet another barcamp was recently organized in a post-Soviet region, to be exact in St Petersburg of Russia, and was entitled NevaCamp, after the famous Neva river that flows through the Russian “cultural capital”. Though it was the first barcamp in St Petersburg, the organizers did enormous job in making this event happen.

Sponsored by Opera and many other organizations, the agenda of the NevaCamp’s did not differ from traditional barcamp agendas. It included opening ceremony, presentations and StartUp project competitions. And traditionally, the event gathered different people with different backgrounds from different countries, but, united by the same idea of exchanging ideas and experiences and creating a network.

Presentations given during the NevaCamp were also very interesting. They included talks on blogging as citizen media, social networks and how to make money out of it, future of internet and New Media tools, and many others.

However, to tell that NevaCamp was successful would be far from the truth. Though the organizers did a great job in running the barcamp, there were many flaws in the organization. Maybe therefore, the NevaCamp did not attract too many people – the number of participants did not reach the expected number of 400. Moreover, unlike other barcamps, the majority of participants were not from the host country, but mainly from other post-Soviet countries. Is it an indication of the non-popularity of barcamps in Russia? Maybe…

A web designer Anya, hailing from the Ukraine, shared her opinions concerning the Camp:

“The organization, I think, was not that good. The organizing team could have done a better job in PRing the event. The fact that not many people came to the Camp is a proof of it. I wish there were more participants, as the sessions and presentations were very interesting. Well, this is the first barcamp in St Petersburg. I am sure next ones will be better organized, as the “practice makes perfect!”… But, I am glad that I came here, as I had a chance to meet clever young minds from different places, and create a network with them. I hope we will keep in touch in future.”

As there were no travel grants for participants, not many people came to the NevaCamp from Central Asia – only 4 people. Timur, participant from Kazakhstan, is also glad that he came to the NevaCamp:

“I am glad that I am here. I met different smart people, and exchanged ideas with them… Of course, the organization was not perfect. But let’s look at the positive sides of it – I learned a lot, and networked with interesting people.”

The NevaCamp, despite some flaws in organization and a small number of participants, was indeed a very interesting event, especially in terms of creating networks with clever ambitious young people. “Thumbs up” for the organizing team that they could gather such, even if small, but very interesting minds together.

The NevaCamp came to its end with a tour on Neva, and long and fun enjoyment of the “white nights” of St Petersburg.