Nine previous editions of International OpenCon Catalonia (IOCC) took place from 2012-2019+2022, with participants from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Britain, Catalonia, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, The Netherlands, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK and the US. We have talked, eaten, danced, exchanged, swam, hooked up, played games, shared, cuddled, respected, learned.
We don’t know for sure what the 2023 programme will look like, and we’ll only find out there. International OpenCon Catalonia (IOCC) is run as an unconference, a work-in-progress whose programme will be updated as the meeting happens. Every attendee is considered an organiser, and if you have a cool idea, you’re very much encouraged to make it happen! The basic format of the weekend is that there’ll be a mostly empty daytime workshop schedule (see below), which people can fill in as they propose workshops, and there will be participant-run evening entertainment as well.
Workshops
Workshops are facilitated discussions or activity groups on a variety of topics related to non-monogamous living. They will be opportunities to hear how other people are living, to share your knowledge and experience, and to learn some skills. There will be multiple workshops on at once, each lasting about one hour and a half, but they are all optional – you pick and choose what you feel like doing.
To give you an idea, in each of the previous meetings there were over twenty workshops. They were organized as roundtables, experience-sharing circles, presentations followed by a Q&A, brainstorming sessions, art spaces, experiential activities… Topics included activism, feminism, hierarchy, legal aspects of non-monogamous relationships, games, massage, flirting theory, writing non-monogamous lyrics, contact dance and much much more. Many people also chose to spend time socialising and informally chatting on the grass by the swimming pool, rather than in workshops.
Please think about the personal knowledge and experience you could share with the rest of us. To propose a workshop or activity, send us an email, or – even better – post your suggestion in the Facebook group of participants for discussion.
Workshops can be proposed by anyone, so the programme will continue to evolve right before and during the meeting. To facilitate a workshop, it is not necessary to be an “expert” on the topic, but to help discussion flow and ensure everyone who wants to has a chance to have their say. Running a workshop only requires having a clear topic and a bit of preparation.
The following guidelines can help workshop organisers to ensure a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment:
Workshop facilitators must ensure they communicate clearly about the nature of each workshop upfront, and obtain consent from all participants on potentially sensitive aspects of the activity (either emotionally or physically sensitive; a check-list will be provided for guidance). Workshop participants too are responsible for ensuring that during the activity they remain within the limits of consent agreed by the group.
Social time
Polyamory-related workshops are the main focus of the event, but there are other ways to participate, for example if you like to entertain a friendly public (e.g. as a stand-up comedian, a DJ, a singer or a poet), or if you have a skill you would like to share (e.g. drumming, massage, circus skills) you are welcome to organize your session!
There will be plenty of space for socialising and relaxing, both indoors and outdoors (including a lovely swimming pool).
Meals
Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) will be provided from Friday dinner to Monday lunch, and will take place in a common dinning room. The food will be prepared by two cooks who will be in-house for the weekend and offer healthy and well-balanced menus mainly using organic ingredients. The main menu will be vegetarian, but always with vegan options. Non-gluten options will be provided for those who need them. We will also have a few non-vegan extras on the side. We are afraid we cannot cater for more specific requirements. If you have any specific food allergies please let us know and we will tell you in advance which specific meals may pose a problem to you; you should then plan accordingly by bringing a replacement for those meals. Let us know if you need access to a kitchen where you can cook and a fridge where you can store food.
Note that there is nowhere within walking distance from the venue where you will be able to buy food, so if there is something very specific you need make sure you bring it.
The cooks will cook, but it will be up to us to prepare the dining room before, serve the meals, and clean it up afterwards. So all participants will belong to (pre-defined) cleaning teams, each responsible for a specific meal.
Draft programme (just to give you an idea…)
FRIDAY 16 JUNE
17:00 – 20:30: Check-in
20:30 – 22:00: DINNER
22:00 – 23:00: Welcoming session
23:00 – 24:00: Social time
SATURDAY 17 JUNE
8:00 – 9:00: Pre-breakfast activities (e.g. yoga)
9:00 -10:30: BREAKFAST
10:30 – 12:00: Workshops
12:00 -13:30: Workshops
13:30 -15:00: LUNCH
15:00 – 16:30: Workshops
16:30 – 18:00: Workshops
18:00 – 18:30: BREAK
18:30 – 20:00: Workshops
20:00 – 20:30: Hang out & relax (e.g. going for a walk, board games)
20:30 – 22:00: DINNER
22:00 – 24:00: Social time
SUNDAY 18 JUNE
8:00 – 9:00: Pre-breakfast activities (e.g. yoga)
9:00 -10:30: BREAKFAST
10:30 – 12:00: Workshops
12:00 -13:30: Workshops
13:30 -15:00: LUNCH
15:00 – 20:30: Hang out & relax
20:30 – 22:00: DINNER
22:00 – 24:00: Social time
MONDAY 19 JUNE
8:00 – 9:00: Pre-breakfast activities (e.g. yoga)
9:00 -10:30: BREAKFAST
10:30 – 11:30: Workshops
11:30 – 13:00: Closing session
13:00 -14:30: LUNCH
14:30 – 16:00: Check-out
International OpenCon Catalonia 