Barcamp Nairobi 2013 was held on August 24th to plan the next 50 years of Kenyan tech. Of course, no one can predict where tech will stand even twenty years down the road. With that caveat in mind, the Barcamp strove to visualize the future and put Kenya in good position to face challenges as they arrive. Conversation is a must. Developers even got to try out Google Glass!

Since #barcampNBI ended up being a top trend in Kenya, there are too many tweets to sift through. Instead, we’ve done a quick scan of the official @barcampnairobi account which feverishly posted during the event.

Participants chose certain themes to discuss:

cloud computing,game demos,information security,e- learning,"biashara",online communities,UX/UI user interfaces #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

The importance of e-learning as an efficient means of acquiring knowledge:

e-learning tools enable you to interact with the best of best lecturers,who would in normal scenarios be unreachable. @iHub #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

Mombasa has an up-and-coming tech community:

The Mombasa tech community seeks to get more guys at the coast interested in tech.They've set up Google & blackberry dev groups #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

Outside of Nairobi there is less emphasis on tech (apart from Mombasa):

"Nothing much happening technology-wise in the counties outside Nairobi. There are no ICT officers. Get involved!" – Muli #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

Data security is crucial (lots of talk about this one) and action is needed:

Are we ready to protect our data as we advance technologically? – John #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

With all of the free Wi-Fi talk of late, how secure are these access points?

Safaricom free WiFi security issues raised at the #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

iOS devices have at best a 0.5% market share:

5 & 6 million android devices in Kenya vs 20,000 IOS devices #barcampnai

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

Government’s role is critical in the next 50 years:

Govt role in encouraging innvoation – finance, regulatory policies, research, education and learning #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

Keep progress simple and don’t aim too high. With time even small projects will amount to something useful:

Innovation does not have to be big talk stuff, we need to simplify and incorporate the user. That is hos MPESA worked. #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

PPPs are crucial and need to be more than just rhetoric:

Public private partnerships will play a major role in next 50 yrs for techpreneurs #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

Too often forgotten:

tech is not a solution, tech is a tool #barcampnbi

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

There needs to be better guidance around the concept of local content and content creation. The subject often comes up at development events, but what type of content do consumers truly want? And how can it be made profitable for entrepreneurs over the next 50 years especially as international competition remains a factor?

Interesting debate on content creation in Kenya.what's the way forward #barcampNBI

— barcampnairobi (@barcampnairobi) August 24, 2013

P.S. Barcamp sponsors included Internet Society and Linux Professional Institute; Hosts were iHub, m:lab, Skunkworks, and Nailab