Collaborating on the Digital Event Calendar of Kaarster at a Hacking Gathering: Artists and Cultural Workers Interact and Build Relations
In a recent event in Kaarst, Germany, over 30 active participants joined forces to connect various cultural websites' event dates to the EventHub, a unified platform designed to showcase important events in the city.
The project brought together seven entities, including the Kaarst city choir, Park der Sinne, Kaarst music school Mark Koll, Wertheim Art Gallery, Friends of Church Music of the Evangelical Churches in Kaarst, and artist Ursula Ringes-Schages. With the guidance of mentors, these entities updated their appointment calendars, and some students moved to the Tuppenhof barn to apply the knowledge they gained in the workshop.
Rena Wertheim from Wertheim Art Gallery found the workshop extremely beneficial and immediately implemented the learned knowledge on her website. Norka Palomino from Seitenreich bookstore in Büttgen had minimal work to do on her website due to its well-formatted dates.
The connection process involves several steps: data collection, integration, and synchronization. First, relevant cultural websites were identified, and their data formats and APIs were determined. Then, data was collected using web scraping techniques or API calls, standardized into a common format, and integrated into the EventHub.
To achieve this, a suitable tool or programming language, such as Python or Node.js, was chosen, and libraries like `requests` for API calls and `pandas` for data manipulation were utilised. The standardized data fields were mapped to the EventHub’s database schema, ensuring that each piece of information was correctly aligned with EventHub’s data model.
Automated updates were set up to periodically update the EventHub with new or updated events from the cultural websites. Error handling mechanisms were implemented to manage any issues that may arise during data synchronization, such as API rate limits or data inconsistencies.
Monitoring and maintaining the data flow is essential to ensure that events are being correctly added and updated in the EventHub. A feedback loop was established to handle any discrepancies or errors reported by users or the system itself.
The primary focus of this socio-technical project was learning. Solutions created during the event are immediately and permanently usable. Wolfgang Weber from Friends of Church Music of the Evangelical Churches found the symbiosis between programmers and artists fascinating.
The mentors provided advice and support to the Challenge Patrons for tidying up their websites and programming individual adapters. Many curious people watched the young talents over their shoulders at the Tuppenhof. The students from the crash course significantly improved their digital solutions skills, with some even analysing other websites, such as a local pizzeria, even after the official part ended.
By the end of the day, five out of the seven calendars were connected to the EventHub. Post-processing has begun to search for and correct errors to ensure the correct connection of the dates of all seven cultural event calendars to the EventHub.
All hackers and mentors received a gift bag filled with vouchers, a book, and a nice cup as a token of appreciation for their hard work and dedication. The EventHub will provide a comprehensive overview of important events in Kaarst and increase visibility across all touchpoints.
The education-and-self-development aspect of the project was evident as students, under the guidance of mentors, updated their appointment calendars and applied the knowledge they gained during the workshop, extending its application to websites other than their initial cultural counterparts. The technology, namely the EventHub, will serve as a unified platform for showcasing educational content, further aiding in the education-and-self-development of the city's residents and visitors.
