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Civic Engagement Sydney

Engage with Sydney's dynamic civic scene through Meetup

Code for Sydney - Monthly Hack Day

Code for Sydney - Monthly Hack Day

Sat, Jun 13, 12:15 AM
From Code for Sydney
4.7

Code for Sydney is now running meetups every month. Code for Sydney is a volunteer civic innovation organization created by Sydney-area developers, designers, and activists with an interest in solving civic and social problems through the use of technology. During our monthly hack day we: \- brainstorm ideas around the theme \- propose a few solutions that we can work on together \- research and code the components of an MVP \- present what worked \(or didn't\) to your peers Together, we can make an impact on civic challenges and build a better city. Networking with fellow software engineers, designers and student/s welcome! If anyone would like to present a quick talk or propose a project idea, do talk to us! Also please do join the discussion on Discord https://discord.gg/wPmp25Xnm5

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24 attendees
Human hearted community of practice (COP)

Human hearted community of practice (COP)

Sun, Jun 14, 1:00 AM
From Human Hearted Sydney
4.7

**Event summary:** The monthly human hearted community of practice (COP) is both a support group, and a mutual encouragement group, for people who want to explore living a more human hearted life. The COP is part of Human Hearted Sydney's goal of building community. Please feel free to join us for a session if you're interested. **Who is the COP for ?** The COP is for people who dislike the alienation and emptiness of our modern finance driven society, and are looking for a new form of community - one based on the reality of our human social capacities such as sympathy and friendship, rather than based on returning to religion and other traditional practices. If you would like to be part of building a supportive community for living out socially positive values in today’s world we encourage you to come along and check it out. **Some background: The meaning problem modern society faces -** The development of modern society has seen the destruction of earlier systems of meaning, like religion and tradition. They have not been replaced by a new set of ethics or community, but by market values and hyper individualism. This has created a world of material wealth in which far too many people feel insecure, alone, and unlikely to succeed. We now live in an atomised society in which each person suffers alone and there is no form of community, or meaning other than material wealth, to sustain them. This has led to substantial increases in loneliness and mental health issues like anxiety in modern society. Now there is even a category called ‘[deaths of despair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair#:~:text=The%20three%20disease%20types%20are,%2C%20West%20Virginia%2C%20and%20Delaware.)’ that refers to people whose reliance on drugs, alcohol etc. to numb their isolation from society leads to their early death. **More background: The solution we will look at -** The obvious solution to the collapse of values in modern society is to build alternative forms of community. Many groups try to achieve this by calling for a return to religious values, or building new religions. As humanists we do not turn to religion but the best of the human potential to provide a foundation for community groups. [Human heartedness](https://web.archive.org/web/20240109160949/https://areomagazine.com/2022/05/05/a-human-hearted-modernity/) is an approach to life which sees humans as inherently social beings. It is backed both by many famous thinkers of the past, and by the findings of recent neuroscience and evolutionary studies which show the path to human happiness and fulfillment is more dependent on building good relationships and positive social connection than on competition and being purely ‘rational’. So one part of the solution to the existential emptiness of modernity is for people to build small communities; groups of like minded people who want to live in a more human hearted way, and support each other to live better in the face of modernity’s onslaught. There are other parts of the solution of course. However in relation to this event our focus is on setting up a COP to support each other to practice living in a more human hearted way, and to provide communal support generally in today’s disenchanted world. **Basic structure of this meeting:** The meeting will be facilitated by a member of the Sydney humanist community and will involve a brief talk explaining human heartedness and the problems of modernity. Then we will proceed to conduct our regular COP meeting. The meeting will finish with a Q/A and discussion period, followed by a lunch and more informal discussion. **Donations:** While this event is free, we would be grateful if you chose to make a [donation](https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate) to sustain Humanists Australia which would help it to continue delivering events that serve the community in Sydney. **Please note Date Time and Venue:** In June 2026 the meeting will be held on the second Sunday of the month (June 14th) at 11:00AM. The venue is level one of Darling Square Library. The room we'll be in is called Idea Space 2 **Directions:** The venue is a ten minute walk from both Town Hall and Central station. The Darling Square Library is part of a hive-shaped building called The Exchange. The Idea Spaces are on level one of The Darling Square Library which is accessible via elevators facing towards Darling Square and stairs which are on the other side of the building. Please ask the library staff if you need assistance finding where we are in the library.

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12 attendees
Sydney Data Eng meetup with VeloDB

Sydney Data Eng meetup with VeloDB

Thu, Jun 11, 7:30 AM
From Sydney Data Engineering Meetup
4.7

Hey all, please join us for a special meetup with VeloDB this June. Join us for an engaging session filled with exciting discussions and networking opportunities. Don't miss out—RSVP to secure your spot. Please reach out if you'd like to host us! 🎉 🏠 Location: Stone & Chalk @ Tech Central 🍕 Catering: VeloDB 😊 💬 Join our Slack Group here: [Data Engineers Slack Channel](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd09iTwpNulQH0b1BdslM1RzgImOGlX4WgOx6_rzvmVANwGmw/viewform) **Schedule:** \- 5\.30pm: Doors Open \- 6\.00pm: Announcements and Welcome \- 6\.10pm: 1st Talk \- 6\.40pm: 2nd Talk \- 7\.10pm: Networking \- 7\.30pm: Doors Close **Speakers:** 🎤 Mingyu Chen, Apache Doris PMC Chair & VPE@VeloDB **Talk Title**: When Every Second Counts: Real-Time Analytics for AI Systems **Talk Summary**: AI applications are changing what “real-time” means. It is no longer enough to analyze data after the fact. In AI-driven products, decisions often need to happen while events are still unfolding: a user is interacting with an agent, a model is generating output, a workflow is waiting on a tool call, or an operational issue is emerging in production. This talk introduces real-time analytics and explains why it has become more important in the AI era. We will look at common AI-era use cases, including observability, user behavior analysis, operational monitoring, and agent performance tracking. Using Apache Doris as the implementation layer, we will explore how a real-time analytics system can support fast ingestion, low-latency queries, and scalable interactive analysis. I will also share a brief introduction to the Doris open source community and demonstrate a real-time observability use case for AI agents. The goal is to show how teams can turn streaming events into actionable insights quickly enough to improve user experience, reliability, and decision-making. **Speaker Bio**: Mingyu Chen is the Apache Doris PMC Chair and Vice President of Technology at VeloDB. As a seasoned big data developer and one of the founding engineers of the Apache Doris project, Rayner has been a pivotal force in driving the community's growth and technical roadmap. Throughout the project's history, he has spearheaded the technical innovations across every major version and architectural evolution, nurturing Apache Doris into the flourishing analytical database it is today. 🎤 Shilin Wu, Principal Solution Architect@VeloDB **Talk Title**: Realtime AI observability and analytics with Apache Doris - Live Demo **Talk Summary**: AI systems don’t behave like traditional software. When something goes wrong, it’s rarely obvious why. In this live session, we’ll walk through how you can start making AI systems more observable in practice. We’ll explore how to: * Understand what your AI system is actually doing under the hood * Trace how outputs are generated across different steps * Identify where things start to drift or break down * Analyze usage patterns, performance, and cost over time We’ll also show how Apache Doris can be used to store, query, and analyze AI interaction data at scale—so you can move beyond intuition and actually reason about your system. This is a live, evolving demo focused on ideas you can take back and apply immediately. **Speaker Bio**: Shilin is Principal Solution Architect at VeloDB, specializing in the design and optimization of distributed real-time analytical platforms. With an impressive career spanning industry leaders such as Google, Ant Financial, and Confluent, Shilin brings a wealth of expertise in architecting high-performance data systems at scale. He is dedicated to helping organizations successfully transition Apache Doris and VeloDB into production, ensuring their environments are robust, scalable, and highly efficient. If you'd like to **present** at future meetups, please submit your talk [here](https://dataengbytes.com/forms/meetup-talk)! Remember to bring along some great questions! See you all there...

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64 attendees
🔥Asian Background Social: Lounge Asia Sydney (Easy English) 6pm

🔥Asian Background Social: Lounge Asia Sydney (Easy English) 6pm

Sat, Jun 13, 8:00 AM
From Asian Background Social: Lounge Asia Meetup (Easy English)
4.7

**⚠️ IMPORTANT: TONIGHT’S RULES ⚠️** **🎟️ NO TICKET = NO ENTRY** **(If you are on the WAITLIST, you cannot enter tonight.)** **🪑 SIT IF EMPTY** **Please take a seat if you see one to help create more space.** **📧 SHOW SCREEN AT DOOR** **Have your confirmation email/screen ready for Chris & Kev.** **NO WALK-INS. THANK YOU!** **“The perfect Saturday night to meet new friends in a warm, relaxed atmosphere”** **✨ 5,000+ Members have joined across Australia** **✨ Early RSVP FREE / Last-Minute Ticket $5** **✨ Relaxed & Friendly (Not a loud party, perfect for conversation)** **Why Join Us?** **First-timers welcome: About 70% of people are new every time!** **Easy to join alone: Most people arrive by themselves and leave with new friends.** **Language friendly: Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese & English OK 🧋** **📍 WHEN & WHERE** **🗓 Every 2 weeks on Saturday** **🕕 6:00pm – 10:00pm** **📍 Harts Pub (The Rocks) Located in the heart of historic Sydney!** **🚶‍♂️ Super Easy Access:** **• 5 min walk from Circular Quay Station** **• 8 min walk from Wynyard Station** **Easy to drop by after exploring The Rocks!** **💰 Cost:** **Early RSVP FREE** **Last-Minute Ticket: $5** **⚠️ Limited spots available — we highly recommend reserving early.** **👉 HOW TO JOIN** **Please click “Join” on Meetup.** **Follow & DM us on Instagram: @_lounge_asia** **⚠️ HOUSE RULES & SAFETY POLICY** **To ensure a safe and comfortable environment for everyone, Lounge Asia has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for the following behaviors:** **🚫 No Solicitation:** **Any form of business recruitment, MLM, religious proselytizing, or poaching is STRICTLY PROHIBITED.** **🚫 No Harassment:** **Unwanted pick-up activities, persistent pestering, or making others feel uncomfortable will not be tolerated.** **Action:** **Any attendee reported for misconduct will be removed immediately and banned from future events without warning.** **⚠️ IMPORTANT** **Photo ID Required:** **Passport or Driver’s License only (Student IDs NOT accepted).** **18+ only:** **The venue is a licensed bar, and ID checks are required under NSW law.** **🎁 BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER (VIP)** **We are building an official app to connect our community safely!** **Join the VIP list for early access and priority invites to special parties.** **👉 [Join the VIP List here]** **https://forms.gle/T2KukvgEiGWEz3VR9** **━━━━━━━━━━━━━━** **初参加・一人参加も大歓迎です!** **혼자 오셔도 편하게 즐길 수 있어요!** **欢迎大家轻松交朋友!** **歡迎輕鬆認識新朋友!** **มาคนเดียวก็สนุกได้ครับ/ค่ะ** **Mọi người đều được chào đón!** **Welcome ang lahat!** **Semua dialu-alukan!** **Semua orang diterima dengan hangat!** **👥 Your Host:** **🎤 Chris – Your friendly Sydney host, ready to welcome you**

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29 attendees
Agentic Engineering Meetup, June Edition

Agentic Engineering Meetup, June Edition

Wed, Jun 17, 7:30 AM
From Agentic Engineering Meetup (Sydney)

Hey everyone, join us for the June edition of the Agentic Engineering Meetup! We'll have two exciting talks, great discussions, and plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow engineers, AI practitioners, and technology enthusiasts. 🎉 Seats are limited, so RSVP early to secure your spot. 🏠 **Location** Atlassian Level 6, 341 George Street Sydney NSW 2000, Australia 🍕 **Food & Refreshments** Kindly provided by Atlassian 😊 **Schedule** 🕠 5:30 PM – Doors Open, Refreshments & Networking 🕕 6:00 PM – Welcome & Announcements 🎤 6:05 PM – Talk 1 🎤 6:40 PM – Talk 2 🤝 7:10 PM – Networking 🚪 7:30 PM – Event Close **Speakers:** 🎤 **Ben Flint**, ALIVE - an open-source Personal Context Manager **Talk Title**: Context Is the Product **Talk Summary**: We talk about AI features. But the thing users actually want is a product that knows them. Ben Flint built a structured context system, a disciplined way of capturing and surfacing what matters, and watched it change how agents perform. He'll cover the taxonomy of context (what's worth remembering, what decays, what's dangerous), the architecture that emerged, and why he thinks context management is an underbuilt product category hiding in plain sight inside every AI-powered tool. **Speaker Bio**: Ben Flint is a top 250 Australian entrepreneur (Newscorp), he builds enterprise systems and context infrastructure for AI. He created ALIVE — an open-source Personal Context Manager that runs as a Claude Code plugin, giving users persistent memory, structured context, and a personal knowledge system that survives across sessions. Before ALIVE, Ben founded Supernormal Systems, a digital agency serving clients including Novatti (ASX), ConnectWise, and every major global sovereign mint. He went viral in late 2025 after rebuilding the $96.5M Bureau of Meteorology website in under an hour using AI — a story covered across Australian television, radio, and print. Ben studied at Harvard Business School Online (Disruptive Strategy) and Oxford's Saïd Business School. He's based in Melbourne, speaks fluent Mandarin, and has lived and built across Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, Singapore, and Japan. We look forward to seeing you there!

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6 attendees
Unhurried Conversations - Saturday

Unhurried Conversations - Saturday

Sat, Jun 6, 12:15 AM
From Unhurried Conversations Sydney
4.7

Bring yourself along, we explain how it works.

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36 attendees
430kMonthly events
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60mMembers
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4.5App store rating
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200kGroups
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Frequently asked questions

Meetup connects people with common interests, allowing them to join groups and events where they can engage with others. Whether you're new in town or seeking to expand your community, Meetup can help you find events that match your civic interests.

Explore Meetup's search feature to locate civic engagement groups across Sydney. By entering related keywords or browsing categories, you can discover a variety of local groups committed to civic initiatives.

Sydney's civic events on Meetup range from local activism and volunteer opportunities to educational forums and community discussions, offering varied ways to participate in civic life and make a difference.

Yes, many civic engagement events offer online participation options, allowing you to contribute to discussions and activities even if you're not physically present in Sydney.

To RSVP, simply find your desired event on the Meetup platform, click 'Attend' or 'RSVP', and confirm your participation. This helps the event organizers manage logistics and communicate with attendees.

Many civic events and groups on Meetup are free, though some may require a small fee or donation to cover materials. Be sure to check specific event details for any listed costs.

Creating a Meetup account and joining groups is free. Some groups may charge a membership fee or ticket price for events, which will be specified in event details.

Groups are often created by community leaders or enthusiasts who want to gather people for specific causes or interests. These organizers maintain the group’s calendar and events.

Meetup facilitates meetings and knowledge exchange among people with similar civic interests, although it can’t guarantee immediate friendships. Engaging regularly with groups can enhance these connections.

Meetup doesn't directly organize events; rather, it acts as a platform for community leaders to arrange their own gatherings. This allows for a diverse array of civic-focused events in your area.

The availability of groups depends on user activity in your area. If you can't find a group, you might consider starting one to build your own community around a specific civic interest.

Absolutely, you can leave a Meetup group whenever you choose. Simply navigate to the group page on the platform and select the option to leave the group.

No commitment is required when joining a Meetup group. You’re free to attend just the events that match your schedule and interests, offering flexibility in civic participation.

Given events can be in-person or online, it depends largely on what individual organizers decide. Check event descriptions for single-mode or hybrid details.

Quality and frequency of Meetup events can vary based on organizer commitment and local demand. Joining active groups often increases your chances to participate in well-organized activities.