The term Open conference (or "openconference") is a derivative of the adjective "opensource", and its meaning is similarly based on the ideas of public access and community development found in the open source culture and OpenCourseWare movements. "Conference" in this sense is used to indicate an academic or professional gathering of practitioners in a given field to present and discuss current thought, research, and practice. Additionally, attendees are encouraged to become participants in a collaborative community that supports and grows the conference--even to derive new open conferences.