UK GovCamp took place on Saturday 18 Jan 2025. GovCamp is an unconference for people interested in making services better in the public sector. It was my fourth UK GovCamp, and my third as an organiser.

This GovCamp took a special significance for me as my friend, colleague and frequent collaborator Vicky Teinaki had passed away a week or so before the event. This really affected the way I approached the event, and also the way I participated in the day.

As a community professional in my day job, I felt I had to help mark her passing and honour her memory. As part of the GovCamp organisers, I was also well-placed to be able to adjust the schedule and say a few words. Whilst this was not the way I expected to let Vicky’s passing sink in, writing a few words actually helped me process my feelings and address the loss of a significant figure in our community.

During the opening ceremony, I gave a short memorial speech in her honour. To give others a chance to commemorate her too, a few colleagues set up a memorial wall where people could add their tribute messages and funny stories. I also pitched and ran a session to design a memorial sticker for Vicky. It felt fitting to base the session on the first blog post that I read of Vicky’s : ‘Metaphors we sticker by’. That blog post led to my first interaction with her, and as a result we became friends.

I think this GovCamp took a special significance for me because of Vicky’s passing. I’m normally really excited about the sessions and the discussions I get to have. This time around, I was just really grateful to see friends that I haven’t caught up with in a while. I did tell a few people that I wanted to speak to them during the day, but didn’t get round to it (I ended up being quite busy with the intro ceremony, sticker session and closing ceremony). I do intend to catch up with them all though. If there’s one thing Vicky’s passing has taught me, it’s to not delay catching up with friends, and to spend some time with them outside of work circumstances (if possible).

There are people that attend GovCamp every year and just do ‘Corridor Camp’ – i.e. have fruitful conversations with people outside the breakout sessions. I never fully appreciated the value of it until this year. GovCamp has always gathered people passionate about the public sector. People passionate enough to spend their Saturday talking about making things better for citizens. I always thought it was energising, but never fully appreciated it’s ability to convene so many like-minded, talented, driven people. I’ll be making more of that in coming years.

That being said, I did go into one session and talk a fair bit, and that was the ‘Creating teams that are more than the sum of their parts, including psychological safety’ discussion. Half of my role on the design system team is now essentially ‘team ops’, the other half is working outwards for the community. So it was really good to hear from people that are looking to maximise the talent of their team members and create an environment for them to thrive. The discussion made me reflect on my approach with my own team; especially the bit focussing on respecting an individual’s profession, whilst also permitting team members to go beyond their own role to deepen their understanding. I think there can be a fuzzy line on where one discipline starts and another ends on multi-disciplinary teams, and it was helpful to hear how other teams deal with that. There’s a few things I’m going to try out with my team, so keep an eye out for a blog post in the near future.

We’re hoping to do a tribute to Vicky as part of UK GovCamp, which she was planning to attend. I started to draft a message for the opening ceremony, which I have found cathartic as it is helping me process my feelings.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, in case you haven’t heard, but a dear member of the community passed away last week in Vicky Teinaki.

Vicky, or Vi-y, as she was affectionately known in the North East, was a catalyst for design and the public sector. She was not only a friend, but an inspiration and hero of mine, as she will have been to many others.

She was kind, humble, witty, knowledgeable, thoughtful, hard-working, curious and prolific at whatever she set her mind to. When I first met her, I thought she was a content designer because of the amount of writing she did online. Turns out it was one one of her many skills; she was an interaction designer, former developer, design researcher, champion colourist, accomplished live tweeter, and keen traveller.

She had a voracious appetite for knowledge, reading more than anyone else I knew. She had the uncanny ability to process that knowledge and apply it to whatever she was working on. Her brain was truly a marvel.

We got to work quite closely together as part of the GOV.UK Design System. She was so generous with her time and her work had a huge impact in making things better for citizens. She was a frequent contributor, a key part of our working group, and frequent speaker at our events – such as Design System Day. In fact, Vicky so frequently spoke at our events, that our team joked that there was a permanent “Vicky Teinaki slot” in our event schedule.

Vicky was so capable, that she could have been very well compensated for her work if she were a bit more mercenary. But she chose her roles based on the impact she could have on the public sector, and how much she could help citizens. A testament to her values and integrity.

She was a natural leader. Someone who drew you in with their passion and enthusiasm for their work, whilst being humble with the amount of knowledge she possessed. And she was a tireless advocate for everyone else too. She often tweeted about the importance community management, put me forward for talks, and turned up to my talks to live tweet them (back when Twitter wasn’t sh*t).

Amanda Smith, used the phrase #GovCrush a few years ago, to describe people whose public sector work you admired from afar. Vicky was my first GovCrush. She made me feel excited about working in the public sector.

I just wanted a bit more time with Vicky y’know. The public sector and design world has lost a remarkable woman. She will be sorely missed.