WordCamp News

WordCamp Washington, DC postponed due to COVID-19

Posted by on March 5, 2020 with No replies yet

We have been surveying the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and international health recommendations carefully as we follow the stories of those around the world who have been impacted by this virus. Our hearts are going out to all affected.

Due to increasing concerns over large gatherings, mounting company policies suspending employee travel, and the recommendations of the CDC regarding COVID-19 in the US, we are canceling WordCamp DC originally planned for March 27-29 2020.

We have taken a data-driven and science-driven approach to understanding the problem and the risks. We feel that hosting a 3-day event of 500+ people at this time is not the best way to support the vulnerable populations, including but not limited to the older and immune-compromised individuals within the greater WordPress community.

We were so very excited to see all of you at the second ever WordCamp DC and we are disappointed to have to cancel this event. Over the next couple of weeks we will explore other ways to engage with our amazing, supportive community.

The decision to cancel the Camp was not made lightly.  In the end, the health and safety of the community was paramount in our decision. We hope you understand that the organising team believes this is the right decision to ensure the safety of all WordCamp attendees.

We know many of you have already booked travel and made plans with friends and colleagues. Below is information to help you navigate the situation:

WORDCAMP TICKETS

All paid WordCamp DC tickets will be refunded automatically. No action or request for a refund is needed on your part.

HOTEL AND AIR

Please cancel your hotel and air bookings if they are fully refundable. If you have trouble refunding your flight and hotel without fees, we will be posting a letter from Central later this week to help you explain the circumstances.

SPONSORS

We thank the sponsors for supporting us through this difficult period. We’ll be contacting the sponsors directly with details on how we’ll be handling the sponsorship funds.

OUR COMMUNITY

We want to thank our speakers, volunteers, sponsors, and fellow organizers for all the hard work, long hours, and unwavering support over the past months.  Our community would not be the supportive and engaging place it is without you! While we will not see the fruits of our labor this time, we have created a fertile ground for the next WordCamp DC.

We don’t have any specific dates/plans for the next WordCamp DC at the moment but we are hoping to hold it in early 2021. We will make announcements as soon as possible.

We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding during this unpredictable time.

Sincerely,

Your WCDC Organizing Team (Courtney, Beth, Leland, Tara, Kev, Zak, & Anthony)

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WordCamp San Antonio Going Forward with Virtual and Live Components

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Dear WordCampers,

We have great news! WordCamp San Antonio 2020 is happening on schedule, March 28-29, 2020 at UTSA Downtown! With coordination from our awesome team, our speakers, our vendors and venue, and WordCamp Central, we have come up with a solution that will allow our local community to meet in-person while also ensuring remote participants get to be involved without having to travel.

“How?” you ask? We will have live speakers at UTSA Downtown and will have a live audience, but will also have remote speakers and all three tracks will be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in-person. The best news? WordCamp Central is helping us present the livestream component for free! You will need to register, but there will not be a charge. We’ll let you know when we have registration set up.

Remote participants will be able to ask questions of our speakers and our speakers will continue the conversation on Twitter if needed. Our live audience will also be able to ask questions of our remote speakers. (Details on how this will all work have not been worked out in full yet, but we are confident it can all be done.)

We know this is a hard time for conferences which are having to make some hard decisions and this type of solution will not be the right one for every one. We are able to do this because:

• WordCamp San Antonio is primarily a local event—most attendees will not need to travel
• NOWCastSA, which was already contracted to video the event, is fully on-board and working with us to make this happen
• The event is being held on a university campus, giving us access to resources others might not have.

If you already purchased an in-person ticket and wish to attend remotely, you may request a refund for your purchase and then signup for the virtual ticket (or, if you want to donate your purchased ticket to help offset the costs of the virtual conference, just signup for the virtual component and let us know your ticket is a donation.)

We are excited to be able to go forward with WordCamp San Antonio 2020 and look forward to putting on a great event for everyone, whether you attend in-person or join us through your computer. The schedule will be updated to indicate which speakers will be presenting remotely as those decisions are made.

Join us March 28-29, 2020 at UTSA Downtown for a unique WordCamp designed to work for everyone. You’ll be glad you did!

The WordCamp 2020 Team

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WordCamp Retreat postponed due to COVID-19

Posted by on March 1, 2020 with No replies yet

To everyone that is interested in WordCamp Retreat Soltau:

Unfortunately we have to inform you that we will postpone the WordCamp Retreat. What this means for you is described below.

Due to the current situation surrounding the Corona virus we have decided in consultation with the WordPress Community Support that a postponement of the Retreat is the best solution.

Because of the special format (with all attendees being together over a longer period of time at one place including overnight stay) we have a much higher cost factor than usual WordCamps. The longer we delay the decision the higher the cost risk for us (cancellation fees of the hotel) as well as for you as participants (train tickets, travel costs, cancellation fees for the hotel rooms). Unfortunately, we can’t securely move forward without the risk being too high for us as well as you. Today was the last day on which we could decide this cost-neutral.

We are convinced of the concept of the WordCamp Retreat and have therefore decided to postpone the event. In agreement with the Hotel Park Soltau the WordCamp Retreat will probably take place at the beginning of May 2021. We will publish an exact date as soon as we have arranged the date with the hotel and the WordPress Community Support.

We will contact everyone who has already booked a ticket as soon as possible.

Sponsors will be contacted by us as well as speakers and volunteers.

We appreciate your understanding. Stay safe!

The Orga-Team

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WordCamp Genève 2020 postponed due to COVID-19

Posted by on February 28, 2020 with No replies yet

It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to cancel the WordCamp Genève on March 21st, or at least postpone it for about 6 months, subject to an overall improvement of the “coronavirus” situation.

We saw on Friday February 28, 2020 the Swiss government’s decision to ban large-scale events involving more than 1000 people and we have the feeling that such measures could also be extended to smaller events, including our WordCamp.

Considering that this event gathers people coming from a multitude of different places and that cases of coronavirus have appeared in Geneva, it is our responsibility to think first about the safety of all. We, therefore, decided to postpone the WordCamp.

Should the global epidemic situation be resolved (virus contained and/or vaccine/treatment available), the WordCamp could be postponed to next autumn.

We thank you for your understanding and support. We sincerely hope that a postponement of the WordCamp Genève 2020 will be possible. We wish everyone well.

Categories Events, News | No replies yet

WordCamp Houston is back!

Posted by on February 25, 2020 with No replies yet

It’s been 10 years since Houston hosted a WordCamp but we are back and we are back with a vengeance!

John Peterson, Adam Shed, Rick Ankrum, and I worked hard to build the WordPress community. Each was dedicated and made sure we had regular monthly meetings with local speakers these past 3-5 years. As it grew from one location to two and now three, it’s been a delight to watch new WordPress enthusiasts gather and help each other.

It’s been a slow growth but the Houston community came together and excitedly agreed to begin planning last January 2019 with the hopes of a Spring 2020 WordCamp.

Yes, I know, we were told we were planning too early but Houston is a big city and we hadn’t hosted one in so long. We needed time to get our bearings. I am glad we did.

We spent a lot of time hunting for a venue and surprisingly found it very difficult to find the perfect place that could accommodate our needs and budget. I think since we are new, venue managers and higher-education directors were not familiar with our mission. So after talking with the WordCamp Foundation, we found that we could host it at a hotel and found the Hilton NASA in Clear Lake perfect and within our Houston borders!

After that decision, a signed contract, and an approved budget, we were off!

Having the Hilton NASA be our home base, it became clear how we should brand the Houston WordCamp. We decided on the rocket and astronaut theme to coincide with Houston’s ‘blast off’ into WordCamp. The logo and a Wapuu (designed by my company, GlobalSpex) followed and we started to build the website.

Where We Are Now

Houston WordCamp will be held in the Clear Lake area down the road from Space Center Houston (see map). This location is close to Hobby Airport and if you plan to bring your family, there will be things for them to do while you enjoy WordCamp. You’ll be near The Space Center, Kemah Boardwalk, and Galveston Beach. All are within a short driving distance.

The hotel is also close to the water and Houston during May makes for nice weather. There are plenty of restaurants and shopping as well.

We are lucky to have Adam Silver as our mentor and Heather Baker was eager to join after her recent move to Houston. Heather has become very instrumental in the planning since she was very much involved in WordCamp Atlanta. With both of them, we have seasoned guidance.

Our web team, Chris Hughbanks and Baljinder Singh (Mike), created the 2020 Houston WordCamp website as Joanna Bonner helps as the content editor.

Our Speaker Wrangler, Heather, has been hard at work and we’ve received over 50 speaker applications so far! Heather said, “I’m really excited about our potential lineup as we look over the submissions we’ve received. Our call for speakers doesn’t close until February 29th, so there’s plenty of time to submit a talk! I’d love to see some more content around SEO and design.”

Our Volunteer Wranglers, Omar D’Elia and Shawn Quinn, are currently working on organizing the volunteers and will open that application on March 17, 2020. Omar said, “Being a volunteer at the 2020 Houston WordCamp is exciting and full of opportunities. Volunteers are an essential part of WordCamps, and a great way to give back to the community. By signing up you’ll enjoy some great perks too. Sign up now!”

The publicity team, John Davis and Joanna Bonner, have been working hard on our publicity and are doing a bang-up job!

Mike and Alex Juchniewicz, Fundraiser Wranglers, have been reaching out to local Houston businesses for sponsorship. Sponsorship applications are open now.

Join Us At WordCamp Houston!

The following is a timeline for the calls for sponsors, speakers, and ticket on-sale timeline:

Follow the WordCamp Houston’s official social media channels for announcements.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wordcamphouston/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WordCampHouston
Email: https://2020.houston.wordcamp.org/contact/

Categories WordCamps | No replies yet

WordCamp Asia 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19

Posted by on February 11, 2020 with 1 reply

Due to concerns over COVID-19, WordCamp Asia was cancelled today. As Matt Mullenweg shared in the announcement,

The excitement and anticipation around this event have been huge, but there are too many unknowns around the health issues unfolding right now in the region to explicitly encourage a large public gathering bringing together over 1,300 people from around the world.

…I greatly appreciate the work everyone — from organizers to attendees, speakers to sponsors — put into making this a big success. So many people have come together to create an event to inspire and connect WordPressers, and I am confident that this passion will carry through into the event next year. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the virus so far, and we sincerely hope that everything is resolved quickly so that this precaution looks unnecessary in hindsight.

More details from the WordCamp Asia organizing team are available, including how to request a ticket refund. Many thanks to the organizers, sponsors, speakers, and volunteers for all their hard work to date — hopes are high that we will all be together at WordCamp Asia in 2021!

 

Categories Events, News, WordCamps | 1 reply

WordCamp Centroamérica is looking for speakers and sponsors!

Posted by on February 7, 2020 with No replies yet

WordCamp Centroamerica 2020

Call for speakers and sponsors for WordCamp Centroamerica 2020

WordCamp Centroamérica, the first WordPress regional WordCamp in the Central American area, is scheduled for September 17-19, 2020.

Around 800 developers, designers, content generators, marketing specialists, users and WordPress experts from around the world will meet in Managua, Nicaragua for this groundbreaking event. Be part of the history of WordPress by giving a talk or workshop at the very first WordCamp Centroamérica 2020.

As in every Camp, having the help of generous sponsors is key to making ticket cost as low as possible for every attendee across different purchasing power capabilities.

Sponsorship packages for WCCA2020 are limited and will be granted on a first come first served basis. Please apply as soon as possible.

Follow our official social media channels for updates, notifications and new announcements.

Categories News, Speakers, Sponsors, WordCamps | No replies yet

WordCamp Chicago set for May 2020

Posted by on January 6, 2020 with 5 replies

Save The Date: One of the midwest’s largest, independently organized WordPress gatherings in May 2020.  

CHICAGO:  May 2 – 3, 2020, the WordPress community will converge at the UIC Dorin Forum for WordCamp Chicago 2020, one of the largest locally-organized WordCamps in the United States. 

Taking place on the campus of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum, this camp will build upon the tradition of high-quality WordPress speakers from across a variety of cutting-edge topics with plenty of networking opportunities, WordPress help, and unofficial “hallway” tracks.   

“WordCamp Chicago 2020 is going to be a great experience for attendees at almost any level,” said Becky Davis, the camp’s lead organizer and the organizer of the Chicago Northside WordPress Community Meetup. “This year, the volunteer organizing team is a collaboration among the Chicago area WordPress and web meetups and this allows us to combine our event organizing experience to help us put on a great two-day event that only costs $50 to attend.”   

Located just minutes from downtown Chicago, the UIC Dorin Forum where WordCamp Chicago will take place is located at the intersection of Roosevelt Rd and Halsted St in the city’s vibrant Near West Side. 

You could say it’s sandwiched (pun intended) between two iconic and popular foodie neighborhoods, including Tayor Street’s “Little Italy” for a classic Chicago beef sandwich, Halsted’s Greek Town for a gyro sandwich – which was introduced to the U.S. in Chicago.  But food is not the only reason to visit Chicago this spring, the local WordPress scene continues to expand and Chicago is one of the easiest and most affordable “big city” destinations to reach with two international airports, Amtrak’s rail hub and local commuter transportation in and out of the city. Plus plenty of nearby onsite parking lots for those who prefer to drive and park for the day.    

“We welcome everyone to WordCamp Chicago as it’s something you don’t want to miss,” said Davis. “Join us in May, visit with the local Chicago WordPress community and experience all Chicago has to offer while you’re here.”  

While Chicago definitely has its own deep bench of WordPress and web experts, in January a global call for speakers will go out to select from some of the most interesting and useful topics for users and contributors today.  

“We’re looking for a diverse set of speaker applications from a variety of areas such as business development, blogging, user-experience design, programming and more to fill two or more speaker tracks,” said Keanan Koppenhaver a volunteer organizer and lead of the 2020 speaker lineup.  “In the end, I’m sure we will end up with distinguished lineup speakers from both local and outside the Chicago area that will create a variety of interesting WordPress topics that you won’t want to miss.”   

A hotel block will be announced in 2020 after a contract is finalized.   

Get Involved with WordCamp Chicago!

The following is a tentative timeline for the calls for sponsors, speakers, and ticket on-sale timeline:  

  • Call for Sponsors: NOW – Space is limited, so contact us today to reserve your sponsorship.
  • Call for Speakers:  January 1, 2020
  • Ticket on sale: February 1, 2020
  • Call for Volunteers: March 15, 2020

Follow the event’s official social media channels for timeline updates, notifications and new announcements.  Tickets for WordCamp Chicago will sell out quickly, don’t delay! 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/wordcampchicago

Twitter  https://twitter.com/wordcampchicago

Email: https://2020.chicago.wordcamp.org/

 

Categories Uncategorized | 5 replies