In 2015 I attended my first Meetup here in Sydney and it wasn’t long before I decided to muster up the courage to do my first presentation. Shortly after that I was volunteering on the WordCamp organising team. Fast forward to today and I am leading the team of organisers for WordCamp Sydney 2019.
From organising and attending meetups and WordCamps all over Australia, I have noticed that there is a wide variety of people who come through the doors of a WordCamp.
Business owners who want to learn more about their website and how to market it online, newbies who want to know how to get started, developers who want to share their latest project, copywriters who want to keep up with the ever changing world of the Block Editor, designers who want to share their experience with the latest page builder, SEOs who talk about the latest algorithm updates, social media gurus who keep up to date with the latest trends, and so on.
While all of this is fantastic in itself, what most new people don’t realise, the true value of a WordCamp comes from the connections you build with the amazing people you meet.
WordCamp is an open source conference run by a team of volunteer organisers, who many of which only attended their first meetup no that long ago. They collectively donate hundreds of hours of their time over many months to make the conference the best it can be. They donate their time to give back to the community and create an opportunity for you to enjoy the ‘WordCamp experience’ for yourself.
By design, WordCamp’s all over the world are made to be inclusive and affordable. They are heavily subsidised by sponsors to make the tickets as cheap as possible. I’m sure you have been to an industry event which can cost in the hundreds or even thousands for just one day.
In contrast, WordCamp Sydney is only $70 for two days of talks with two tracks from over 30 different speakers presenting their ideas and sharing their knowledge. (See the schedule) Included in the ticket is morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea for both days plus a networking event with a bar tab and canapés.
We have put together a little video with attendees of past WordCamp’s sharing their experience. Watch below:
I hope to see you at WordCamp Sydney this weekend and if you haven’t yet bought your ticket click the link below.