Author: hanopcan

Posted on

Sustainability and environmental considerations at #WCBRS

It’s a hard thing to start a blog post with, but it’s become undeniable: climate change is real and we need to change our ways when it comes to plastics. The state of the environment for future generations is not looking rosy right now.

We think there’s a lot that can be done, both as individuals and as a #WordPress community. Together we can do great things to lessen our impact! As WordCamp Bristol 2019 organisers we’re trying to do the best we can, even though we realise that’s not perfection, it is a step in the right direction.

Here’s what we’ve been doing and towards the end of the article a summary of how you can help.

What we’ve been doing

We’ve chosen venues with good environmental credentials

Our main conference space, the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol has a strong environmental and ethical policy, which was a key factor in our decision to hold WCBRS here. They have also recently become the first UK university to declare a climate emergency.

The Watershed Bristol, the venue for our Saturday night social, is also known for its environmental credentials locally. Their cafe aims to source all of its food from the local area of the South West.

We’ve chosen venues as close together as possible

To minimise the amount of travel around Bristol we’ve chosen our venues to be as close to one another as possible. You can walk between them all comfortably through nice surroundings.

We’ve scheduled two talks on sustainability

The WholeGrain Digital team will be sharing their ‘Study in Green‘.

Joss Ford will be talking about ‘Why is now the right time to put purpose over profit… spoiler alert – purpose equals profit!‘.

Joss has also arranged for his company, Enviral, to plant a tree for every attendee who bought a ticket. That’s whopping 142 new trees. Great or what!

We’ve paid careful attention to swag

We think a successful WordCamp is defined by the people and connections you make, not the stuff and things you take home with you.

So we’ve reduced our swag budget to zero. The only swag we’re giving out has been gifted to us – stickers from in-kind sponsor Sticker Mule and leftover reusable cups from WordCamp London. We’ve also asked every sponsor to consider what they bring and wherever possible focus on giving attendees good experiences rather than plastic trinkets that end up in landfill.

We’ve gone vegetarian and vegan

Reducing our consumption of meat is a powerful way we as individuals can make a difference. We think if it’s good enough for Mike Tyson, Venus Williams and Martina Navratilova we’ll be ok.

All the food we are offering will be delicious, responsibly sourced and vegetarian/vegan. We’ve got to be honest, this also helps us reduce food waste as cutting out the meat means more of the food can be eaten by more of you.

We got labels rather than stickers

When StickerMule approached us about offering free stickers for our event, we asked about the manufacturing process and impacts. They sent us this article explaning the different manufacturing process.

We opted for having stickers on a roll which are a better option. Sure this means one of our volunteers will get the glorious job of cutting them up but we thought that was a good sacrifice to make.

We’re working with other WordCamps to share ideas and resources

Throughout the organisation of WCBRS we have maintaned close contact with WordCamp London 2019 to share ideas, and resources where possible. You can check out their blog post on their sustainability considerations.

We’ll also be sending on any reusable items, such as lanyards and leftover reusable mugs to WordCamp Brighton.

 

What can you do to help?

Buy your ticket early

Help us place an accurate food order by buying your ticket early.

Lift share

Driving to #WCBRS? Make a shout out on twitter (use the hashtag #WCBRS) and find other fabulous WordCampers going your way.

Cycle to the venue

Bristol is a cycling city – visitors are often surprised by the number of people whizzing past on bikes. Our main conference venue at the School of Chemistry has cycle racks literally outside the door. If you don’t have your own bike but are keen to cycle you could make use of Bristol’s YoBike cycle hire scheme.

Reuse your lanyards

For many, attending WordCamps becomes somewhat of an addiction because, well, they’re awesome fun! I don’t know about you, but when I look at the back of my drawers I’ve found lots of lanyards from previous events.

We’re asking attendees to bring their own lanyard and any other spares they have at home to be reused.

There will be a special box at reception where you can deposit any spares for others to use. You can also also leave your lanyards behind at the end so we can send them on to other events. For example to WordCamp Brighton happening in August.

Don’t worry if you don’t have your own, we have a supply to give out to anyone that needs one.

Be selective about the swag you take

We’ll be offering reusable cups and water bottles, even though the main conference venue uses china plates etc. You’re welcome to take them home as a souvenir. But please, if you already have reusable cups home leave them behind. Even a used one, we can always wash them up and send them on. Again anything left over will sent on to another WordCamp.

Further ideas?

If you’ve got any other ideas give us a shout. There’s lots of ways to contact us and we’re always keen to have other people get involved.

Posted on

Is WordCamp Bristol for me? Here’s our reasons to say yes!

We’re hard at work organising WordCamp Bristol 2019: we’ve got the schedule sorted, contributor day arranged, swag on order and sponsors lined up.

Now we need the missing components – YOU, our attendees!

What is WordCamp Bristol?

If the concept of a WordCamp is new to you here’s a quick summary of what you can expect from WordCamp Bristol…

WordCamp Bristol is a WordPress focussed conference being held over three days. It’s an opportunity to learn, meet others, find out things you didn’t know you needed to know, eat, drink and be merry!

The main conference days are Sat 18th – Sun 19th May and will feature two tracks of talks on a huge variety of topics aimed at all experience levels and disciplines. All for the bargain price of £35. Yes you read that right – £35 for both days!

Buy your ticket for £35 now

Our contributor day, a smaller affair, will be held on Friday 17th May and is an opportunity to give back to the fabulous open source WordPress community. Tickets are free but must be ordered separately to your main conference day ticket.

So now you have the gist of what’s happening, here’s some reasons you should absolutely come along for all or part of what will be a very special event in the South West.

Reason #1 – Did we mention tickets are just £35 for *both* days? What incredible value!

Don’t be fooled into thinking that a low ticket price means a low quality event – that couldn’t be further from the truth!

A ticket actually costs us £125 when you take into account all the costs, such as venue hire and food & drink. Additionally, none of the organisers get paid for this fantastic WordPress event, it’s all voluntary.

It’s thanks to our generous sponsors that we can open up this unforgettable event to more people by offering such a low price tickets. To recap, a £35 ticket gets you to:

  • Lunch on both days
  • An evening social with more food provided
  • Access to two days of talks
  • Swag and freebies to take home

Even if you can only make it for just one of the talks, you are still getting incredible value.

Reason #2 – The WordPress community is honest, friendly and welcoming

A lot of people make a lot of noise about how friendly and welcoming the WordPress community is – it’s true, the fuss is justified!

You will leave finding your heart warmed and your brain stuffed!

https://twitter.com/magicroundabout/status/1118091675522555905

No matter your background or experience level you will find yourself sure of a warm welcome. You can check out our code of conduct for more details.

Reason #3 – Our schedule isn’t just about coding

Our schedule is varied and has been created to appeal to a diverse audience of people who use WordPress for their work. Designers, marketeers, business owners or user experience specialists will all find talks that are hugely interesting to them.

Read post ‘What’s on the schedule for me’


Reason #4 – Our speakers are the best! Literally.

We worked very hard to put together the very best selection of speakers possible to represent WordPress in the South West and South Wales. Like our organisers, all our speakers our volunteers too. Every speaker is a seasoned speaker who is an expert in his or her field and is sure to spark your interest in their chosen topic.

Not only that, our speakers are normal human beings too (who’d have thought!) who will be happy to chat and catch up with you after their talk. They will be around the conference to answer your questions or discuss WordPress further with you.

Being honest we found the selection process hard as we has such a huge array of talent to choose from in the local area. You can read more about who applied to speak and how we made our decisions in our speaker selection process blog.

Reason #5 – It’s not what you know, it’s who you know – there’s ample opportunity to network

One of the best things about any WordCamp is the fantastic people you get to meet. The speakers, the volunteers, the sponsors and of course the most important part of it all, you, our attendees.

As well as the two tracks of talks, WordCamp Bristol has ample space, inside and outside, for sharing a cup of tea with someone and having a chat about whatever takes your fancy. We fondly call this the “hallway track”. Not only that but the after party on Saturday night, which will be a low-key affair, will give you plenty of opportunity to catch up with speakers and other attendees.

You might heard that Bristol is one of the biggest tech hubs outside of London and is fondly known as the Silicon Gorge. So you’re sure to meet other attendees who do all sorts of weird and wonderful things with WordPress: if you can think of it, someone will be here doing it!

Reason #6 – Need a bit of downtime? We’ve got you covered

We all know that conferences can become a little overwhelming at times. Because of that we have a dedicated quiet room (an entire lecture room) where you can escape to process that amazing talk you just heard or simply to get some quiet time to yourself to reflect.

Not only that but our venue is in a quiet area of Bristol University’s precinct, and 5 minutes away is the beautiful Royal Fort Gardens which will be open on the weekend to escape to, should you feel you need a dose of outsideness.

Reason #7 – Eat and drink to your heart’s (or belly’s) content

All this learning and networking can certainly help you build up an appetite. As part of your £35 ticket there will be ample food and drink for all throughout the day.

On arrival and available all day there will be free water, tea, coffee and biscuits. Lunch on both Saturday and Sunday will be a buffet lunch with a variety of vegetarian and vegan food to satisfy all diets. We are able to cater for any allergies, just be sure to tell us when you buy your ticket. There will also be dinner at our after-party venue at the Watershed.

Reason #8 – Bristol is awesome!

If you don’t live in Bristol, you should know that there is something in the water here that makes this place incredibly special. Seriously, get on to Google now and type in ‘bristol voted best city’. In fact we’ve just done it for you, have a look at the top results…

In the top results: best place to live , best place to live outside of London for under 26s, happiest city, kindest city (we’re especially proud of that one) and one of Europe’s Top 10 cities. And no, Bristolians didn’t write all these posts about themselves! 😉

We invite you to come and see for yourself our beautiful, crazy creative city and get a dose of some feel good.

Reason #9 – Our venues are lovely

We’ve got three venues that WordCamp Bristol will be happening across.

The main conference at the School of Chemistry
Our Saturday night social will be at the Watershed with lovely views of the harbour
Friday’s Contributor day will also be on the waterfront with lovely views
See more photos of our lovely venues


How did we do? Are you coming?

We hope you feel as excited as we do about coming along! It’s not often that the South West gets an opportunity to come together to talk about all things WordPress. We hope you will be part of something special.

Buy your ticket now
Posted on

Our schedule is released

We have been working hard to make the best possible line-up we can for WordCamp Bristol 2019’s two conference days. Today, we are pleased to annouce that all our speakers have confirmed and we can release our schedule.

View the schedule

We are overjoyed by the reaction on Twitter – it seems that you are as excited as we are! Tickets are only £35 for two days, that includes food and an after party – what are you waiting for?!?!

Buy your ticket
https://twitter.com/PiersTincknell/status/1110152866797416456
https://twitter.com/tessc_a/status/1110204293288730631
Posted on

Announcing our street art theme

One of the most fun jobs as a WordCamp organiser is picking a theme that you will use to give your WordCamp a brand identity.

This is important on so many levels and merits a few paragraphs on why…

Why is picking a theme a big deal for a WordCamp?

Firstly, did you know there were 149 WordCamps in 2018? Have a look at the full list of past WordCamps if you want to check for yourself. With so many other WordCamps happening, it helps to set ourselves apart from one another so we don’t give the impression that WordCamps are just following a cookie-cutter template. Every WordCamp is different as the organising team are local, and whilst needing to work within guidelines, have complete freedom to organise a WordCamp that best reflects the needs and uniqueness of their local area.

Another important part of choosing a theme is to give others the opportunity to get an impression of what your city or local area is like. For many going to a WordCamp is a chance to visit a new city with instant friends, who will be delighted to visit the sights with you or show you the best hidden parts if they are local. Anyone as excited about WordCamp Europe 2019 in Berlin as we are? For anyone putting on a WordCamp, you are likely to be as proud as punch of your city and want others to know that.

Another factor, perhaps less important is to help set your WordCamp apart from others years if you are a city lucky enough to have had several WordCamps grace your streets.

Introducing our theme, ‘street art’

Bristol is well-known for its street art, graffiti and creativity. Most people have heard of a pretty famous guy called ‘Banksy’ who also hails from our fair and colourful city.

It seemed a no-brainer that we should choose street art as our theme. Not only does it reflect well the values and culture of Bristol (arty, creative and a little bit edgy) but we also knew that we could create a really fun and colourful brand.

How we created the visual identity

We are super lucky to have the fabulous Ben Hamilton, from Atomic Smash as our design lead for WordCamp Bristol 2019.

Ben has written a really interesting and in-depth article on how we took our theme of street art and turned it into a brand that we are all so very proud of. Click the button below to visit the Atomic Smash website and read all about it.

Read Ben’s article on the Atomic Smash site
Posted on

Our speaker selection process

We thought it might be useful for others, especially those who submitted talks to us, to see inside the speaker selection process . Here’s how we went about this most difficult of processes!

The targets we set ourselves

First up, as a team we agreed some targets that we wanted to aim for.

  • 80% local speakers – local being South West and South Wales
  • 50% male and 50% female speakers
  • A diverse range of topics covering backend development, frontend development, UX/design, marketing/SEO, running a business and green/environmental issues.

It’s really important to note that we agreed these were only aims, and not hard and fast rules that had to be met. We agreed there would be no positive discrimination of any form, in order to meet these aims.

Talks would go through on the basis that the speaker had something interesting to share that others would benefit from hearing, not because we wanted to fill a specific quota of any kind. The aims were intended to guide us and help us make decisions when it came to the hard choices.

Another point worth mentioning is that we decided not to labour too long on the perfect selection of topics. You could have umpteen different categories but we decided that the above pretty much nailed it.

Keeping track as submissions came in

As our submissions came in we monitored how we were doing against these aims. Each talk submitted was added to a Google doc and with the use of some spreadsheet formulae we were able to instantly see what the make-up of our submissions was like.

For example, with two weeks to go before our submission deadline we saw that only 30% of our submissions were from women. Knowing that at that point allowed us to put some effort in to reach out to women in our community and encourage them to apply.

We also saw that we had zero submissions on the topic of green or environmental issues. Again, knowing that early enough meant we could ask around and give potential speakers enough time to put a submission in.

The final set of submissions

We had 60 individual speakers submit 81 different talks to us
Speaker gender split was 67% male and 33% female
We had a fairly even split between the geographical locations we were tracking
The split of topics leant more towards backend development talks and ‘other’ which covered remote working, mental health and project/product management

How we ran the selection process

Input from the other organisers

The selection team was Simon (speakers manager), Janice (overall lead) and me, Hannah (co-lead). We knew that input from our other organisers was vital to have. So we asked the 6 of them (Rob, Jacob, Sarah, Ronald, Ben and Rich) to champion one talk each that they really wanted to be put through, on the understanding that these talks would be given a heavy weighting in the selection process.

Find the talks were 100% agreed on

On the selection day Simon, Janice and I went through the entire list, first finding the talks that we unamiously agreed should be on our schedule. Any talk that we weren’t all completely agreed on we marked as maybe, unless one of the other organisers had championed it. This first pass left us with around 40 selected talks for 24 slots.

Use stats and filters to help us remove duplication and meet our aims

I had set up some spreadsheet formulae so we could keep a track of how our initial selection stacked up against our aims. We could see for example that we were way off our aim of 80% local speakers. We could also see that we had a really high percentage of backend talks but not all that many frontend talks.

Using spreadsheet filters, we just looked and discussed the talks in various categories and trimmed where we could. By looking at the selected talks by category we could see we had selected a few that were covering the same topics. Remote working, headless CMS and Gutenberg were topics where we had multiple talks we wanted to put through. We then choose the best talk for each topic. If that decision was too hard to make, we went with a local speaker where possible.

Compare the final list against the WordCamp London schedule

Eventually we paired the list down 28 talks that we all really wanted. Still too many! Our final way of deciding was to look at the recently published WordCamp London schedule. Whilst it was not an aim to have a different schedule to London, we agreed that showcasing different speakers and talks would help to set us apart and also give the wider WordPress community access to a more diverse set of knowledge and ideas.

The final schedule!

We’re incredibly proud of the final schedule and know that we will have an absolutely stella line-up. However, we are also really sad that we had to pass on so many incredible sounding talks. We even discussed whether we should do an extra day to accommodate it all!

We’ll be releasing our full schedule up by the end of March.

Posted on

Tickets for WordCamp Bristol 2019 are on sale!

Planning for the second WordCamp Bristol is well underway, and we can’t wait to get the WordPress community together to learn, share, inspire and connect with one another!

WordCamps provide an opportunity to learn more about WordPress through conference presentations, workshops and contributing. But equally as important, it’s a chance to meet new people and catch up with old friends.

Tickets for WordCamp Bristol 2019 include access to a full schedule of content during the conference as well as entrance to the after party on the Saturday night. On both conference days we will provide lunch, coffee and snacks throughout.

Our aim is to fill your minds with new information, your hearts with new friends and inspiration and of course your bellies with food and drink throughout the day. What more could you ask for?

Purchase tickets

Tickets available now

We’ve released three types of ticket for WordCamp Bristol 2019 being held at University of Bristol School of Chemistry, Sat 18th – Sun 19th May 2019. Read more about the location.

Ticket types

Standard ticket – £35
General admission to the WordCamp Bristol conference, 18th – 19th May 2019. Contributor Day on 17th May is also included, but separate registration is required.

Concession – £25
A helping hand for students, OAPs and parents returning to work, this ticket gives general admission to the WordCamp Bristol conference, 18th – 19th May 2019. Contributor Day on 17th May is also included, but separate registration is required.

Micro-sponsor – £150
General admission to the WordCamp Bristol conference, 18th – 19th May 2019. Contributor Day on 17th May is also included, but separate registration is required. Priced to reflect the true cost of an event ticket. As an extra thank-you for being a micro-sponsor, we will tweet about you and include you on our sponsors page.

Why not treat yourself to some time with the WordPress community which will be sure to lift your spirits, teach you something new and inspire you?

Purchase tickets

How come the ticket price is so low?

One thing that sets WordCamps apart from other conferences is just how cheap the ticket price is. The true cost of a ticket for Bristol WordCamp is around £150, but prices are deliberately offered as cheaply as possible to create the most inclusive event possible.

Our sponsors play a huge role in making this happen and make these events possible for our community. Without our sponsors, we couldn’t put on such an inclusive and welcoming event.

If you feel you can donate a little extra, consider purchasing a micro-sponsor ticket as a way of giving back and helping other attendees.

Contributor Day tickets

Contributor Day gives conference attendees the chance to give back to the WordPress community. Contrary to what many people think, you do not need to be an experienced developer to contribute back to WordPress and you will also learn a huge amount about how this wonderful open source community operates.

Contributor Day registration will open soon and will be free with your conference ticket.

Sign-up for newsletter updates at the bottom of the page to be the first to know about Contributor Day tickets and all the latest from WordCamp Bristol 2019.

Posted on

Call for Volunteers and Organisers

In order to produce a welcoming, inclusive and friendly event at an affordable cost, we need a diverse group of organisers and volunteers with a can-do attitude! Our aim is to create an event which demonstrates the WordPress community at its most lovely, and also showcases WordPress in the South West and Wales.

Would you like to be a part of making that happen? If so, keep reading….

WordCamp Bristol 2019 needs you!

We are looking for organisers and volunteers to help us. The difference between the two:

Organising is committing to put time into organising an aspect of the event ahead of 17th May. This means you will need to have sufficient time ahead of the conference and occassionally join a catch-up video call. Specific roles are:

  • Events manager for Speaker / Sponsor dinner and After Party
  • Contributon day manager
  • Creating content for website and social media
  • Reception desk and volunteers manager
  • Organising filming of talks and uploading to WordPress.tv

Volunteering is committing to turn up to the main conference days (Sat and Sun) or the contributor day (Fri) and helping out. Specific roles are:

  • Filming event
  • Photographing event
  • Help at reception / help / swag desk
  • Compere (MC) to introduce speakers and handle audience questions
  • Time keepers / mic runners
  • Social media
  • Lead a table at the Contribution day

What do I get in return?

Mainly, what you get in return is the opportunity to be part of something special and a chance to pay back into the amazing and generous open source WordPress community.

Yes it sounds cheesy, but if you’ve been to a WordCamp before or been on an organising team you will already know exactly what we mean.

On top of that, all organisers and volunteers will, of course, be given 1 free ticket for the event, a special t-shirt and buckets of love and admiration.

I’m keen, how do I apply?

Please use our Google form to indicate what level of involvement you would like to have in helping us make this incredible event happen, either as an organiser or volunteer.

Applications will remain open until Monday 8th April 2019.

Apply to help

Everyone involved in organising this WordCamp is giving their time for free, putting effort in around paid work and family life, so please have patience if you do not hear back immediately. We will definitely get back to you and we would really love to hear from you! :0)

If you have any questions, please get in contact.

With love, Janice, Hannah, Rich, Rob, Simon and Ben.

PS If you’re curious to know who is already committed to being an organiser, you can read about us on the organisers page. Maybe we’ll see your face on there too?

Posted on

Call for Sponsors

Thanks everyone for your support – our call for sponsors is now closed!

Sponsors play a vital role in making our conference available to so many people at an affordable rate. WordCamp Bristol 2019 simply wouldn’t be possible without your support – so thank you.

WordCamp Bristol 2019 will take place 17th – 19th May 2019

Sat 18th and Sun 19th May will be the two conference days and will be at the University of Bristol School of Chemistry. You can find more information about our venue on our Location and travel page. Our aim to put on a conference for between 300 and 350 people, with two tracks of talks over two days.

Fri 17th May will be the Contributor Day, location tbc. We’re aiming for between 30 and 40 to attend the Contributor Day.

Bristol loves WordPress

Our aim to make our sponsors’ experience as positive as possible and to give as much interaction as possible with our attendees. Bristol has a very thriving tech community and is fondly known as the Silicon Gorge, due to the high number of tech and research companies in the area.

Not only that Bristol has a very established WordPress meet-up group, Bristol WordPress people, with over 800 members. Within an hour’s drive of Bristol you also have the Cardiff meet-up, Cheltenham meet-up and the newly started Exeter meet-up.

We’re sure to see a huge range of attendees from all over the South West, Wales and of course further afield, including:

  • business owners and managers
  • web designers and UX specialists
  • developers
  • marketers, bloggers, journalists and content creators
Download our WCBRS sponsorship pack pdf (607kB)


Conference sponsorship packages

Thanks everyone for your support – our call for sponsors is now closed!

We have a number of sponsorship packages with associated benefits available:

PlatinumGoldSilverBronze
Cost£2,000
£1,500£1,000£500
Number available
1 SOLD OUT4 SOLD OUT5 (2 left)8 (4 left)
Free tickets
3221
Logo and link on
sponsors page (up to)
480x480px
360x360px
250x250px
200x200px
Description on sponsors
page (up to)
150 words
100 words
75 words
60 words
Tweets4 individual
3 individual
2 individual
1 individual
Table space (tables
are 138 x 92cm)
211Shared table
Inclusion in opening and
closing remarks
YesYesNoNo
Conference slides
Single logo,
first slide
Shared slide,
slide 3
Shared slide,
slide 4
Shared slide,
slide 4
Blog posts
1 dedicated
post
1 dedicated
post
1 shared
post
1 shared
post

If you are interested in any of these packages, please get in contact to discuss.

Enquire about sponsorship

After party sponsorship package

Thanks everyone for your support – our call for sponsors is now closed!

Our after-party will take place in the evening straight after the first conference day on Saturday 18th May. Location is to be confirmed. The package, which is very similar to our Platinum package, is as follows:

After party sponsor
Cost£2,000
Number available
1
Free tickets
3
Logo and link on sponsors page (up to)
480x480px
Description on sponsors page (up to)
150 words
Tweets4 individual
Inclusion in opening and closing remarks
Yes
Conference slides
Single logo, slide 2
Blog posts
1 dedicated post

If this sounds interesting to you, please get in contact to discuss.

Enquire about sponsorship

Contributor day sponsorship package

Thanks everyone for your support – our call for sponsors is now closed!

The Contributor Day will be the first official day of the conference taking place on Friday 17th May. Location is to be confirmed. The package, which is very similar to our Silver package, is as follows:

Silver
Cost£1,000
Number available
1
Free tickets
2
Logo and link on sponsors page (up to)
250px * 250px
Description on sponsors page (up to)
75 words
Tweets2 individual
Table space (tables are 138cm * 92cm)
1
Inclusion in opening and closing remarks
No
Conference slides
Shared slide, slide 4
Blog posts
1 shared post

If supporting our Contributor Day is something you’re interested in, please get in touch.

Enquire about sponsorship

Other sponsorship opportunities

Thanks everyone for your support – our call for sponsors is now closed!

If you would like to offer us in-kind sponsorship, such as a venue to host our Contributor Day, the After Party or something else cool that we haven’t thought of yet, please get in contact. We’d love to hear from you, and are sure we can find something mutually beneficial. Thank you.