[EuroPython] EuroPython 2008: A Call for Theme and Talk Suggestions

[Paul Boddie]

As preparations for EuroPython 2008 gather momentum, we [*] would like to find 
out what kinds of talks and themes would be most interesting to the 
EuroPython community: that is, the people planning to attend the conference, 
along with those people following the conference from further afield. In 
other words: what do you think are the most exciting areas of Python activity 
right now, and what aspects of them would you most like to hear about at 
EuroPython 2008?

Last year, the conference focused on agile development, but also promoted many 
of the familiar categories: business, education, games, language and 
libraries, science, social skills and Web development. Of course, topics such 
as Web development remain as popular as ever, but we also saw strong 
contributions in other areas such as robotics and database systems.

So, we would like your opinions on the hot topics you would like to see 
covered at EuroPython - perhaps a topic you might even consider delivering a 
talk about yourself. We have set up a page on the EuroPython site to collect 
ideas, and the community is very welcome to add their thoughts and 
suggestions to it. Discussion on this mailing list is, of course, also 
encouraged!

See here for the page of talk and theme suggestions:

http://www.europython.org/community/Talk_Suggestions

And see here for some help on contributing to the site:

http://www.europython.org/community/Participants

Of course, EuroPython welcomes talks about anything Python-related - they 
don't have to fit the eventual themes of the conference exactly. Unlike some 
conferences, EuroPython isn't about fitting talks into some rigid structure 
and filtering out things which don't belong.

Instead, we welcome new ideas, even on the very nature of the conference 
programme itself. For example, would tutorials - a regular feature of other 
Python conferences - be interesting to EuroPython attendees? Would you like 
to see influential developers discuss issues in panel sessions? Are there any 
other activities which could be brought into the EuroPython schedule from 
other conferences?

Let the discussion begin!

[*] As EuroPython is a community conference, there isn't really an "us" 
(meaning the organisers) and a "them" (meaning everyone else). Everyone is 
welcome to help shape the conference into something meaningful to them. See 
the EuroPython site at europython.org for more information!