[EuroPython] Work on Call for Participation for EuroPython 2015 has started

[John Pinner]

Hello,

On 1 February 2014 22:43, Paul Boddie <paul at boddie.org.uk> wrote:
> On Saturday 1. February 2014 21.24.02 Hynek Schlawack wrote:
>> On 1 Feb 2014, at 20:36, Paul Boddie wrote:

<snips>

>> It certainly is for a particular conference (EP in this case).  Nobody
>> is arguing that *every* conference should aspire to grow like PyCon US.
>> But I’m going to argue that downsizing an established conference is a
>> waste and the wrong step.
>
> I haven't followed EuroPython over the last three years, so I cannot comment
> on how many people were there, but if we're at a thousand people now then this
> is effectively PyCon-style growth (maybe not quite as aggressive given that
> they're at 2000 people now, I think). Perhaps the emergence of what you call
> "regional" conferences is a response to that.
>
> I'd be really interested in knowing whether former EuroPython organisers would
> be interested in running the conference again either at the level it was at
> when they ran it or at its current level.

Speaking for myself, and my fellow PyCon UK/EuroPython 2009/2010
organisers, we 've discussed this and the answer would be "No".

I think that EuroPython 2010, at about 450, was as big as any one of
us would wish, and it was hard enough work. Anything bigger gets to be
beyond reason.

If we were to run an event with, say, 1000 delegates we would need to
use a venue such as the International Convention Centre, and this
would come at a high cost with attendant risks.

At the venue we use now, we could manage up to 650, but teh thought of
herding that many cats is horrrific...

> I can well imagine that many people
> just don't want the hassle of stepping up to the larger venues, where the
> stakes can be quite a bit higher (just ask the PSF), and the need to find
> people willing to run such events is precisely the problem that the EuroPython
> Society seems to have walked into.
>
> [...]
>
>> > If you're interested in running a big conference and doing so without
>> > ripping people off, I'm sure people would welcome your involvement. But as
>> > I'm sure you know already, large conference or small conference, you'll be
>> > investing a fair amount of your own time just to keep the costs down and
>> > to make it all happen.
>>
>> I’m not sure what you’re arguing for or against; because you’re
>> basically just validating what I was saying?
>
> No, I was just saying that you seem to be exactly the kind of person the
> EuroPython Society is looking for to organise the kind of large-scale event
> that you'd like to see in Europe that is neither "regional" nor "sciency".

The classic Free Software mantra : if you don't like it, fix it, less
politely p*ss or get off the pot ;-)

>> There have been claims that we should cap the size in the future so we
>> get cheaper so everybody can attend financially (but not realistically
>> because of the artificial limit).  I was arguing against that.  Neither
>> did I say that small conferences are without merit, nor did I voice
>> disapproval with the organizers of EP14.  All I’m saying is that there
>> is a need for a big European conference and it would be sad if EP threw
>> away its reputation it built in Florence

EuroPython has not been held in Firenze alone.

>>  and tried to become a small
>> conference with a big name.
>
> Well, fair enough. I was just pointing out that EuroPython was not
> traditionally this big - however big it actually is now - and that there are
> practical constraints that mean that people do sensibly suggest a limit on the
> number of people who can go.
>
> Ultimately, it comes down to whether you can find a bunch of organisers who
> will take on handling a large number of conference attendees at a venue that
> may very well be beyond the budget and levels of risk that they are used to,
> and where the scale of the facility may automatically take them into "premium"
> territory, depending on where and how well-connected they are.

Exactly.

> Perhaps it would be sad to downsize EuroPython, but unless you have people
> willing to take the conference on at the scale you prefer - and they do have
> valid reasons to be wary of doing so - then there may be no other choice.
> That's all I'm saying.

Agreed.

Best wishes,

John
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