WCEU 2014 Speakers: Helen Hou-Sandí

We’re delighted to announce that WordPress core committer Helen Hou-Sandí will join us at WordCamp Europe 2014.

Helen is the Director of Platform Experience at 10up. She also leads the upcoming WordPress 4.0 release (downloaded the WordPress 4.0 beta 2 yet?) so you’ll be able to corner her and hold her accountable for everything you’ll love about the new release.

Helen believes in WordPress as an amazing publishing platform, and loves working on all aspects of WordPress and cool things with WordPress. She is coming to Sofia to share her thoughts on common tasks and pitfalls in developing with WordPress and how we can get them done more easily.

Follow her on twitter @helenhousandi and check out her WordCamp talks on WordCamp.tv.

And on a non WordPress related note, if you’re into classical music, make sure you take a couple of minutes for this from Helen. Smuggling a grand piano into Hall 6 of the National Palace of Culture is now on the #wceu team TODO list.

For more speaker announcements and important updates, stay tuned with WordCamp Europe on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

WCEU 2014 Speakers: Matt Mullenweg

Hey everyone! We are starting the WCEU 2014 speaker announcements with great news.

The Co-Founder of WordPress Matt Mullenweg will be joining us in Sofia for a Q&A Session.

Apart from co-creating WordPress, the most popular publishing platform on the web, Matt is also the founder of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. Additionally, Matt is a principal and founder of Audrey Capital, an investment and research company, supporting innovative ideas, products and services and helping the WordPress.org project.

The one hour session with Matt will be a great chance for you to bring all of your big Qs about the WordPress of things, the decisions that are being made, the stats, and whatever else comes to mind. Go get your (ridiculously cheap) ticket now if you haven’t already and come to Sofia to hang out with Matt.

Also – feel free to shoot your questions for Matt in the comments below, we’ll keep them safe for you till September.

Cheers!

More exciting speaker announcements coming tomorrow, so make sure to follow WordCamp Europe on Twitter (and look for the #wceu hashtag, too), Facebook, and Google +, to get the news first.

Booked a hotel for WordCamp Europe 2014 yet?

Great news, WordCampers! We’ve secured discounts in some of the best hotels in Sofia for WordCamp Europe 2014 attendees. We’ve picked places we know will take good care of you and are at a walking distance from the venue.

Check out the list and take your pick.

Prices are reduced and we’ve managed to block more than 300 rooms for a reasonable period so you have plenty of time to decide and book. Mind the expiration dates on some of the bookings and should you have any question, we’re here to help.

See you in Sofia!

Speaker Applications Are Now Closed

Speaker applications for WordCamp Europe 2014 are now closed. We’ve received over 80 applications from 19 countries all over the world. In the next few weeks we will be going through everyone’s applications, and decide on the speakers for WordCamp Europe 2014. Much like last year, there are certain things we’ll be looking for in your applications, in order to put our final schedule together:

Diversity of subject — since WordCamp Europe will attract people from different areas, we need to make sure that we’re providing content that’s useful for developers, designers, bloggers, business owners, and everyone else in between.
Diversity of geographical location and gender — the final schedule will represent the WordPress community worldwide, while particularly showcasing WordPressers in Europe.
Novelty — is the presentation saying something new? Or saying something old in a new way?
Relevance — is the content relevant to WordPress and WordPress users today?

We will look at the applicants’ past presentations, and previous content on the web, to make sure that the program for WordCamp Europe 2014 is top notch.

Thank you to everyone who applied! You’ll be hearing from us soon, as we will contact everyone who applied no matter what our answer is. To everyone else – stay tuned for our first speaker announcements!

Don’t forget to follow WordCamp Europe on Twitter (and look for the #wceu hashtag, too), Facebook, and Google +, to keep up with the latest developments.

Ticket Sales Open for WordCamp Europe

Get them while they’re hot – WordCamp Europe tickets are now on sale.

30 Euros (you read that correctly 🙂 ) for two days of the most WordPress fun you can have this side of the Atlantic. What you’ll get for your euros:

2 days of presentations on WordPress from internationally renowned speakers and up-and-coming WordPressers
face time with WordPress people from all over the world
a limited edition, beautifully designed t-shirt
a lanyard (w00t!)
access to the Saturday night after party
lunch (yum!)
wi-fi (cool!)
more fun than you can imagine

Buy your ticket, and come join at the most cosmopolitan WordPress event ever.

Tip: if you’ve applied to speak or volunteer, don’t buy your ticket just yet. Volunteers and speakers won’t be charged, and we’re holding enough aside so people who aren’t selected can still buy tickets.

Call for Sponsors

After an incredible inaugural WordCamp Europe last year, the official WordPress conference for the entire continent is back! September 27th to 29th, with Sofia, Bulgaria hosting this year.

Some highlights from last year:

700+ attendees
Speakers ranging from Matt Mullenweg (Co-founder of WordPress), Joost de Valk (Yoast SEO) to Vitaly Friedman (Smashing Magazine)
92% of attendees liked it so much, they said they would come back the next year

2014 will build on that success and put forward some very unique qualities:

900+ attendees
Highly visible sponsor spaces (we learnt from last year)
Large segment of influencers and power users (70% of attendees last year flew in from outside of the country)
Plenty of bang for buck (sponsorship packages are cheaper than last year due to venue/location)

Package information can be found here.

The top tier packages were all gone within 24 hours last year, so hurry up and fill out the sponsorship form!

Help WordCamp Europe 2014

Last year’s WordCamp Europe, in Leiden, was a great success, not only because of the amazing attendance and great speakers, but because of the exceptional team of volunteers who donated their time and energy to make it an amazing event.

Volunteers are the backbone of any WordCamp – they’re the people that make sure everything is set up in advance, and that everything runs smoothly on the day.

That’s why we need your help! We need with administration before the event, and with practically running the event in Sofia. We’re looking for people with skill in all sorts of areas: running microphones around, processing registration, doing administration, helping out with speakers and sponsors, and generally spreading joy and happiness.

If you’d like to help out, you can learn more on our volunteer page. There’s a survey at the bottom of the page where you can fill in your details and let us know that you’d like to help.

Apply to speak at WordCamp Europe 2014

Photo credit: Patrick Andriessen, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

We’re delighted to announce the call for speakers for WordCamp Europe 2014.

If you would like to share your experience, know-how, and wisdom with the European WordPress community, you’ll hardly find a better (or bigger) stage. So think big, be bold, and impress us with your application; we will give you the opportunity to spread your word to hundreds of people. The deadline for applications is the 5th of July, 2014.

Think hard about what you want to share, why you want to share it, and how you’re going to do it. We’re already impatient to hear your ideas.

Good luck and see you in Sofia?

WordCamp Europe 2014 – Here We Go

The dates and location for WordCamp Europe 2014 are set.

For a second year in a roll the WordPress community in Europe will have the chance to get together for three days of networking, sharing knowledge and contributing to the project. For those who didn’t have the chance to be in Leiden last year, here’s the gist of WordCamp Europe 2013 it in this brilliant video:

When and where

WordCamp Europe 2014 will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The event will consist of two conference days in The National Palace of Culture on September 27, 28 and a Contributor day for all who would like to give back to the WordPress project on Monday, September 29.

Why Sofia

Following the original intention to have the event in different European city every year, there was a call for organisers inviting teams from all over Europe to apply to be hosts for 2014.

The decision to have the event in Sofia has been made by the organising team after receiving and reviewing several applications.