Every year, numerous WordCamps take place around the world, where WordPress enthusiasts meet, discuss new developments in the WordPress ecosystem, share their experiences and tips and network. Today we explain what you can expect at a WordCamp and which WordCamps are taking place near you in 2019.

Contributor Day, BarCamp, Session Pitch, WordCamp Retreat, Community Ticket and Swag Bag are no foreign words to you? Then you're probably an old WordCamp hand and already have a considerable collection of WordCamp T-shirts hanging in your closet. The best thing to do is to jump directly to the overview of upcoming WordCamps in 2019 in the article to plan your WordCamp stays for this year.

If you don't immediately know what the above terms mean, you've come to the right place. Because today I want to explain to you what makes WordCamps so special and why it makes sense for you to attend.

What is a WordCamp?

A WordCamp is a local conference at which there are presentations and sometimes also workshops, discussions and Q&As on various topics relating to the content management system WordPress system. A WordCamp usually lasts one to two days and is planned and run by a volunteer organizing team.

The aim of WordCamps is to strengthen the local WordPress community and promote the exchange of WordPress users from the region. The great thing is that this networking not only works locally, but also throughout Germany. If you see someone at one WordCamp, you will most likely meet them again at the next German camp. For this reason, the general atmosphere at WordCamps is often like a big class reunion.

WordCamps 2019: Who can take part?

A WordCamp is a great event for anyone interested in WordPress - whether professional or beginner - where you never go home without new knowledge and interesting discussions. The presentations are usually selected in such a way that different subject areas and levels of difficulty are covered. The focus on WordPress is also very broad. In addition to WordPress-specific topics, talks on online marketing, design, SEO, GDPR or mental health are not uncommon. At some WordCamps, you as a participant can even have a say in the presentations - keyword "BarCamp" - but more on that in a moment.

If you're a WordCamp newbie and have concerns about the reunion atmosphere described above, I can reassure you: I don't know of any community that integrates new faces into the community as naturally and openly as the WordPress community. This unrestricted inclusivity is also reflected in the Code of Conduct of every WordCamp.

In short: The general interest in WordPress as a content management system alone is reason enough to attend a WordCamp, even if you are not (yet) a WordPress user. There are plenty of opportunities to get to know nice people between sessions and there's also plenty of fun to be had - guaranteed!

What is a BarCamp?

Some WordCamps are held in the so-called BarCamp format. First of all, this means that no speakers or presentations are determined in advance of the event. Instead, the so-called "session pitch" takes place in the morning of the respective event day. As a WordCamp participant, if you would like to offer a session, you can briefly introduce your topic here. If several participants are interested in your topic (indicated by a show of hands), it will be included in the daily schedule.

So a BarCamp is not about WordPress experts reciting their perfectly prepared presentation slides. Rather, every participant who has expertise in a certain area or would like to share their experience can contribute to a varied session plan - whether in the form of a presentation, a workshop or an informal Q&A session.

This spontaneous session planning at WordCamp Cologne 2018 resulted, for example, in the panel discussion "Working in Germany as a Foreigner", in which four WordCamp participants from South America and the Netherlands chatted about the hurdles, special features and advantages of being an expat in Germany.

For the WordCamp organizers, BarCamps naturally entail a certain risk, as it is not clear in advance whether enough volunteer speakers will sign up. After all, the presentations are an important core element of a WordCamp. Personally, I have only had positive experiences with BarCamps so far. Sometimes it's even good if it seems at first that there won't be enough speakers. This is because participants who lacked the courage to give a presentation usually come forward with exciting topics.

WordCamp Osnabrück - a BarCamp hybrid

The next German WordCamp in BarCamp format is the WordCamp Osnabrückwhich will take place from March 22 to 23, 2019. A special feature of the WCOS is that there will be several fixed workshops in parallel to the spontaneous BarCamp sessions. If you have an exciting topic up your sleeve that you would like to convey in a workshop, you can still submit your workshop idea until February 24. to submit your workshop idea. We are currently still looking for workshops aimed at beginners in particular.

What is a Contributor Day?

A WordCamp usually also includes a Contributor Day. This takes place either the day before or after the actual conference. At other WordCamps, the Contributor Day runs parallel to the regular sessions. This was the case, for example, at the WordCamp Retreat Soltau and will also take place at WordCamp Osnabrück will also be the case. No matter in which form - if there is an opportunity to contribute, you should definitely take it.

At Contributor Day, you have the opportunity to get a taste of the work of the various WordPress teams and actively contribute to the WordPress project. It's a great feeling when you suddenly become part of the many volunteer contributors who make the open source project WordPress project.

Contributor Day gives you the chance to give something back to the community and learn a lot in the process. There are many areas where you can contribute - even without any programming knowledge.

I explain how you can also contribute to the WordPress project outside of a WordCamp in my article "Contributing to WordPress: 3 steps to becoming a WP contributor".

Who can organize a WordCamp?

WordCamp Central says the following about organizing a local WordCamp: "No specific skills or backgrounds are required to become an organizer, though events tend to be most successful when responsibility is shared among several co-organizers". However, before you try to organize a WordCamp on your own, it's best to join a WordPress Meetup in your region and present your idea there. If there is not yet a WordPress group in your area, you can easily set up a WP Meetup yourself.

If you would like to organize a WordCamp, you must first fill out this application form from the WordPress Foundation. The primary goal of WordCamps is to strengthen the local WP community. However, there are several guidelines and processes that every WordCamp worldwide should adhere to. To ensure this, every planned WordCamp must first be approved by the WordPress Foundation must first be approved. Since WordCamps are non-commercial events that are made possible solely by sponsors and the WordPress Foundation, the budget must also be presented and approved by the Foundation. Once these steps have been taken, the organizing team can get to work.

Overview: WordCamps 2019

Below you will find a list of WordCamps taking place in Germany and Europe in 2019 that have already been officially confirmed. At WordCamp Central you can also check where WordCamps are taking place outside of Europe this year and which events are still being planned.

february

08. - 10. WordCamp Las Palmas de Gran Canaria /// @WCLasPalmasGC #WCLasPalmasGC

23. WordCamp Prague /// @WordCampPraha #WordCampPraha

March

07. - 08. WordCamp Nordic, Helsinki, FIN /// @WordCampNordic #WCNordic

23. - 24. WordCamp Osnabrück, GER /// @WordCampOS #WCOS

23. WordCamp Bordeaux, FRA /// @WordCampBdx #WCBDX

April

05. - 06. WordCamp Torino, ITA /// @WordCampTRN #WCTRN

06. - 07. WordCamp Madrid, ESP /// @WordCampMad #WCMAD

06. - 07. WordCamp London, UK /// @WordCampLondon #WCLDN

24. - 26. WordCamp Paris, FRA /// @WordCampParis #WCParis

27. - 28. WordCamp Vienna, AUT /// @WPVienna #WCVIE

May

10. - 11. WordCamp Plovdiv, BGR /// @WordCampPlovdiv #WCPLD

11. WordCamp Košice, SVK

17. - 19. WordCamp Bristol, UK /// @wordcampbristol #WCBRS

June

31. - 02. WordCamp Irun, ESP

20. - 22. WordCamp Europe, Berlin, GER /// @WCEurope #WCEU

The year is still young and there are certainly many WordCamps planned for the second half of the year that have not yet been announced on WordCamp Central. In any case, we'll keep our eyes open!

Some WordCamps are already being planned but have not yet confirmed an official date. These include, for example, WordCamp Rotterdam in March and WordCamp Bilbao in May.

Conclusion

At Raidboxes, it is very important to us to support the WordPress community in the best possible way. For this reason, it is a matter of course for us to sponsor regional WordCamps, to release team members as speakers or volunteers, to organize internal Contributor Days and, last but not least, to participate in the organization of a WordCamp ourselves.

We hope to see many new faces at WordCamps in Germany in 2019 alongside the "old hands". Next you will meet us at the WordCamp Osnabrück and the WordCamp Europe in Berlin. Will you be there?