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

[Hynek Schlawack]

> I'd actually rather cap the number of attendees than raise prices.

I find this an unfortunate line of though; EuroPython is the *only* 
explicitly European Python conference. Keeping it artificially small 
just makes it either less interesting or simply elitist.

EP is one of the cheapest conferences I’ve attended so far (only 
beaten by RuPy 2012 which is much shorter and took place at an 
University in a cheap country).  Comparing prices from now and *seven* 
years ago is neither fair nor reasonable.  The same goes for attendance 
numbers: the Python community in 2014 is very different from the one in 
2008.

I very much prefer the current approach of growing and giving out grants 
to people who can’t afford attending on their own than denying the 
EP–experience to hundreds of people completely.

> I think the most interesting people to meet at the conferences in 
> general have
> a limited budget. The come to the conference on their own tab to tell 
> the
> world about the cool things they are doing in their spare time.

I don’t believe such a correlation – or even causality! – exists.  
If you find their talks more interesting, it falls under “personal 
preferences” for which it’s important to have a diverse schedule.  
That said, grants can make sure that such interesting people are able to 
attend anyway.

> We used to be able to pay travel for speakers coming from South 
> America  and
> the Far East. I see this as far more important than having as many 
> attendees
> as possible.

I can’t follow this reasoning.  I always saw EP as Europe’s premier 
get-together of Python devotees that was interesting enough to attract a 
significant crowd from outside.  Optimizing a conference called 
“*Euro*Python” for South American attendees seems rather backward to 
me (again: grants).

***

The EPS will have to decide whether they just want to be a cheap 
get-together for a small cabal or Europe’s answer to PyCon US/NA.  If 
it’s the former, I can only hope an alternative will form from within 
the organizers of the past years. We have enough cheap and small 
conferences; the hard task is to run a big one in a proper way without 
ripping people off O’Reilly-style.

—h

P.S. I’m not affiliated with anyone involved in this discussion, this 
is just my 2 cents as someone who attended all three EPs in Florence as 
well as other – cheap – conferences.