Have Your City Host PyCon 2010!

[Ted Pollari]

The PyCon organizers are excited to announce the start of the PyCon  
2010 planning process!

Even more importantly, we're looking for motivated local groups to  
spearhead this volunteer-run, community-based conference.

In years past, the locale for the next year was arranged about a year  
in advance. That worked while we were a smaller conference with many  
venues to choose from. PyCon 2008, to be held soon in the Chicago  
area, has over 950 registered attendees at this time. That is over one  
and a half times the number of attendees from just the year before!  
We're excited to see PyCon grow, but it also means that how we plan  
PyCon needs to change just a little bit.

The first change is a change in the timeline. Starting with PyCon  
2010, we're aiming to begin planning two years ahead. To help us do  
that, PyCon 2009 will also be held in the Chicago area, at the same  
venue as 2008.

The second change is that the bid process will not be as detail-heavy  
and will not demand as much initial work by local groups. Instead,  
we're focusing on the heart and soul of PyCon: the community of  
volunteers -- we're looking to find excited and committed groups who  
want to be the backbone of PyCon 2010. The details will be worked out  
in a collaborative process, with local groups working in conjunction  
the volunteer PyCon organizers and the Python Software Foundation's  
Conference Committee.


Still interested? Curious? Do you want PyCon 2010 hosted in your area?  
Here's what to do:

• Form a group of people interested in helping with the conference  
planning.

• If you're attending PyCon 2008, join us for a kick-off meeting over  
lunch on Saturday, March 15th.

• Make sure at least one person from your group is on the PyCon  
organizer's list[1] and, as soon as possible, announce your interest  
in submitting a bid on the list. This process should be viewed as  
cooperative -- we're here to help and encourage any group that wants  
to take on hosting PyCon.

• Finally, assemble your official bid, referring to the PyCon Bid  
Guidelines [2] for information and deadlines and submit it to the  
PyCon organizer's list before the deadline listed in the PyCon Bid  
Guidelines. Posting your bid to a publicly viewable website wouldn't  
be a bad idea either...


If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to email the  
organizer's list and ask away!


[1] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-organizers

[2] http://wiki.python.org/moin/PyConPlanning/BidRequirements