PyCon Australia 2016 News

Let's talk about...our Code of Conduct!

Tue, 09 Aug 2016 23:24:28 +1000

PyCon Australia 2016 has a code of conduct, as the conference has had since 2011 (the second year). The aim of the Code of Conduct is to lay out our expectations for behaviour to facilitate an environment that is safe, welcoming and inclusive.

We recognise that a Code of Conduct is not a silver bullet and the mere presence of one does not guarantee that everyone does in fact have a good time. Therefore, we have spent some time formulating our incident response plan. It's outlined below so that if you have to report something, you can know what to expect.

Reports made to one of the conference’s Code of Conduct representatives (the response team) will be documented in a paper form. If there is an immediate threat to safety we will contact venue security and/or police. In other cases, we will meet with the rest of the response team and decide on what actions if any to take (aiming within half a day for reports during the conference days). We will follow up with the person who reported to communicate our actions.

Data retention policy: Reports will be kept for the same organising team (PyCon AU 2017/Melbourne) and will not be passed on to successive teams.

The Code of Conduct response team consists of:

Katie McLaughlin
Greg Turner
Craige McWhirter
Brianna Laugher
Chris Neugebauer

Brianna and Chris are part of the core organising team but Katie, Greg and Craige are not.

You can reach out to one of these people in person, and you can also report problems via email to safety@pycon-au.org. This goes to a ticketing system which these 5 people have access to.

The Code of Conduct applies not only to the formal days of the conference itself, but also social events such as the conference dinner, and online channels such as mailing lists, Twitter and the Slack group.

Our plans here are gratefully informed by a huge amount of prior work done, in particular we have drawn from:

The Django Code of Conduct Handbook, by Ola Sendecka and Ola Sitarska
US PyCon Staff Procedure for Handling Harassment
Geek Feminism wiki's page on Responding to reports
Audrey Eschright's 2015 OSFeels talk on Enforcing Your Code of Conduct

Announcing miniconf keynotes

Sun, 07 Aug 2016 15:29:14 +1000

We've already announced that the main conference keynotes are Damien George and Dr Russell Keith-Magee, with Solange Cunin speaking at the dinner. Now it's time to find out who will be keynoting our Friday miniconfs!

First up at the DjangoConAU will be Donna Benjamin! An absolute legend of the Australian open source scene, and sitting on the board for the Drupal Association, Donna will take us through Django & Drupal: A tale of two cities. This knowledgeable comparison between the two projects (something of a tradition at DjangoCon AU) will explore the common challenges and highlight where approaches diverge, providing an opportunity to reflect on how each project can grow stronger separately, and maybe even together. Donna is also speaking on Sunday on Turning user stories into websites.

Secondly at the Internet of Things miniconf, if you can't wait until Saturday to hear Damien George, luckily you can get a sneak peek on Friday! Damien will talk about high-level languages that have been adapted for use in microcontrollers including Lua, JavaScript, Ruby, and of course, Python. Lachlan Blackhall, organiser of the Internet of Things miniconf, said, "The inaugural IoT miniconf at PyconAU will be an exciting opportunity to learn about and discuss everything from Python on embedded devices, to how Python is powering IoT enabling cloud services and everything in between."

Thirdly, at the popular Science and Data miniconf, we will hear from Juan Nunez-Iglesias, on Python's bright future in science. Juan is a core developer for the scikit-image library and a research scientist at the Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative, in the University of Melbourne. He has taught scipy workshops around the world and co-authored the "Elegant SciPy" book, putting him in a prime position to comment on Python's status in the scientific programming community.

Finally, at the Education Seminar, we're excited to hear from Roland Gesthuizen, from Digital Learning & Teaching Victoria, speaking on Smart City: Connecting the dots and digital kids. Roland's current mission is to challenge students to design, build a smart city consisting of intelligent vehicles and infrastructure. To do this they need to program a navigation algorithm to autonomously navigate vehicles through a series of traffic challenges that test collision avoidance and road safety. Roland has an active interest in the development of online learning communities, open education and software freedom, and is a recipient of the 2010 ACCE Educator of the year Award and 2012 ISTE Making IT Happen Award.

With four amazing options, the hardest part of Friday morning will be choosing which one to attend! Conference check-in opens from 8am on Friday our venue, Level 1 of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. You can also check in on Thursday afternoon, from 4:30pm to 6:00pm, so if you are around the CBD on Thursday, we encourage you to beat the rush and collect your badge then.

Related events: Data Carpentry workshop, MelbDjango birthday, PyLadies breakfast, Running group

Sun, 07 Aug 2016 16:25:55 +1000

It's PyCon Australia week! We trust you are as excited as we are! 😁

There are a few events happening this week in close association with PyCon AU. Check out the details below:

On Wednesday and Thursday, there will be a Data Carpentry Workshop at VLSCI (University of Melbourne). This is a hands-on workshop teaching basic concepts, skills and tools for working more effectively with data. It's well suited to researchers and scientists, but open to anyone (including people not attending the conference). Topics covered will include spreadsheet analysis, SQL, basic Python and Pandas. It's free to attend but see the web page to register.

Data Carpentry is a sibling organization of Software Carpentry. Where Software Carpentry teaches best practices in software development, the Data Carpentry focus is on the introductory computational skills needed for data management and analysis in all domains of research.

We are big fans of Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry at PyCon Australia; last year a Software Carpentry workshop was held alongside PyCon AU in Brisbane, so we are happy to see this tradition continue. Let's pythonify ALL the scientists!

On Thursday evening, there will be the MelbDjango birthday party to celebrate MelbDjango turning three! That's a huge achievement for any meetup to sustain, let alone the other things they have also done - organising MelbDjango Camp, and MelbDjango Schools to share their knowledge and love for Django to new audiences. Congratulations to Brenton and the Common Code crew -- here's to another three years. 🎂

Finally, on Saturday morning, the PyLadies breakfast will be happening at Left Bank Melbourne, just up the road on Southbank. This is also a free event, but please register by Friday for catering.

The PyLadies Melbourne chapter just formed this year, and it's an exciting and rare chance for women and genderqueer/non-binary Pythonistas from around the country to meet in person and make connections. We are looking for a sponsor for this event. As the conference is sold out we unfortunately can't offer any free tickets, but we would be heartened to see financial support forthcoming for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. If you or your company is interested, please contact us.

On the days of the conference, there will be a Running group. There are some great runs planned and it's the best way to prepare for a day of sitting down watching presentations, so pack your sneakers!

PyConAU 2016 sells out!

Mon, 01 Aug 2016 23:37:22 +1000

We are thrilled to announce that PyCon Australia 2016 has SOLD OUT!

Not in the bad way, of course -- we still have our principles, that beautiful is better than ugly, and explicit is better than implicit, and the rest. Just in the way that 500 of our best Pythonista mates will be joining us in Melbourne in a mere two weeks for a huge PyConAU #7!

For would-be attendees who left it a little too late, you can email us with the subject line "waiting list" and we will put you in the queue in case there are cancellations. However, this is not a promising queue. Another option is to purchase a miniconf-only ticket that lets you attend on Friday only. If that interests you, email us with the subject line "miniconf-only ticket". There is a limited number of these tickets available too so don't hesitate any longer.

For attendees who did register and pay in time, if you forgot to buy a dinner ticket, you can still purchase one before 6 August. Or, if you want to upgrade your ticket to become a Contributor✨, we would be thrilled to hear from you. Email away!

Finally, if you are a company feeling a little left out of all this Pythontastic fabulousness, never fear - it is not too late to become a sponsor and we would love to hear from you!

Announcing keynote speaker Damien George

Wed, 27 Jul 2016 23:21:15 +1000

The PyCon Australia team is quietly ecstatic to announce that our second keynote speaker will be Damien George.

Damien is the creator of MicroPython and ran two very fruitful Kickstarter campaigns to build a community around this microcontroller language. He has built a successful company based on MicroPython and the pyboard, brought it to makers, teachers and industry developers around the world, worked with the BBC on the micro:bit project, and embarked on projects with the European Space Agency to bring MicroPython into space.

“Damien’s work, and continuing community efforts, have been an important part of the Python ecosystem,” said Richard Jones, conference chair. “I’m especially excited to hear Damien talk through the journey of dreaming up and implementing a whole new Python just for the smallest possible deployments, on microcontrollers, and where that journey has taken him.”

We are fascinated to hear Damien’s keynote address and hear about MicroPython in our macro universe. Will you be there?

Registrations for PyCon Australia 2016 are already open and tickets are almost sold out. Book your conference ticket today!

Call for volunteers

Fri, 22 Jul 2016 13:42:32 +1000

Gain a new perspective on PyCon AU 2016, working behind the scenes to make the event happen. The team behind PyCon AU is an all volunteer team and we need your help to make the show run as smoothly as possible, so we’re now calling for on the ground volunteers to complete the team.

We aim to recruit volunteers to assist us with the following:

A/V staff - Run our video recording system (complete training provided). This is a full-time position and not suitable for attendees. It comes with a free pass to the conference.

Session Chairing - Help run a room during talks over one or more sessions (see the wiki below). Strongly recommended for first-time speakers.

Registration Desk - Handle the registration desk. This is a full-time position and not suitable for attendees. It comes with a free pass to the conference. We will also need some non-full-time folks to cover busy times.

Badge Check - Verify attendee ticket validity at the entrance doors.

Volunteers will be provided with a free T-Shirt and full-time volunteers' food and drink requirements will be looked after. This is a great opportunity to experience a Python conference first-hand and to connect with like-minded Python enthusiasts.

There will be a training session in the evening of Thursday 11th at the MCEC for all non-A/V volunteers. The A/V volunteers will have training at a time to be determined.

To sign up:

Non session chairs: just e-mail us indicating how you'd like to help out!

Session Chairs:

Go to: SessionChairing on the wiki
Sign in with your PyCon account credentials
Add your name to your preferred slot(s).

Announcing keynote speaker Dr Russell Keith-Magee

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 22:38:06 +1000

The PyCon Australia 2016 team is happy to announce that our first keynote speaker will be Dr Russell Keith-Magee.

We’re familiar with Python as a scripting language, as a web server language, as a data analysis language, and as a teaching language. But is that the limit of where Python can be used? What is the future for Python on other platforms? Is the prospect of using Python on those platforms a novelty, or a viable way to fend off an existential threat to the language? And how does this threat intersect with other threats we have to our community, and to our industry?

Dr Russell Keith-Magee is a 10 year veteran of the Django core team, and for 5 years, was President of the Django Software Foundation. He's also the founder of the BeeWare project, developing GUI tools to support the development of Python software. When he's not contributing to open source, he's the CTO of TradesCloud, a company providing integrated job management software for tradespeople.

“Python has long been available on ‘all the platforms’, but it hasn't kept up with the massive increase in mobile devices,” said Richard Jones, conference chair. “Russell has has been an exemplary community leader and his open source projects are doing the important work of addressing that lack of coverage.”

We are excited to hear Russell’s keynote address and contemplate the multi-platform future of Python. Will you be there?

Registrations for PyCon Australia 2016 are already open and tickets are two-thirds sold. Book your conference ticket today!

Announcing invited speaker Solange Cunin

Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:38:43 +1000

The PyCon Australia 2016 team is over the moon to announce that our invited dinner speaker will be Solange Cunin.

A passionate advocate with a mission to drive student engagement with science and technology, Solange Cunin is the founder and CEO of Australian startup Quberider. Soon to graduate from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelors in Mathematics and Aerospace Engineering, Solange already boasts both space industry and startup experience and has designed satellite systems for major Australian universities. In a few months Quberider will be delivering experiments designed in Australian classrooms to the International Space Station, in an Australian first.

”Like Solange, we are passionate about engaging students with science and technology, and it’s hard to imagine a better way to exercise the grey matter than by exploring dark matter,” said Richard Jones, conference chair. “The success of the Python in Education miniconf at PyCon Australia shows that there is a lot of gravity attracting developers and educators in joining forces, and Quberider is a rising star in the constellation of new space startups.”

We can’t wait to hear Solange’s talk and find out how Quberider is using Python to inspire interest at the intersection of science and space. Will you join us at the launchpad?

Registrations for PyCon Australia 2016 are already open and tickets are selling fast. Don’t let the conference eclipse you - book your ticket today!

The 2016 Programme is here!

Sun, 26 Jun 2016 22:23:27 +1000

We are proud to unveil the 2016 Programme to you all. While still officially a draft, and exact timings are subject to change, the bulk of the Programme will remain as it is.

Spread across four rooms at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, running from 9am to 6pm each day, there is a wealth of knowledge and support for you, whatever your background.

For your convenience, each day's details can be found below.

In related news, tickets have been selling steadily leading up to this point, after the initial burst. In previous years, many people have left registering until too late, and some unfortunately missed out. Don't leave it too late this time around!

Friday 12 August (Internet of Things, Education Seminar, DjangoCon AU, and Science and Data)

Saturday 13 August

Sunday 14 August

Should you have submitted a proposal and are currently waitlisted, we will contact you shortly, as the final programme slots are locked in.

Programme sneak peek

Tue, 31 May 2016 22:28:17 +1000

With tickets sales having opened just 10 days ago, we are thrilled that already a quarter are sold. Of course, most of these were part of the early bird rush, which flew past in less than 48 hours. Amazing!

We are now well underway in assembling the programme, which will be jam-packed with more than 70 informative and entertaining talks and tutorials. It will take us another week or so to get the final speaker confirmations and assemble the most painful challenge to quantum mechanics (that thing where there are three talks you want to see at the same time)...but in the mean time... here is a sneak peek of what you can expect. (Some of these may appear in miniconf and specialist events on Friday.)

Hear no evil, see no evil, patch no evil: Or, how to monkey-patch safely by Graham Dumpleton
The Power ⚡️ and Responsibility 😓 of Unicode Adoption ✨ by Katie McLaughlin
From Flying Circus to Holy Grail: Migrating the Twilio API from PHP to Python by Sam Kitajima-Kimbrel
Designing Hardware with Python - A story of the HDMI2USB.tv project by Timothy Ansell
Taking Django beyond HTTP by Andrew Godwin
Building brains by Paula Sanz-Leon
Predicting the TripleJ Hottest 100 With Python by Justin Warren
Django Reduxed by Saket Bhushan
A Girls Guide To Growing A Moustache with Python by Heidi Baxter
Turning stories into websites by Donna Benjamin
Geoscience Big Data Computing with Python by Fei Zhang
Empowering X.509 Certificate Management with Python by Marlon Dutra
Graphing when your Facebook friends are awake by Alexander Hogue
So you want to make a screencast? by Caleb Hattingh
Data Science Design Patterns by Tennessee Leeuwenburg
Teaching programming in undergraduate psychology by Damien Mannion
Error handling without fear by Martin Matusiak
Ruruki in-memory graph database by Jenda Mudron
Django - Customise your SQL by Josh Smeaton
OpenBMC: Boot your server with Python by Joel Stanley
Python for Bioinformatics for learning Python by Martin Schweitzer
A Bird, A Guitarist And A Raised Platform Walk Into A Bar: Comparing Wagtail, Django CMS and Mezzanine by Daisy Leigh Brenecki
MicroPython: Embedded programming for everyone by Jim Mussared
Teaching geometry using Logo/Python turtle module, or how to sneak programming into maths class by Vivian Li
Have It Your Way: Maximizing Drive-Thru Contributions by VM (Vicky) Brasseur
Learning TensorFlow by Robert Layton
Migrating to a Serverless Web Application by Rory Hart
Starting fires in national parks - A proof of concept Python toolkit for effective landscape fuel hazard management by Henry Walshaw
Preventing Cat-astrophes with GNU MediaGoblin by Ben Sturmfels
Python for Water Forecasting Services by Daehyok Shin
CPython internals and the VM by Christopher Swenson
The dangerous, exquisite art of safely handing user-uploaded files by Tom Eastman
Big data biology for pythonistas: getting in on the genomics revolution by Darya Vanichkina
I wish I learnt that earlier! by Rachel Bunder
Functional Programming for Pythonistas by Bianca Gibson
GPS Tracking with Python by Caleb Hattingh
Working with real-time data streams in Python by Lachlan Blackhall
How digital agencies can invest in open-source products without going broke or insane by Greg Turner
ESP8266 and MicroPython by Nick Moore
Evaluating fire simulators using Docker, Dask and Jupyter notebooks! by Nathan Faggian
Pyrobuf and the Tyranny of Speed by Gregory Saunders
Breaking up arrays up into chunks for fun and science with Xarray and Dask by Andrew Hicks
Integrating Python within a School Context by Brad Nielsen
More testing with fewer tests by Clinton Roy

Phew!!! We are so excited to bring you the full schedule in the very near future!

The prices page lists all the inclusions with each type of ticket. Employer-paid Professional tickets are $560. Additionally, we invite you or your employer to consider upgrading to a Contributor✨ ticket. At $900, it includes all the perks of a Professional ticket along with exposure as a sponsor, and the warm fuzzies of knowing that you are supporting Australia's finest Python conference (and more importantly, its attendees).

For the weekend keyboard warriors who are paying their own way, Enthusiast tickets start from $250. And if that figure feel like a stretch too, we encourage you to apply for financial assistance. Applications close during June. We don't want anyone attending PyConAU to be so stressed about money that they can't enjoy it.

It's just 10 weeks to PyCon Australia, so hop to it! Buy your ticket now.

Tickets now on sale!

Sun, 22 May 2016 23:28:12 +1000

We are delighted to announce that online registration is now open for PyCon Australia 2016. The seventh PyCon Australia is being held in Melbourne, Victoria from August 12th – 16th at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, and will draw hundreds of Python developers, enthusiasts and students from Australasia and afar.

Starting today, early bird offers are up for grabs. To take advantage of these discounted ticket rates, be among the first 90 to register. Early bird registration starts from $60 for full-time students, $190 for enthusiasts and $495 for professionals. Offers this good won’t last long, so we recommend registering right away.

We strongly encourage attendees to organise their accommodation as early as possible, as demand for cheaper rooms is very strong during the AFL season.

PyCon Australia has endeavoured to keep tickets as affordable as possible. Financial assistance is also available. We are able to make such offers thanks to our Sponsors and Contributors.

To begin the registration process, and find out more about each level of ticket, visit https://2016.pycon-au.org/register/prices.

Important Dates to Help You Plan

22 May: Registration opens - ‘Early bird’ prices for the first 90 tickets
17 June: Last day to apply for financial assistance
26 June: Last day to purchase conference dinner tickets
9 July: Last day to order conference t-shirts
12 August: PyCon Australia 2016 begins!

CFP final days - looking for proposal feedback?

Sun, 01 May 2016 18:04:51 +1000

The PyCon AU 2016 Call for Proposals is entering its final days. We would like to encourage anyone thinking about submitting a proposal to get their ideas submitted as soon as possible! Submissions can be edited up to the deadline, so even if you draft needs some more work, submitting it now will make sure you've thrown your hat in the ring. First time speakers are very welcome!

Discussing your proposal with other people is a great way to improve the clarity of the idea you're presenting. If you're not sure what you're proposing is clear enough, or relevant enough, or whatever enough, we highly recommend you to workshop it with some friends! The CFP team is also available to provide feedback on talk proposals. Email contact@pycon-au.org to request this.

Applications for financial assistance are also open, and we highly encourage potential speakers to make use of this.

Call for Proposals now open

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:37:01 +1000

The PyCon Australia team is very happy to announce that the Call for Proposals is now open. We can't wait to hear what exciting ideas you have!

This CFP includes the CFP for the miniconf/special events.

For all the details, read the Call for Proposals page and then get cracking! Submissions close 8th May, 2016.

Investigating childcare demand

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:04:05 +1000

The team is investigating options for childcare. As we are trying to gauge demand, if you would potentially utilise this option, please let us know! Twitter vote or reply, or contact us. Thank you!

Inaugural Internet of Things mini-conf

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 16:13:42 +1000

The Internet of Things (IoT) mini-conf will be a day devoted to presentations and demonstrations of how Python powers IoT devices, applications and services.

The proliferation of distributed devices connected to the Internet has been an enabler for a variety of new capabilities and services ranging from home automation, to sensor networks, building management systems and smart vehicles. This one-day works hop will concentrate on Python applications and technologies that exploit this global interconnectivity of people, devices, appliances, vehicles, sensors, embedded controllers, and computation.

Python has a diverse ecosystem of libraries and frameworks that makes it a great choice for developing IoT devices, applications and services. The Python ecosystem allows developers to rapidly develop embedded software to interface with and operate remote devices and applications and manage them using tools like Salt and Ansible. Data captured from IoT devices can be analysed using powerful data analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities provided by Numpy, Scipy, and scikit-learn. Captured data can be easily presented on dashboards created using Flask and Django.

The Python community is only just scratching the surface of how Python can power the IoT and this mini-conf will be a great opportunity to discuss and learn about how Python is, and can be, used to develop and deploy IoT devices, applications and services.

- Tomas Krajca and Lachlan Blackhall, IoT mini-conf organisers

Science and Data mini-conf returns

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 16:24:01 +1000

PyCon AU 2016 is excited to announce the third of our special events, the Python Science and Data mini-conference.

The Science and Data mini-conference is a one-day forum for people using Python to tackle commercial and research problems in science, engineering and data science.

Python is a very popular choice for a wide range of scientific disciplines and has a strong set of libraries, frameworks and tools for scientific computing, including the Jupyter notebook, SciPy, pandas and Scikit (to name just a few).

The Science and Data mini-conference is a chance to showcase the use of new and innovative uses for Python in disciplines such as genomics, computer vision, mathematics, high performance numerical computing, fintech, machine learning and data analysis. The mini-conference is also a great opportunity to network with other scientific Python developers and to track some of the emerging trends in scientific Python ecosystem.

We look forward to seeing you at the third PyCon AU Science and Data mini-conference on August 12, 2016.

- Graeme Cross and Clare Sloggett, Science and Data mini-conference organisers

Python in Australian Education seminar returns

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 16:26:20 +1000

PyCon AU 2016 is happy to announce the second of our special events, the Python in Australian Education seminar! This annual, one-day event brings together professional educators across primary, secondary and tertiary levels, as well as Python community workshop organisers, professional Python instructors, and Python developers interested in better engaging with the Australian educational community. This multi-disciplinary approach allows representatives of these groups to share their personal experiences and interests in relation to the use of Python in Australian education, and to identify areas of potential collaboration with each other and with the broader Python community.

Python is a popular "first language" for programmers young and old, especially those making the transition from graphical programming environments like Scratch to text based development. Teaching with Python also offers many opportunities to connect with the wider technology community, as Python is also frequently adopted for real world software development, being cited by IEEE Spectrum magazine as one of the top 5 most widely used programming languages in industry.

"The inaugural version of this event in Brisbane provided a wonderful opportunity to help foster greater collaboration between Australian educators and the Australian open source community, so it's exciting to be bringing that opportunity to Melbourne in 2016," said event co-coordinator and Python Software Foundation board member, Nick Coghlan.

Those curious as to just what this seminar is about may want to take a look at the recorded presentations from the 2015 event. More information about the 2016 call for presentations and how to get involved will be circulated as we get closer to the conference. For now, block out your diaries on August 12th (or for the whole conference from August 12th to 16th), start preparing your travel plans and talking to your principal in preparation for this unique event.

Seeking Launch Sponsors

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 20:22:01 +1000

25 January: Seeking launch sponsors. It's definitely early days still, but we're seeking launch sponsors (those lucky companies whose name appears on the website from the moment we launch our CFP) for PyCon Australia 2016, which is being held in Melbourne in August.

Sponsorship packages are available to suit a range of budgets, from indie startup to enterprise. Sponsoring PyCon Australia allows companies to boost their exposure to top tier tech talent and support the local developer community. All packages include complimentary professional-level tickets so that your staff can benefit from the conference too!

If you're not in a position to commit to sponsorship, we're also happy to get early expressions of interest, so that we can contact you again in the next few months.

DjangoCon Returns

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 20:20:52 +1000

11 February: DjangoCon AU returns. PyCon AU 2016 is happy to announce the first of our special events, DjangoCon AU! DjangoCon AU is a special one-day event for the anyone using Django - from beginners just learning how to build their own websites, to experienced engineers looking for tips to optimize their high traffic site.

Django is a fantastic web framework for Python, and has a huge developer base in Australia. "Django users make up a big part of the Python community, and DjangoCon AU has been part of PyCon AU since special event days were introduced 4 years ago. We're extremely excited to be back again in 2016," said event coordinator and Django core team member Dr Russell Keith-Magee.

The Django community is also very welcoming to new contributors and users, making it one of the best ways to get started with free software development and making Django a great technology choice. More information about the call for presentations and how to get involved will be circulated as we get closer to the main event. For now, block out your diaries from August 12 to 16th, start preparing your travel plans and buttering up your boss in preparation for this fantastic event.