The PyCon US Blog

These meetup-like events are a great way to learn something new or connect with others who share similar interests. Due to their self-organized nature and the breadth of topics, there is bound to be an Open Space event that can enrich your conference experience. In the past, Open Spaces have included a wide range of topics such as natural language processing, web frameworks, yoga, and playing board games. Any topic that two or more attendees are interested in could be a good candidate for an Open Space. Open Spaces are held during the three main conference days in meeting rooms reserved for these events. Any attendee can create an Open Space event and reserve a room by adding a card to the Open Spaces boards found near the registration desk. Checking these boards regularly during the conference, subscribing to the hashtag #PyConOpenSpace, and following @openspacesbot on Twitter are ways to keep informed about upcoming Open Spaces. Promoting your Open Space  If you decide to host

With PyCon 2018 approaching, I’m excited to share some work that the PyCon staff, volunteers, and Python Software Foundation have undertaken in preparation! The Python community and thus the PyCon community is always evolving and growing. In light of this it is crucial that we periodically reconsider and adjust the way that we interact within these communities. In 2012 PyCon adopted a Code of Conduct to foster a more welcoming environment at the conference and provide policies and procedures for addressing violations. Each year since, changes have been adopted to work towards our goal of an enjoyable and fulfilling conference for all attendees. For 2018, we took a larger step and worked with a third party expert from   Otter Tech   to reevaluate and improve our Code of Conduct, reporting procedures, and staff response procedures. Sage from   Otter Tech   came with a resounding recommendation from   North Bay Python   organizers. In this post, I’d like to summarize the changes

Foreword from the Chair: The PyCon staff, volunteers, tutorial presenters, speakers, poster presenters, and community members have been hard at work preparing for PyCon 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. Along the way, we’ve gotten a chance to have some solid discussions about what makes PyCon good as well as where it can improve. In February one of those discussions was around the dates when PyCon 2018 will be occurring, specifically the conflict with Mother’s Day 2018. The outcome of that discussion was a commitment by the PyCon staff to better communicate what decisions and compromises were made along the way and how they were considered. PyCon is run by the Python Software Foundation, which is a grant giving non-profit. Many misunderstand or are unaware of this relationship, but the Python Software Foundation relies on maintaining a strict budget for the operation of PyCon in order to continue its grants programs and other financial responsibilities. The PyCon staff and Python Softwa