Category: WordCamp

WordCamp Cape Town 2018 – call for organisers

4 May 2018Announcements, WordCamp Leave a comment

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who applied, applications are now closed. 

It’s that time again, (well a bit later than last year, but anyway) where I reach out to our amazing local WordPress community and ask you to help me organise our annual WordCamp in Cape Town.

Last year was an awesome event and, bar a few mistakes in planning on my part, was well received by all who attended. This year I want to take the lessons learned from last year and improve on the event, by taking a step back.

My focus this year will be on a ‘leaner’ event, with more of a focus on WordPress and the attendees and less of a focus on the ‘flashiness’ of the event location or the catering. That is not to say that we don’t want a great event or nice food to eat, but it will not be our primary focus this year.

I want to bring WordCamp Cape Town back to it’s WordPress roots, with my main goal to be a focus on accessibility. I want to make this years event as accessible as possible to anyone from any walk of life, age or background.

As such, I also want to encourage folks from all walks of life to be part of the organising team. If you look at the team photo above you’ll see a trend, and I want to break from that trend this year. Being part of the organising team is a great way to get involved in the local community and I would love to see more diversity in the organising team for 2018.

If this is something that you are keen to be a part of, then please join me by filling in the form on the Organisers page on the WordCamp Cape Town 2018 site.

Thanks

Ticket sales and a Call for Sponsors

17 July 2017Announcements, Community, WordCamp Leave a comment

With 14 weeks to go till WordCamp Cape Town 2017 I’m starting to feel that combination of excited anticipation and nervousness that goes along with planning such an event. Today I’m happy to announce that two very important pieces of the WordCamp puzzle have slotted into place, the availability of WordCamp Tickets and the Call for Sponsors.

Ticket sales

Those who booked tickets last year will remember that ticket sales were in US$. This was because the WordCamp organising team did not have a local bank account available in order to process the funds. This year we are happy to announce that all ticket sales are in South African Rands and are being paid into a locally managed bank account. A big thanks to PayFast for helping us with the payment gateway process.

Head on over to our Ticket page and book your WordCamp tickets. We are offering an early bird special to all tickets sold before 15 August. Simply use the coupon code earlybird, for a 20% discount on all standard tickets.

Call for Sponsors

Without the past support of our generous sponsors, WordCamp Cape Town would not be affordable to the vast majority of the local community who attend. WordCamp attendees have two full days to gain insight from our speakers, network with other WordPress users and developers, and learn more about WordPress and open source. By donating to WordCamp Cape Town, our sponsors make this event a reality.

If you or your company would like to sponsor WordCamp this year, please head on over to our Call for Sponsors page, choose your sponsorship package and fill in the Sponsorship form.

 

WordCamp Cape Town 2017 – Call for volunteers and speakers

23 May 2017Announcements, Community, WordCamp Leave a comment

It is with great excitement that I announce that the WordCamp Cape Town 2017 call for volunteers and speakers is now officially open!

Every year, local and national WordPress users volunteer their time to help make WordCamp Cape Town happen. Our volunteers help manage the venue and keep the event running smoothly, while our speakers provide engaging workshops and talks to provide our attendees with the mental stimulation they need to go forth and build bigger and better websites, eCommerce stores and blogs with WordPress. Without them, WordCamp simply wouldn’t exist.

This year we have some big things planned, so we need as many hands on deck as we can possibly get. If you’ve never spoken or volunteered for a WordCamp before, I highly encourage you to give it a bash this year. We have a great organising team and with the right group of volunteers, I’m sure there is nothing we can’t accomplish this year.

Visit the WordCamp Cape Town website for all the relevant information, or go straight through to the Call for Volunteers or Call for Speakers announcement posts.

WordCamp Cape Town 2016 session videos

24 November 2016WordCamp 1 Comment

In September this year, we all came together to improve our WordPress skills, build some community spirit, and just generally have a great time at WordCamp Cape Town 2016. One of the things we promised at the event was that all of the day 2 sessions would be recorded and the videos published online for everyone to watch, rewatch and appreciate.

Well now, thanks to the tireless work of the WordPress TV volunteer team, all of the sessions from day 2 are available on WordPress.tv! We didn’t record the workshops because they’re just a bit too impractical to film and watching a video of a workshop isn’t really all the beneficial as you need to really be there to take part. Sessions are different of course as they don’t require active participation on your part.

So, go forth and enjoy all of the talks from WordCamp Cape Town 2016 right here!

GROW! Students at WordCamp Cape Town 2016

8 November 2016WordCamp, , , , , , 1 Comment

For the last few years, we’ve always had visitors from RLabs’ GROW! Leadership Academy. Here are a few of their experiences.

Chante Petersen

“WordCamp 2016 took place at River Club in Observatory on the 9th of September and I was fortunate enough to attend. It was the first time that I attended the event and my experience is one to be remembered.

I’m not a designer or a coder, but WordCamp showed me how interesting it can be. The speakers were very passionate about what they were saying and that passion came across in their talks. It kept the crowd engaged and interested.

The talk that stood out the most for me was Leo Gopal’s. I enjoyed the message he was bringing across. I would definitely attend another WordCamp if I had the opportunity.”

Marlin Erasmus

Follow: @marlinerasmus

“I was very fortunate to have another great experience at WordCamp this year. I totally enjoyed most of the talks, but I couldn’t relate to the advice or features that involved programming as I’m not familiar with it.

The talks that I liked the most were the ones about Mental wellness by Leo Gopal and Rob Hope’s lightning talk about one-page sites. I was also very encouraged Konstantin Obenland on how WordPress.org was founded. The MCs were also very entertaining and I really enjoyed them thoroughly.”

Ilyaas Arendse

“I am really grateful for the opportunity that was afforded by the team to go to this year’s WordPress Wordcamp. It was really awesome getting to interact with other WordPress users, they taught me things about WordPress that I did not know.

I learnt about how they are constantly improving on the platform and how they are getting ready to release a new version of WordPress 4.7.

And from a WordPress user’s perspective I learnt about how people are using the platform to their advantage by becoming experts on WordPress and starting their own businesses of designing websites for companies, and how some use their blogs that they have created to express their feelings and help others that are in the same position as they are.

There is still so much more for me to learn and I intend to do just that.

On a lighter note; the food was the bomb. I am also really grateful that the food served at the event was Halal because being Muslim I am not permitted to eat any non-halal foods.

Overall the day was well spent and I would go again in a heartbeat.”

Sasha-lee Matthews

Follow: @SasheY_M

“This was not the first time I attended WordCamp and yet again it was another great experience.

I never knew that one could use WordPress to help the community and make a difference. I learnt about so many people who use their WordPress websites to make a difference.

I was so inspired by Leo Gopal’s talk on ‘Mental Wellness,the WordPress Community and You.’ He shared about how he could use WordPress and his story to impact people who were going through similar situations as himself. Because he was brave and shared his story, it inspired me to get back on my blog and also share my story to show people that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that things won’t be this way forever.

#WPHugs

It then also got me thinking about buying myself a domain so that I can explore more of the plugins and themes that were spoken about. In addition, I got to meet very interesting people and tell them about the work I do.

I am really grateful to have gotten the opportunity to attend WordCamp 2016. It is definitely one for the books!”

Robin Jack

This was my first WordCamp experience. It was very fruitful for me, I took as much in as I could. I am amazed at all the things you could do with WordPress. It was amazing to hear about all the business ideas and how you can help out in your communities using WordPress.

The session that really got to me was the talk about mental awareness by Leo Gopal. That session gave me the most insight and allowed me to do some reflection on my own.
It was good hearing about people’s business plans and how they used the WordPress platform to go forward with their ideas.

It was definitely a great experience and I look forward to future WordCamps. Thank you.

Don’t miss Clickatell’s D-bug Duck @ Cape Town’s WordCamp!

6 November 2013WordCamp Leave a comment

D-Bug DuckIf you haven’t yet heard of the phenomenon that is D-Bug Duck, then where have you been? Discovered on a worldwide search by devs from Clickatell, this problem solving powerhouse in duck form is becoming the go-to advisor for devs in sticky situations around the world.

It seems that just by talking a problem through with D-Bug, devs are inevitably guided towards the solutions to even the most complicated coding problems. The feeling of satisfaction you get from solving a problem with his help is made ever sweeter by D-Bug’s silent, knowing stare.

At Clickatell, they love WordPress. They love its ease of use, its stability and its ubiquity and they’re all about open-source. Clickatell built their website and their intranet using WordPress, all under the ever-present guidance of D-Bug Duck himself. It’s safe to say that Clickatell is a big team of die-hard WordPress fans.

So be sure to come say hi to D-Bug Duck at WordCamp 2013, he probably won’t reply, but he never forgets a face. Follow him on his global travels at (Twitter and Tumblr)

Arrive at WordCamp in style, with Uber

5 November 2013WordCamp 1 Comment

Arrive in Style

We want you to ride like a VIP. Haven’t heard of Uber? Trust us, you’ll love it.

We’re excited to offer all guests complimentary rides, up to R50, to and from the event using the promo code WCCT2013.

uber-logoUber is an iPhone/Android/Blackberry app that lets you tag your location and summon a professional driver to your side within minutes. Once in the car, the driver will take you wherever you need to go. The fare is billed to your card, with no need to tip, so you don’t have to worry about handling cash.

Just click the promo code below and sign up! You’ll be riding in style in no time at all.

Promotional Code: WCCT2013 Read More…

WordCamp gives back!

28 October 2013WordCamp 2 Comments

This year at WordCamp we will be taking donations and doggy bags (see below!) for African Tails’ Santa Paws project. Santa Paws is a project that collects and distributes doggy bags to township dogs in need this Christmas. All doggy bags will be distributed by African Tails to townships the Western Cape, such as Joe Slovo and Du Noon.

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