Call for Speakers
DevConf 2020
31 Mar 2020
2 Apr 2020
Century City, Cape Town & Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg
devconf.co.za
DevConf is a community-driven, professional software engineer focused, one-day conference which is hosted annually in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; that is one day for Jo'burg (2nd April 2020) and one day for Cape Town (31st March 2020).
The aim of the conference is to provide professional software engineers with vendor-neutral and technology agnostic content on tools, practices and principles applicable to tackling current and future challenges faced by software engineers in South Africa.
It’s an event where attendees can learn, network and be inspired regardless of their specific technology stack and programming language of choice.
Style of Talk 👩🏫
We have a single style of talk: a 50 min presentation style session i.e. stand on stage, a big screen to show your slides, video and code, and the audience sitting in cinema-style seating. The 50 min is the TOTAL time is for everything; including Q&A.
The audience at DevConf comes from a wide range of skill levels, from junior developers to senior management. As a speaker, we welcome everyone from hobbyists to professional developers, students, non-developers and first-time speakers. We have a goal to make DevConf an inclusive and diverse haven for all speakers and attendees. There is no specific tech or vendor association with the DevConf- we welcome all technology and tools!
The majority of attendees are professional software engineers so we find that talks which help them in their career and focus on exploring tech or solve problems are really well received.
Java, JavaScript and .NET are very popular in South Africa but we would love talks for other technologies too. Security talks have been consistently rated highly.
Talks that share experience and soft skills are highly valued and we have dedicated slots for these talks.
We also have a small number of slots for more entertainment-focused content which is still relevant to developers. These are great to cover something not so work-related, for example: flying a drone with VR, machine learning & brewing beer, or integrating hardware to Kerbal using JavaScript are all great talks.
Please see our YouTube channel to get a better idea of the content from previous years: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuzlYYs3p-_4y5_EKjN3pAA
When 📆
DevConf 2020 will take place for the fifth year in Johannesburg on the 2nd April 2020 and, for the third time, in Cape Town on the 31-st March 2020.
All speakers will be selected to speak at both events. If you are only able to attend one of the events, please let us know so we can plan correctly (the notes field is great for this).
Accepted Proposals 🌟
All selected speakers to DevConf include a pass for the event and invite to the speakers-only dinner. Travel and accommodation will also be included for full slot presenters, including for international speakers.
International Speakers 🛫
Yes, we can cover travel and accommodation for you too! We have a tight budget for international speakers, so if you can assist in any way please let us know as it does help us. It will not impact selection in any way if you cannot assist.
Process ✅
- We are accepting papers from 15 August 2019 0:00 SAST
- We will close the call for papers on 14 September 2019 at 23:59 SAST
- Every talk will be scored by a diverse panel of reviewers.
- Based on the scoring, a proposed agenda will be organised in November.
- Selected speakers will be emailed by the 4th November (please make sure you check your spam)
- Speakers to confirm, by email by 18th November. Any speaker who does not confirm will forfeit their slot.
Additional events for speakers 🍽
In addition to the presentation on the days of the event, we will have two additional functions for speakers which we believe bring massive value:
- The day each before the event we will have a tech check at the conference venue from 4 pm. It should take no longer than an hour.
- The night before the events we will have a speakers dinner near the venue and we would love for you to attend and meet the other speakers.
Important: These are highly valuable but we can work with you if you cannot attend them. Do not let this stop you from submitting!
Call for Speakers
15 Aug 2019
14 Sep 2019
Need Help? 🆘
We will be running workshops in Johannesburg (on the 24th August) and Cape Town (on the 7th September) to help you submit a great talk! If you are interested, please subscribe here or follow us on Twitter
What type of content are we looking for? 🔎
Anything that is relevant to developers, be that about code, platforms, technology, methodologies, how to work with people or just things which are cool. We want transparent and real experiences - this isn’t a place for a sales pitch. We want all types of speakers - first-timers or experienced! We have an opportunity for all to speak.
Non-developers are especially welcome to present. Talks from security, database, UI and other technical experts sharing information that developers should know are often fantastically well attended and rated highly.
We have a track record of helping new speakers and helping make all speakers have the best experience!
Number of Submissions ❗
Please note that we only accept your first two talk submissions. So be sure to pick your favourite two!
Talks we love? 😁
- You can bring a diverse view to a subject
- Content-focused on the South African audience is preferred
- You present your own experiences from the field
- Live demos over just slides (if you have a technical talk)
- We do often get multiple talks on the same topic, so add something that makes your talk stand out from other talks. Infuse it with your unique take and experience!
- We do not penalise talks which have been presented elsewhere, so if you have a talk you've done at work or your user group and you ❤ it, then submit it!
Have a look at talks from previous years to get inspired for the content
Talks we won't accept 😢
- Topics which have been covered often - unless there is a twist or deep experience.
- Marketing or sales pitches - rather get a client to share their experience using the tech!
Anonymous Review 👻
This is an anonymous review process so please do not enter personally-identifying info in the description.
If you can represent a diverse view please make sure you state that in your notes as we actively aim for having a very diverse set of talks.
How are talks ranked? 🥅
We encourage each reviewer to use their own experience and knowledge to rank each talk. We use the sessionize ranking system, which you can see (and play with) in the test event.
Hints for submission 💡
- Please use normal text in the fields, unfortunately, markdown or HTML is not supported.
- There is no limit to how long your submission can be! More information is often better, but remember you only need your talk ready next year and you can adjust before then.
- The notes field is meant for any special requirements or information which doesn't fit into the description of your talk. Please do not put personal information in that section.
- The track field is used as an aid for the planning, pick which you feel your talk fits best; it won't impact your selection
travel
accommodation
event fee
We cover the full expenses for travel and accommodation for speakers. If you can assist with costs, please let us know as we are a non-profit and every bit helps..