How We Organised PyCon Zimbabwe - PyCon Namibia 2017

A joint talk by Anna Makarudze and Humphrey Butau telling of the journey and events leading to the first ever PyCon Zimbabwe held in Harare, November 2016.

Transcript

1. Anna Makarudze & Humphrey Butau How we organised PyCon Zimbabwe Organizers: PyCon Zim, Djangogirls Harare, Djangogirls Masvingo, Pyladies Harare @hamub @amakarudze @pycon_zim
2. July 2015: The journey begins! • Whatsapp group • Mailing List • Try to establish meet-ups
4. We are invited to PyConNa 2016
5. What Daniele loves to talk about most… Our financial assistance wasn’t enough to cover our travel and living expenses so… … we had to travel for almost 33hrs by road from Harare and another 33hrs back to Harare. That’s not something we would have repeated this year!!!
6. PyCon Namibia happens and it was awesome. A number of lessons learnt PyCon Namibia & Django Girls Windhoek, 25th – 29th January 2016
7. Django Girls Harare – 9th April 2016
8. Organising Django Girls Masvingo Reality dawned on us – sanctions against Zimbabwe are real! PSF could not sponsor us due to targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe. Appealed to Python Africa Mailing List for help.
9. Some Extraordinary Friends – Python Africa Mailing List
10. Django Girls Masvingo – 24th September 2016
11. OnePercentClub Crowdfunding Project
12. PyCon Zimbabwe Featured at PyCon UK
13. PyCon Zimbabwe Crowdfunding Project Fully Funded!
14. Many thanks to all PyCon Zim supporters!!!
15. PyCon ZA – 6th – 7th October 2016
16. Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors
17. Venue: ZESA National Training Centre – Self-contained, affordable conference services
18. Speakers 2 keynote speakers from USA – Mike Place (Saltstack) & Amanda Gelender (GitHub) Gabriel Nhinda – UNAM, Namibia Petrus Janse van Rensburg – South Africa The rest – local speakers
19. Organising Team Emilda Juliana Kofi – Django Girls Harare Charles Katuri Brian Mukwazhi Akim Mnthali – Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo Kudakwashe Siziva Ronald Maravanyika Anna Makarudze Humphrey Butau
20. Attendees Target number 60 – 100 – 150 and back to 60. Registered participants were 59.
21. Our timing – 24th – 25th November 2016 Wasn’t the most strategic timing in terms of university exams nationwide. Many Python/Django events had taken place worldwide affecting international turnout. Dates were announced late – we were bound by 2016.
22. Challenges Conflict of interest – community vs entrepreneurship Only a few committed members African mentality of late registration Economic hardships – most of the attendees needed financial assistance
23. Lessons to draw from our experience It’s not always about the money Elegance is not a key factor in measuring event success – meeting objectives is a better metric Exposure & networks are far more important
24. Lessons to draw from our experience Know the people whom you work with It’s not about the numbers, it’s more about quality, commitment and results Think outside the box
25. Lessons to draw from our experience Context is important, always remember you are in Africa (especially, Zimbabwe!) Students actually find Python easier to learn than C, C++ and Java! We can make a difference in Africa!
26. …and now, we can’t stop saying, yaay, we made it!!!
27. Thank you!