Europython blog

Change of board in the Europython Society

Jacob Hallén — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 10:40:37 +0200

Change of board in the Europython Society

The society is a non-profit organisation registered in Sweden and it holds the rights to the Europython name. It arranges with local organisers to put on Europython conferences. Previously this has been done in an ad-hoc fashion, but with the growth of Europython, a more formal procedure will be introduced.

We will endeavour to provide more of the infrastructure needed for conferences from the Europython Society (using the know-how that was created by previous conferences).

The board that was elected consists of:

Fabio Pliger, Chairman
Giovanni Bajo
Marc-André Lemburg
Vicky Lee
Anthon van der Neut
Jacob Hallén

The old board had already decided that next years conference will be in Florence again, since no viable proposals had been submitted before the cutoff time (early in 2012).

The new board will put out a call for proposal for 2014, with a requirements specification during the fall of 2012. A deadline for bids will be in the early spring of 2013. Organisers of Europython 2014 will be expected to take part in the organisation of the 2013 conference, to learn more about how to arrange a conference on this scale.

If your local/national group is interested, you should start forming your team even before the call for proposals is out.

For those who are interested, the bylaws of the Europython Society can be found here: http://ep2009.europython.eu/about/eps/

Membership in the society is by application to the board (not by attending Europython, as I claimed in the meeting).

We are happy to welcome new members, who want to take an interest in the arranging of Europython conferences.

Finally, we would like to thank Laura Creighton for her service as the chairman of the society since its creation in 2004.

Jacob Hallén
For the old and the new board

Ask your BDFL: submit questions for Q&A session with Guido

Giovanni Bajo — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:48:04 +0200

Ask your BDFL: submit questions for Q&A session with Guido

The session will last 1 hour, and to make sure to maximize it with relevant questions we will be using Google Moderator as a tool for handling question submission, voting and moderation. Google Moderator allows everybody to submit questions, vote questions submit from other, and sort questions by voting.

You can start submitting questions even now, though of course we will keep the question serie open during the session as well.

Google Moderator requires a Google account, and questions will be associated to your name; there is an option to submit questions anonymously, but you are still required to be logged in with a Google account. if you are not willing to use one, you are welcome to send questions by email to info@pycon.it and we will insert them into Google Moderator for you; in this case, you will not be able to vote, though.

Join us for tag-cocktails!

Giovanni Bajo — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 18:46:05 +0200

Join us for tag-cocktails!

We selected a few hot subjects, as indicated by tags in attendee profiles, and we arranged for special tag-cocktails in the evening: all people with a specific selection of tags will be invited to join us for a cocktail, have a drink, and a good chat with other Pythoneers that share the same interests.

We published the full list of cocktails on our schedule and on a dedicated page. We have dumped a list with matching tags on June 21st, and those people will find one invite (or more than one, if they were lucky enough!) in their badge.

Browse our participant list

Even if it's too late for the cocktail, have a look at our wonderful list of EuroPythoners; make sure to login first, to see the full list (some of them might have opted-in to be displayed only to other participants). You can filter the list by country, by interests, and you can even display a list of people with a good tag correlation with your own profile.

418 EuroPythoners have published their profile, and we are sure you might like to meet some of them: contact them through whatever social network or service your prefer (we even offer a simple one-click mail contact form within that page); EuroPython might have talks at its core, but there's a lot more: you will get to meet wonderful people, don't miss the chance to meet the maintainer of your favorite software, or somebody who lives near you, or just someone that shares your interests.

And since you're at it, fill and publish in your own profile, if you have not already!

Checklist

Have a look at our Perfect EuroPythoner Checklist for more suggestions on how to get ready for the conference.

Partner program closes tomorrow

Giovanni Bajo — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:29:01 +0200

Partner program closes tomorrow

If you are thinking of joining some tour, please buy the tickets before tomorrow evening.

We will try to extend the deadline for a few tours, and also we are in the process of adding a few tours on the weekend before the conference (Saturday 30th and Sunday 1st). Make sure to follow our blog posts and tweets about it.

Special Training: Advanced Python

Francesco Pallanti — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:46:31 +0200

Special Training: Advanced Python

This workshop will take place on Saturday July 7 and it is a professional training given by our sponsor Python Academy.

This training differs from the other trainings in several ways:

it’s longer: one day;
it’s offered on saturday, after the talk days and in parallel to the sprints;
requires a separate registration fee of €242 (VAT included).

The number of seats is limited and participation is reserved to EuroPython ticket holders.

Target Audience

This course targets medium level Python programmers who would like to dive deeper into the language. Alternatively, participants can attend the course Python for Programmers to be able to take full advantage of this advanced course.

Training Info

The Python programming language is relatively easy to learn and allows to solve real-world problem with a just a few concepts.

But it also offers several advanced features that can help to greatly improve the programming experience. The latest releases of Python 2.x and 3.x add interesting features that can be used passively without deeper understanding about how they work. The course teaches how these features work and provides details about meta-programming and other advanced techniques.

Exercises

The participants can follow all steps directly on their computers. There are exercises at the end of each unit providing ample opportunity to apply the freshly learned knowledge.

Course Material

Every participant receives comprehensive printed materials that cover the whole course content as wells as all source codes and used software.

Please ask Mike Müller (mmueller [at] python-academy [dot] de) about the course content.

Buy a ticket for Advanced Python!

The perfect attendee's checklist to EuroPython

Francesco Pallanti — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:56:46 +0200

The perfect attendee's checklist to EuroPython

To make sure you get the best out of your ticket, this is a checklist of things you should know about the conference:

Tickets & Schedule

Make sure your ticket(s) are fully compiled:

My Tickets

We have an interactive schedule that you can browse, search, favorite talks, create a personalized schedule and so on (make sure to login to access all the features):

Browse the schedule

Training reservation: if you plan to attend a 4-hours training, we have a booking system in place, through the interactive schedule; booking a seat is optional, but gives precedence in case the room gets full.

Book your trainings

Make your profile public, let others know that you are coming to EuroPython, and browse our participant list by tag, interest, country; get in touch with people you want to meet at the conference before getting there:

Download our mobile application to browse the schedule (even offline!). You can get the GuideBook application for iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 or Blackberry from the stores now, and then download the EuroPython guide (NOTE: not yet available) from within the application

Get the mobile application

PyEvents

Book your seat for the "PyFiorentina" conference dinner (only 220 seats available):

I want to eat at PyFiorentina

Take a break from the conference and enjoy Florence, Tuscany, food, wine and museums, through our partner program:

See our tours

Help Desks

We are launching a new helpdesk service at EuroPython: you can book a 30-min slot and get free help from an experienced programmer on a specific Python-related technology or framework. Helpdesk booking is available through the schedule.

Data SIMs

We are selling geek-friendly prepaid SIMs with data plans for smartphones (with tethering, no filters on VOIP/Skype, etc.). Have a look:

See the SIM plans

Stay up-to-date!

Lastly, be sure to subscribe to our blog RSS feed to stay up-to-date with the latest announcements about EP2012!

Unofficial Women's Lunch at EuroPython 2012

Francesco Pallanti — Thu, 31 May 2012 15:55:07 +0200

Unofficial Women's Lunch at EuroPython 2012

Women attendees! Come join the unofficial Women's Lunch for an opportunity to chat with your fellow female Pythonistas over great pizza.

We invite any female (and anyone who identifies as a female) conference-goer to lunch at an informal, friendly meet & greet to form connections, share Python programming stories, and enjoy the Italian summer.

When? Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Meet your host Lynn at the registration desk at 13:00, she will distribute the lunch coupons; lunch will be at the pizzeria Outside Bistrot just aside the conference hotel.

Hosted by:

Lynn Root, speaker, Increasing Women Engagement in the Python Community

Graciously assisted by:

EuroPython conference organizers

Help Desk: call for runners

Lorenzo Mancini — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:26:12 +0200

Help Desk: call for runners

The Help Desk is thought to be run by EP attendees for EP attendees, so to encourage information exchange and networking during the conference.

We're in the defining phase of Help Desks, and we're looking for people interested in running one; here are some good reasons to run a help desk at EuroPython:

Self-promotion: by offering support on your favorite technology, you get a chance to spread word about your skills. You can distribute advertising material about your company or activity while you're running the help desk, and contacts with people you support can later turn into contracts.
Improve your skills: by discussing concrete problems with help desk attendees, you get to know interesting use cases for a technology and are encouraged to wrap your head around a problem to propose a solution, which might later prove itself useful in your own activity as well;
Secret reward: the EuroPython organization board has prepared a secret reward for each Help Desk runner...

Help Desk runners will be available at the designated desk for four hours, the duration of a Help Desk session. Each session is divided in 8 half an hour slots. Attendees will be able to book their slot for free on the EP website, so help desk runners will have a precise schedule of who's coming when at the time their session starts.

Please drop us a line at helpdesk_application@pycon.it stating your technology of interest; we'll be in touch very soon.

PyEvents Announced!

Francesco Pallanti — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:40:59 +0200

PyEvents Announced!

PyBirra is a goliardic time in the pubs of downtown Florence during which you can drink, chat and know each other Python programmers.

The event is hosted by one of the oldest pubs in Florence:

James Joyce Pub

Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 1
50125 Firenze
Tel: 055 6580856

Important: bring your EuroPython's badge, you will have any drinks at a low fixed cost!

PyFiorentina

As explained in the events page, PyFiorentina is a dinner that will take place Wednesday, July 4th to give all our visitors the opportunity to taste the legendary Bistecca alla Fiorentina!

We have arranged a special menu with a fixed price of €37 with the restaurant (Trattoria ZaZa). Have a look:

First courses:

Tris di minestre: ribollita, pappa al pomodoro, passato di fagioli con farro
(Trio of soups: stewed legumes, tomato soup, bean and barley soup)
Tagliatelle ai funghi porcini
(Tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms)
Ravioli strascicati
(Ravioli with rosée sauce)
Fettuccine alla crema di tartufo
(Fettuccine with truffle cream sauce)
Penne alla Boccalona
(Pasta with a special sauce from the chef)

Main courses:

Tagliata di manzo alla brace con rucola e salsina ZàZà
(Grilled steak with rocket/arugula and special ZàZà sauce)
Tagliata di manzo alla brace con rucola e crema di tartufo fatta in casa
(Grilled steak with rocket/arugula and home-made truffle cream sauce)
Tagliata di manzo alla brace con rucola e scaglie di Grana
(Grilled steak with rocket/arugula and Grana Padano)
Coniglio ripieno al forno con spinaci saltati aglio e olio
(Oven-roasted stuffed rabbit with sauteed spinach with oil and garlic)
Arista di Cinta al forno con fagioli all'uccelletto
(Oven-roasted pork loin and Italian white beans with tomato)
Bistecca alla fiorentina, min. 3 persone
(One T-Bone steak, minimum serving 3 people)

Desserts:

Crema di mascarpone
(Mascarpone cream)
Tiramisù al caffè
(Tiramisu)
Torta di mele alla ZàZà - ricetta segreta
(ZàZà apple cake - secret recipe)
Vin Santo con Cantucci fatti in casa
(Sweet wine with home-made anise-flavored almond biscuits)
Torta al cioccolato alla ZàZà
(ZàZà chocolate cake)

Drinks

Bottle Water
House Red Wine

How to join PyFiorentina

Although the restaurant is fully available to us, places are also limited to 220, and reservation is mandatory. To book your seats in advance, you need to buy a voucher for the full amount of €37 through this website (basically paying the whole dinner in advance). We will then give you the physical voucher once you register at EuroPython, and you will need to present the voucher at the restaurant as a proof of payment.

Please notice that it is still possible to order some extras by having a look to the full menu of the restaurant. For instance, a true meat lover might want to skip the first courses and go for a whole T-Bone Steak to eat by himself; in this case, you will need to pay the difference from the €37 voucher directly at the counter.

Looking forward to your feedback ... Keep a light lunch!

Book your T-Bone Steak!

The map show both places in yellow placeholders, in order to simplify the gathering.

Special grant for students and unemployed

Matteo Benci — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:44:30 +0200

Special grant for students and unemployed

This grant is sponsored partly by the Python Italia Association, and partly by the generous contribution of many speakers who are renouncing to the ticket discount they were offered.

The grant includes a free ticket for the conference (with access to buffets) and accommodation in two triple rooms for the whole conference week.

The grant is open to everybody, even people that have already bought a ticket (in which case we would proceed to a refund).

Students

Must be 30 years old or less (on 1st January 2012).
Must be currently registered to a school, college, or university-level institute.

Unemployed programmers

Any age is allowed.
Must not be a student.
Must be actively seeking for a new job as a computer programmer.

Application

Application is open until June 1st.

If you think you qualify for this grant, please send an e-mail to info@pycon.it, put the tag "[GRANT]" in the subject, and write down a motivational letter covering the follow points:

Short introduction of yourself, your current study/job status
Your current experience with Python (if any)
Why you would like to join EuroPython
Why you have not bought a ticket yet
Which other conference you attended to in the past few years (if any).

All personal information contained in the motivational letter will be kept strictly private.

Winners of the grant will be selected on June 3rd.

Google Diversity Grant

Remember that Google is offering a diversity grant reserved for female computer scientists. Applications are open until June 1st! (NOTE: Google's website currently says May 15th as a deadline, but it's been extended and will be fixed soon)