Call for Volunteers: DjangoCon US 2024

Organizing DjangoCon US 2024 has begun! We need organizers to help make DjangoCon US 2024 the best it can be.

We have some documentation about the various roles, but here's a quick overview of the teams at DjangoCon US.

The DEFNA board will not leave you stranded; we have a lot of documentation to help you on your way, including rough checklists of tasks needed for each team.

Ideally, all committees will have a chair and co-chair to allow for one or the other to take vacations, handle day job duties, and so forth. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it should hopefully give you an idea of what each committee is responsible for.

Conference Leadership

The conference chair and co-chair lead the conference, including coordinating between teams and making executive decisions (including approaching the DEFNA board when applicable). Expect to be in meetings with the venue and online conference provider, weekly organizer check-ins, monthly reports to the DEFNA board, and lots of questions on Slack. You'll also lead the volunteer kickoff meetings in early 2024 (ideally mid-to-late January) and recruit organizers as you see fit. You'll need to recommend an online conference provider to the DEFNA board (might be part of a sponsorship deal).

At the conference, you'll be making speeches at the start of each day and the end-of-conference wrap-up in addition to coordinating setup, teardown, and everything in between.

These two roles have the highest time commitment and the most visibility. If you want to help people get things done and get up on stage, these are the roles for you.

Program Committee

Size: 2-4

The program committee is responsible for making sure that the schedule of tutorials and talks is the best it can be.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Start the call for proposals process (opened in March 2024, closes April 29)
Coordinate with the Opportunity Grants team to schedule the opening and closing of the CFP
Publish blog posts announcing the CFP, speaker mentors, and speaker resources
Recruit keynote speakers (the DEFNA board will offer suggestions, but if you have a message you'd like the keynotes to send, you have lots of latitude here, but keep in mind conference diversity goals)
Recruit speaker mentors (start with the 2019, 2021, and 2022 reviewers and bring in more as you like)
Review proposals as they come in for anonymization (ideally, recruit one member of the program committee who will not be reviewing talks to do the anonymization before opening talks for review)
Recruit talk reviewers (the DEFNA board will send you the 2023 reviewers, but more reviewers are encouraged, especially from diverse backgrounds). There will likely be over 100 submissions, so having more reviewers lessens the load for individual talks
Decide on any tweaks to the format (Spanish-language talks? Keep the Deep Dive Day? This is your chance to put your mark on the program)
Review talks
Once reviews are completed, de-anonymize talks and filter for duplicate speakers, multiple speakers from the same organization, diversity goals, overlapping topics, and more
Select the best talks (where "best" is extremely subjective; we have documentation on things we look for in good proposals); you're not strictly bound to pick the highest scoring talks, so you have some leeway
Coordinate with the Opportunity Grants team to send them a list of accepted speakers so they can prioritize them for awards
Coordinate with the OG team to notify speakers in waves (ideally completed by July 1)
Build a schedule (ideally by July 15)
Publish blog posts announcing speakers and keynotes (ideally by August 15)
Update schedules based on speakers' needs
Coordinate with the DEFNA board to approve reimbursement requests
Generate cue sheets for session chairs and speaker mentors
Review online talks for Code of Conduct compliance
Recruit backup speakers in case of speakers having to back out (visa issues, illness, etc.)
Work with the social events team to arrange a speaker appreciation dinner
Generate spreadsheets in multiple formats to make other teams' lives easier

At-conference responsibilities

Work with registration desk to make sure that all speakers show up
Work with session managers (other organizers) to ensure distribution of cue sheets and speaker gifts
Check with tutorial speakers to make sure they have everything they need

Opportunity Grants Committee

Size: 2 (plus reviewers)

The OG committee is responsible for obtaining grants from the DSF and PSF and awarding grants to people who will best use them, prioritizing speakers, first time attendees, and people from underrepresented and/or historically disadvantaged groups.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Start call for grants process (concurrent with CFP)
Publish blog posts announcing the grant process
Request grants from the Django Software Foundation and Python Software Foundation (the DEFNA board will help you fill out the forms)
Recruit grant reviewers (other organizers and DEFNA members are happy to help)
Review submissions
Coordinate with the program team about grants to speakers
Notify grant recipients in waves (concurrent with program notifications)
Communicate with recipients on how to get reimbursed (we'll have templates)
Give DEFNA a list of recipients and amounts
Approve reimbursements as requests come in
Coordinate with the visa (community) team as needed to approve invitation letter requests
Write a transparency report giving a high-level overview of how the grants were awarded

At-conference responsibilities

Answer questions from grant recipients and the DEFNA board

Community Team

Size: 2-4

Pre-conference responsibilities

Schedule orientation
Arrange childcare and lactation room
Coordinate visa applications
Improve accessibility of the venue and conference as a whole

At-conference responsibilities

Post-sign-ups for the lactation room and distribute keys as needed
Collect receipts for childcare reimbursement

Sponsorship Committee

Size: 2-4

The sponsorship committee recruits sponsors which helps offset the cost of running DCUS.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Create and announce sponsorship prospectus (we have templates, and DEFNA will help with specifics)
Recruit sponsors
Coordinate contract signing with DEFNA
Consider awarding community sponsorships (non-financial) to other non-profit Python conferences and related communities (local Python meetups near the conference will love the exposure)
Coordinate shipping of sponsor swag for the swag bag
Lay out sponsor tables (on a venue map)
Work with sponsor chair/co-chair to handle sponsor shout-outs if needed
Order banners to go behind the speakers on stage

At-conference responsibilities

Direct sponsors to their booths/tables and swag
Ensure that booths are reserved for sponsors who have reserved a booth, and are not open for others
Field complaints/questions from sponsors

Code of Conduct Committee

Size: 4-6

The CoC committee suggests improvements to the CoC and investigates reports. This is the heart of the conference because, without the CoC, we wouldn't have the welcoming environment that we have at DCUS.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Suggest modifications/improvements to the CoC
Assist program committee with pre-conference review of recorded online talks

At-conference responsibilities

Field reports and investigate them, including recommending actions to the DEFNA board
Follow up on reports, including conversations with both reporters and those who have been reported, and facilitate the appropriate response
Write a CoC transparency report to recap reports (heavily anonymized) and actions taken

Social Events Committee

Size: 2-3

The social events committee is responsible for scheduling the "after-hours" events at DCUS to give people chances to socialize and unwind after a long day of talks.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Find a venue for the speaker appreciation dinner and coordinate contract signing with DEFNA
Plan opening reception (if sponsored, this will become a bigger event compared to previous years)
Plan any other fun events like board game night

At-conference responsibilities

Work with the venue on any work needed for social events

Venue Committee

Size: 1-2

The venue committee is responsible for coordinating plans between the other organizing teams and the venue(s).

Pre-conference responsibilities

Work with the event venue to select and lay out talk, tutorial, and sprint rooms
Lay out the extra rooms needed for the conference (lactation room, quiet room, organizers room, speaker green room, lunch/break areas)
Work with event venue and DEFNA to select catering menus (and providers if we're not contractually obligated to use one)
Work with the hotel to coordinate room blocks
Work with the venue to plan logistics (sponsor gear shipping, signage, etc.)
Allocate reward rooms in coordination with the DEFNA board
Order supplies for restroom stocking

At-conference responsibilities

Review room guest list against ticket list to claim reward nights
Handle any last-minute requests from vendors/sponsors/organizers/etc.
Notify venue staff of any needs (bathroom cleanliness, meals to accommodate special diets, etc.)

Online Committee

Size: 2-3

During-conference responsibilities

Increase online engagement during the conference
Investigate online lightning talks

Audio/Video (A/V) Committee

Size: 2-3

The A/V committee is responsible for making everything look good. They handle coordination between the on-site crew, the online streaming platform, and the post-conference processing teams and upload the results to YouTube after the conference.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Select on-site video production crew
Select post-conference processing crew
Coordinate both of the above teams with the online platform
Work with the venue team to ensure high-speed wired internet access to the on-site video crew
Transfer pre-recorded talks to the post-conference processing crew and then the online conference provider
Procure a wide variety of dongles for presenters to hook their laptops up to the projectors
Procure projectors and screens if the venue doesn't already have them, including one for the green room so speakers can test their setup

At-conference responsibilities

Help on-site crew set up equipment and ensure streaming works
Get dongles to the right rooms as needed
Help keynote speakers get presentation mode working if needed
Answer lots and lots of questions

Swag Committee

Size: 1-2

The swag committee is responsible for everything speakers and attendees take home from the conference (aside from knowledge!).

Pre-conference responsibilities

Design and order attendee t-shirts (with sponsor logos)
Design and order swag bags (with sponsor logos)
Design and order speaker gifts
Design and order DCUS-branded swag (stickers/magnets/etc.)
Order masks and COVID tests (if needed)
Order lanyards, badges, and badge flags

At-conference responsibilities

Recruit volunteers to stuff swag bags on Sunday afternoon
Get T-shirts and swag bags to the registration desk
Get speaker gifts to the program team for distribution

Volunteer Committee

Size: 2

The volunteer committee is responsible for cultivating new volunteers, who can become organizers in future years.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Determine what roles need on-site volunteer support (session chairs, session managers, registration desk, etc.)
Set up sign-up for on-site volunteers and online volunteers (moderators/cheerleaders)
Draft announcements for calls for volunteers

At-conference responsibilities

Tell volunteers where to go
Give volunteers tools to succeed

Communications Committee

Size: 2-4

The communications committee is responsible for getting the word out about DCUS.

This team manages the various DCUS social network feeds, including Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more. This team also edits and posts blogs on the DCUS main page and coordinates bulk emails to ticketholders to remind them about the conference as it approaches.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Publish announcements and reminders on social media, the conference blog, and more (Django News, Python Community News, etc.)
Send a copy to the Django Software Foundation to get major news events on the Django blog
Review, edit, and suggest copy for the other teams' announcements
Tweet. Lots of tweeting.
Select an "official emoji" for the conference (typically suggested by the design package for the year's website)
Boost and retweet speakers and organizers talking about the conference
Schedule tweets announcing talks and events

At-conference responsibilities

Pay attention to the #djangocon topic on social media and mentions to @djangocon on various social networks
Boost speakers and organizers
Answer questions as they come up
Run the #help-desk channel on the conference attendee slack

Website Committee

Size: 2-3

The website committee is responsible for updating the website as the conference transitions through phases (CFP coming soon, CFP open, CFP closed, schedule released, hotel block closed, conference over, etc.), reviewing pull requests, and adding content (e.g. new sponsors). This requires the most coding of any team aside from maybe the program team.

Pre-conference responsibilities

Update static pages for CFP status
Update static pages for venue information
Review pull requests from other teams
Add sponsors as directed by the sponsorship team

Automation Team

This team is more free-flowing and writes scripts to make teams' lives easier. Responsibilities vary based on the year, and if you have ideas for special projects for the future, have at it!

Sprints Team

Size: 2-4

Pre-conference responsibilities

Write blog posts announcing sprints
Invite people to launch special sessions (e.g. Carlton's "Getting Started Contributing to Django")
Ensure we have signage and power equipment

At-conference responsibilities

Coordinate help desk
Direct people to lunches and breaks

Wrap-up

To sign up for any of the teams (or just say "Put me to work"), send an email to hello@djangocon.us and we'll add you to our organizer Slack instance and invite you to our fortnightly organizer catch-up meetings. We would love to have you! You do not have to have previous organizing experience (although we might prefer it for some of the leadership roles).