Speaker application FAQs

To encourage more applicants we’ve brainstormed (and borrowed from other WordCamps) the most popular questions you as a potential Speaker might have.

If we’ve missed anything, do not hesitate to contact us or leave a comment below.

Q: Can you submit more than one talk?

Yes! This will significantly increase your chances of being accepted and give us a wider variety of talks to select from.

We will however most likely only select one of your submitted talks.

Q: Are all types of talks welcome?

YES! The stage is set for a wonderful variety of speakers. We are open to the full spectrum of session formats and encourage you to submit anything from standard slide presentations to panels, demonstrations, and more.

Whatever your idea, we’d love to hear it.

Q: How long do sessions have to be?

We encourage a variety of session formats, which include, but are not limited to;

  • Lightning talks: (maximum of 10 mins with a group Q&A)
  • Long form talks: (maximum of 40 mins inclusive of Q&A)
  • Workshop: (maximum of 90 mins but can be shorter)

Don’t hesitate to get creative and submit a session format you think might be interesting!

Q: Is there a speaker’s package?

All speakers will receive a complimentary ticket to the entire event, including the After Party and the VIP Dinner

Q: Who will be in charge of wrangling speakers?

We are thrilled to have our organisers, Anchen le Roux and Andrew Lima, taking care of our speakers. Anchen will be the speakers’ main contact to the entire WordCamp Johannesburg organising team and any questions should be directed to the Speakers team by email.

Q: Does it matter if you haven’t spoken at a conference before?

No not at all! If you have a topic that is interesting, then we would love to hear from you.

We are committed to helping you share your experience, idea or knowledge; we hope that everything we’ve put in place will serve to support our speakers in contributing to an incredible WordCamp.

Q: What should people talk about?

Anything you like! The WordPress ecosystem and community do such a variety of different things with WordPress – whether that’s designing, writing content, building businesses or adding features and functionality – we want to hear it all!

Tell us your stories of success and growth, but don’t be afraid to also tell us of your worst experiences and how you turned them around. We can all learn from each other!

That said all the talks we’ve picked in the past – and will be picking this year – are all about helping the WordPress community be the best they can be. As a diverse community, we share a range of interests, skills, knowledge and experiences.

Similarly, if your talk has some connection to WordPress, or is directly about WordPress itself, we would love to hear from you!

Q: How do I submit my application?

You can submit your application by going to this page, logging into your WordPress.org account and submitting the form.

Hope to see you on stage!

Call for Speakers

[Speaker Application is now Closed]

The 3rd annual WordCamp Johannesburg will be held at the  Focus Rooms in Fourways, Johannesburg from 25 – 26 October.

We’re planning our largest WordCamp to date and are excited to bring together passionate designers, developers, business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing experts, bloggers and educators from around Gauteng and the country.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Don’t submit a talk on what you think we want to hear; offer to speak on something that you are passionate about. Everybody has a unique WordPress story to tell, and we want to hear yours.

  • What are you uniquely qualified to speak about?
  • Have you used WordPress in an interesting or innovative way?
  • Was WordPress the foundation for creating something meaningful in your community?
  • How has WordPress helped you grow your business?
  • What was your experience updating your code for the latest WordPress release?

TOPIC IDEAS

These topics are not meant to be prescriptive — they’re rather there as a guide to help you think of something you want to talk about.

  • Workshops for beginners
  • Workshops for designers (or for developers wanting to learn more about design principles)
  • Plugin/theme development
  • Setting up an online store (particularly with WooCommerce)
  • Gutenberg (for developers and content writers)
  • Workshops for running a WordPress business (remote work, managing an agency, scaling your business etc)
  • Lessons from the Open Source Communities
  • Marketing
  • Security
  • Building with the WordPress REST API
  • Coding and Development Best Practices
  • And any other WordPress topic you’re passionate about

TALK FORMATS

We will again invite different formats of talks to be submitted. Please indicate in the Talk Format text box what format your topic is ideally suited for.  Some examples:

  • Workshops are more practical and can be between 60-90 min in length.
  • Talks are between 30-45 minutes usually with slides and a Q&A afterwards.
  • Lightning Talks can be between 10-15 minutes. With or without slides.
  • Panel (Group of speakers)
  • Interview (Ask me anything)
  • Multi Session Workshop
  • Group discussion

Submissions will close on 21 September 2018 at midnight. All candidates will be informed as to whether or not their talk was accepted by 25 September.

If you’d like to propose multiple topics, please submit the form multiple times, once for each topic.