[ANN] EmacsConf 2023 Call for Participation

[Amin Bandali]

Dear fellow Emacsians,

We are excitedly calling for your participation for EmacsConf 2023,
planned for December 2 and 3, 2023 (Sat-Sun)!  Please submit your
proposal(s) by September 14, 2023 (Friday).  See below for details on
how to send in your proposals, or chat with us about them and about
other ways of participating and volunteering around EmacsConf via our
main IRC channel #emacsconf on the Libera.Chat network.

As an entirely volunteer-run conference we are always looking for more
volunteers and organizers to help with various aspects of organizing
and running the conference, including reviewing session proposals and
streaming parallel tracks.  To get involved, please come by our IRC
channel or one of our public mailing lists (see below) and introduce
yourself and tell us about your interests, or contact myself or one of
the other organizers directly if you're feeling a bit shy; we hope to
hear from you. :-)

Best,
amin

P.S. please direct any replies for this message either to me or to the
emacsconf-discuss list, so as to help avoid generating extra off-topic
chatter in the other lists Cc'd on this message.  Thank you.


                          ___________________

                             EmacsConf 2023
                           Online Conference
                          ___________________


                         December 2 and 3, 2023


Table of Contents
_________________

1. Call for participation
2. Talk formats
3. Submitting your proposal
4. Know someone who might have something to share?
5. Want to volunteer?
6. Commitment to freedom


1 Call for participation
========================

  What have you found exciting about [Emacs] lately?  Have you figured
  out a good workflow?  Used Emacs for something interesting?  Come
  share what you've been learning at EmacsConf 2023 and meet other
  enthusiasts along the way!  All backgrounds and all levels of
  experience are welcome.  Emacs isn't just a text editor, it's a way
  of life!

  Not sure what to talk about?  We've shared a few [ideas] to help you
  get started.

  [EmacsConf 2023] will be a virtual conference on *December 2 and 3,
  2023 (Sat-Sun, 9AM-5PM UTC-5 / 2PM-10PM UTC)*.  If you'd like to
  present at the conference, please *[submit your proposal]* by
  *September 14, 2023 (Friday)*.


[Emacs] <https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/>
[ideas] <https://emacsconf.org/2023/ideas/>
[EmacsConf 2023] <https://emacsconf.org/2023/>
[submit your proposal] <https://emacsconf.org/2023/cfp/>


2 Talk formats
==============

  Ideally, talks will be prerecorded so that you can script and edit
  them as tightly as you want, and so that they can be captioned for
  accessibility.  Here are the talk options:

  - *5-10 minute lightning talk:* just the essentials!  If you can
    squeeze your prerecorded talk into 5-10 minutes by focusing on
    the essentials (not by talking super quickly!), we might be able
    to repeat it during the conference in order to fill gaps.
  - *20-minute talk:* short enough to keep people's attention, long
    enough to get into some details.

  There will be time for questions and answers after your talk, so
  you don't need to include that in your talk timing.  Just like in
  EmacsConf 2022, you can answer questions via a BigBlueButton room,
  IRC, the Etherpad, the wiki, or email (your choice).  The stream
  will move on to the next talk at the scheduled time, but interested
  people can keep hanging out with you for a longer conversation.

  If you are not available during the conference itself but you have
  a neat idea that you'd like to share, please propose it anyway!
  You can always handle questions after the conference, and we might
  even be able to coordinate with other Emacs meetups for events in
  other timezones.

  We may have time for a few longer sessions.  If you'd like to be
  considered for a longer time slot, please include an outline for the
  extra time in addition to your 20-minute proposal.  Other session
  formats such as tutorials, workshops, and hangouts are welcome as
  well.


3 Submitting your proposal
==========================

  [Send us your idea] as soon as you can, so that you can have more
  time to work on your talk.  (Proposal deadline: September 14, 2023)
  This year, we'd like to experiment with accepting proposals
  throughout the CFP process.  If there are similar proposals, we'll
  work with people so that the talks can cover different facets.

  If you need help, you can email us publicly at
  [emacsconf-org@gnu.org] or privately at
  [emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org]. You can also come and say hi
  to us on our IRC channel `#emacsconf' on `irc.libera.chat' using
  [your favourite IRC client], or by visiting [chat.emacsconf.org] in
  your web browser.


[Send us your idea] <https://emacsconf.org/2023/submit/>
[emacsconf-org@gnu.org] <mailto:emacsconf-org@gnu.org>
[emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org] <mailto:emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org>
[your favourite IRC client] <ircs://irc.libera.chat:6697/emacsconf>
[chat.emacsconf.org] <https://chat.emacsconf.org>


4 Know someone who might have something to share?
=================================================

  All kinds of people use Emacs for all kinds of things.  We'd love it
  if EmacsConf 2023 could highlight interesting perspectives and
  reflect the diversity of our community.  If you know someone who
  might have a good idea for a talk, please reach out to them and
  encourage them to submit a proposal.  Many people (especially
  from underrepresented groups such as women, people of colour,
  non-developers, etc.) might not consider themselves proficient
  enough to share their thoughts.  If you let them know that you value
  their knowledge and experiences, and maybe even suggest something
  that you think others would like to hear about, they may realize
  that they do have something worth sharing and that we would love to
  hear from them.


5 Want to volunteer?
====================

  If you would like to help with the conference (planning the
  sessions, reviewing proposals, helping with infrastructure, making
  sessions more accessible, editing video transcripts, etc.), see our
  [volunteer] page.  Volunteers get early access to talks and learn
  lots of things along the way.  We'd really appreciate your help in
  making EmacsConf 2023 the best one so far!


[volunteer] <https://emacsconf.org/2023/volunteer>


6 Commitment to freedom
=======================

  We remain fully committed to freedom.  You'll be able to participate
  in EmacsConf using [free/libre software], and we use free/libre
  software to organize and run the conference.  You can find some
  notes about our setup and process at <https://emacsconf.org/infra/>.


[free/libre software] <https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>

# [[elisp:(org-md-export-to-markdown)][Export this file to Markdown]]
# [[elisp:(org-ascii-export-as-ascii nil nil nil t)][Export this file to ASCII]]

#+title: EmacsConf 2023
#+subtitle: Online Conference
#+date: December 2 and 3, 2023
#+options: author:nil

#+begin_export md
[[!meta title="Call for Participation"]]
[[!meta copyright="Copyright &copy; 2020 Amin Bandali, Sacha Chua,
David Bremner<br />
Copyright &copy; 2021 Amin Bandali, Sacha Chua, Leo Vivier,
Sebastian Crane<br />
Copyright &copy; 2022 Amin Bandali<br />
Copyright &copy; 2023 Sacha Chua"]]
<!-- cfp.md is exported from cfp.org, please modify that instead. -->
#+end_export

* COMMENT How to export this file  :noexport:

As of the time of writing this document (Org mode version 9.3.7), the
Org links library (=ol.el=) does not yet recognize =ircs= link types,
and will throw an error if you try to export a file containing them,
such as this file.

To work around that, you can use something along the lines of the
Emacs Lisp code below, by either adding it to your init file, or by
putting the point in the code block and hitting =C-c C-v e= (that is,
hold Ctrl, then hit c followed by v, then release Ctrl, and hit e) to
evaluate the code, working around the issue only for the current
session.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp :results silent
(org-link-set-parameters
 "ircs"
 :export
 (lambda (link description format)
   "Export an ircs link.
See `org-link-parameters' for details about LINK, DESCRIPTION and
FORMAT."
   (let ((desc (or description link)))
     (pcase format
       (`html (format "<a href=\"ircs:%s\">%s</a>" link desc))
       (`md (format "[%s](ircs:%s)" desc link))
       (_ nil)))))
#+end_src

Other CFPs we can borrow ideas from:

- https://debconf23.debconf.org/cfp/ - includes early submission timeline
- https://fosdem.org/2023/news/2022-11-13-call-for-presentations/ - mentions 
upload date, license
- 
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/libreplanet-2023-will-be-held-march-18-19-cfs-extended-to-november-23
- 
https://www.reddit.com/r/scala/comments/103v6e5/scalar_2023_cfp_is_still_open/ 
- very short
  
* Call for participation
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: cfp
:END:

What have you found exciting about 
[[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/][Emacs]] lately?  Have you figured out
a good workflow?  Used Emacs for something interesting?  Come share
what you've been learning at EmacsConf 2023 and meet other enthusiasts
along the way!  All backgrounds and all levels of experience are
welcome.  Emacs isn't just a text editor, it's a way of life!

Not sure what to talk about?  We've shared a few 
[[https://emacsconf.org/2023/ideas/][ideas]] to help you get
started.

[[https://emacsconf.org/2023/][EmacsConf 2023]] will be a virtual conference on 
*December 2 and 3, 2023
(Sat-Sun, 9AM-5PM UTC-5 / 2PM-10PM UTC)*.  If you'd like to present at
the conference, please *[[https://emacsconf.org/2023/cfp/][submit your 
proposal]]* by *September 14, 2023
(Friday)*.

* Talk formats
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: formats
:END:

Ideally, talks will be prerecorded so that you can script and edit
them as tightly as you want, and so that they can be captioned for
accessibility.  Here are the talk options:

- *5-10 minute lightning talk:* just the essentials!  If you can
  squeeze your prerecorded talk into 5-10 minutes by focusing on the
  essentials (not by talking super quickly!), we might be able to
  repeat it during the conference in order to fill gaps.
- *20-minute talk:* short enough to keep people's attention, long
  enough to get into some details.

There will be time for questions and answers after your talk, so
you don't need to include that in your talk timing.  Just like in
EmacsConf 2022, you can answer questions via a BigBlueButton room,
IRC, the Etherpad, the wiki, or email (your choice).  The stream will
move on to the next talk at the scheduled time, but interested people
can keep hanging out with you for a longer conversation.

If you are not available during the conference itself but you have
a neat idea that you'd like to share, please propose it anyway!
You can always handle questions after the conference, and we might
even be able to coordinate with other Emacs meetups for events in
other timezones.

We may have time for a few longer sessions.  If you'd like to be
considered for a longer time slot, please include an outline for the
extra time in addition to your 20-minute proposal.  Other session
formats such as tutorials, workshops, and hangouts are welcome as
well.

* Submitting your proposal
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: submitting
:END:

[[https://emacsconf.org/2023/submit/][Send us your idea]] as soon as you can, 
so that you can have more time
to work on your talk.  (Proposal deadline: September 14, 2023) This
year, we'd like to experiment with accepting proposals throughout the
CFP process.  If there are similar proposals, we'll work with people
so that the talks can cover different facets.

If you need help, you can email us publicly at 
[[mailto:emacsconf-org@gnu.org][emacsconf-org@gnu.org]]
or privately at 
[[mailto:emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org][emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org]]. You 
can also come and
say hi to us on our IRC channel =#emacsconf= on =irc.libera.chat=
using [[ircs://irc.libera.chat:6697/emacsconf][your favourite IRC client]], or 
by visiting [[https://chat.emacsconf.org][chat.emacsconf.org]] in
your web browser.

* Know someone who might have something to share?
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: sharing
:END:

All kinds of people use Emacs for all kinds of things.  We'd love it
if EmacsConf 2023 could highlight interesting perspectives and reflect
the diversity of our community.  If you know someone who might have a
good idea for a talk, please reach out to them and encourage them to
submit a proposal.  Many people (especially from underrepresented
groups such as women, people of colour, non-developers, etc.) might
not consider themselves proficient enough to share their thoughts.
If you let them know that you value their knowledge and experiences,
and maybe even suggest something that you think others would like to
hear about, they may realize that they do have something worth sharing
and that we would love to hear from them.

* Want to volunteer?
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: volunteer
:END:

If you would like to help with the conference (planning the sessions,
reviewing proposals, helping with infrastructure, making sessions more
accessible, editing video transcripts, etc.), see our 
[[https://emacsconf.org/2023/volunteer][volunteer]] page.
Volunteers get early access to talks and learn lots of things along
the way.  We'd really appreciate your help in making EmacsConf 2023
the best one so far!

* Commitment to freedom

We remain fully committed to freedom.  You'll be able to participate
in EmacsConf using [[https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html][free/libre 
software]], and we use free/libre software
to organize and run the conference.  You can find some notes about our
setup and process at https://emacsconf.org/infra/.

* COMMENT Copyright & License

Copyright (c) 2020 Amin Bandali, Sacha Chua, David Bremner
Copyright (c) 2021 Amin Bandali, Sacha Chua, Leo Vivier,
Sebastian Crane
Copyright (c) 2022 Amin Bandali
Copyright (c) 2023 Sacha Chua

The EmacsConf 2023 Call for Participation is part of the EmacsConf
wiki, and is dual-licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License; and the GNU
General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation,
either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later
version.

A copy of these two licenses is available on the EmacsConf wiki, in
the [[https://emacsconf.org/COPYING.CC-BY-SA][COPYING.CC-BY-SA]] and 
[[https://emacsconf.org/COPYING.GPL][COPYING.GPL]] files.