Unconf explained

The Ruby Unconf 2019 in Hamburg uses an event format that allows contribution and participation of all attendees.

In order to center the event around the community and it’s most important ingredients (you!), the unconf format has no predefined speakers or topics. Instead, everyone can propose a talk and the attendees decide what two days will look like.

How does it work?

write down proposal on proposal sheet with talk title, your name and a very short abstract - you are a potential speaker now
potential speakers announces their proposal to all attendees during the opening
all attendees vote for their favorite proposals
schedule is set up by counting the votes and filling the slots in the agenda

Proposals are gathered before the opening, so make sure to fill out the proposal sheet during breakfast. On the second day, the whole procedure starts from the beginning.

Voting

ruby unconf voting

After hearing all proposals during the opening of the unconf, you will vote for the talks that you want to hear. You vote using the stickers that you got with your ticket on the whiteboards close to the main hall where all talk proposals will be visible.

Schedule

We will setup the schedule based on your votes. The top 6 voted talks will held in the main hall and the talks on place 7-12 will be held in the additional room. That way the talks that the most people voted for will not be held in parallel, but in sequence.

During the event, we will update the realtime schedule and announce the talks on twitter.

Your unconf

If you want to propose a workshop, discussion, hacking session or anything else, feel free to grab a proposal sheet and write it down. We will try to make it happen by finding a room and all needed equipment for your needs. If you are unsure about an idea, please do not hesitate to ask us at the registration or write us an email to info@rubyunconf.eu upfront.

Talk proposal feedback & Contriboot

If you are interested in giving a talk (no matter if it’s your first or not) and want someone to talk about it for feedback, inspiration or help, let us know. We are very happy to help you or connect you with someone who has experience with giving talks. Please shoot us an email to info@rubyunconf.eu, we are looking forward to talk you into becoming a speaker!

We are gathering contributions (talk proposals) and interests in our so called contriboot. By entering your talk proposal there, people can vote and inform themselves about possible talks during the unconf. The votes in the contriboot do not counted during the event itself

Lightning talks

We have a spot for lightning talks on Sunday afternoon. We will gather lightning talks during both days. The first people that add their lightning talks to the list will get a slot of 5 minutes for their lightning talk.

FAQ

Which kind of session formats are possible?

We have 20 slots for sessions (30 minutes each). Besides talks, workshops or group discussions (e.g. Fishbowl style) are also possible and we are happy to help with organizing and finding the right format.
Is there a call for papers as it is known from other conferences?

No. All talks will be proposed by attendees. You can add your talk as a proposal to the contriboot but the voting is happening on the conference it self.
If I propose a talk will I definitely get the chance to present it?

Not necessarily. As we only have 20 slots, there is the chance that your proposal will not make it to the schedule. On Saturday, the 12 most voted proposals will get a slot. On Sunday, the voting starts from scratch, meaning even if your talk did not make it on Saturday, you have another chance.
As a first time speaker should I attend and propose a topic?

Yes! The ruby unconf is a great chance to become a first time speaker. You can propose your talk and will get feedback from the attendees if the find the topic interesting. If your talk makes it to the top 20, you will get a slot!

If you are unsure about the topic, quality or format of your talk, please reach out to us via twitter or email.
As an experienced speaker should I propose a talk?

Yes! Your chances are high that your talk will get voted and you will have the chance to tell the audience about your passion and inspire others.

Our unconf format is inspired by other barcamps, meetups and of course other unconfs. We could not make this happen without a lot of awesome people and we got our ideas mainly from these sources:

Be sure to grab one of our last available tickets! Looking forward to see you soon!