Hi all,
These have been difficult times, we hoped for better news, but as time goes by it seems unlikely they will come. Airline companies all around are struggling, there are several border controls in place, and big events are restricted until further notice. As an example, in Portugal all festivals have been canceled until the 30th of September; other smaller events can follow or keep severe distancing rules which drastically reduces the maximum number of possible attendees. Long story short, the current schedule is no longer viable.
Now for some good news, DSF allowed us to keep the conference in Porto for another year, so we will host DjangoCon Europe 2021 with as much enthusiasm as we had for this year. Nevertheless, since no one wants to go one year without DjangoCon Europe, we will have the very first Virtual DjangoCon Europe ever, open for everyone free of charge. This will allow us (Django Community) to have some of the needed interaction, while keeping everybody safe.
The virtual conference will take place on September 18-19 (Friday and Saturday). Moreover, in terms of content, the available talk submissions will be evaluated and ranked. Afterwards, the selected speakers will be invited for the new format.
We will be very happy to have you in this year's virtual conference, but we also hope to see you at Porto next year!
Thank you all for your patience and support,
The 2020 DjangoCon Europe Organization Team
Tickets Policy
For those of you with bought tickets have two available choices:
- Keep them for 2021 DjangoCon Europe at Porto (finally!). This is a good deal because you will keep this year’s price, regardless of the next year’s price.
- Ask for a refund until the 30th of June through this form.
Take into consideration that refunding tickets takes time, fees, and paperwork. So, by keeping your ticket for next year you are helping the organization team, and as such we want to reward that by making sure you get the cheapest price for the conference. Additionally, if you bought your ticket at the normal price (not early bird), we will refund you the price difference - requests shall be made on the following form.
Please note that next year prices are expected to go up. This crisis is having and will still have more economical implications, that will impact everyone including the event organization, as such, it should be nearly impossible to keep the same prices.
All ticket refunds will be processed in bulk after the 30th of June.
Sponsors Policy
As a sponsor you have three available choices:
- Stick with us till the next year 2021 DjangoCon Europe at Porto, and to reward the commitment you will be a sponsor of 2020 DjangoCon Europe, the very first virtual-only DjangoCon Europe.
- Reduce your sponsorship level, to one you feel comfortable
- Ask for a refund
We thank all the patience and commitment shown this far but we also understand if you can no longer keep the sponsorship, or the sponsorship level agreed upon. Please send us an email in any case.
Current COVID-19 peak estimates are too close to the original dates (May 27-31), we can not delay making a decision anymore. Some conferences are postponing, others canceling altogether.
So, before considering canceling DjangoCon Europe 2020, optimistically we will first try to postpone it.
It is with a sincere heart that we have decided to postpone DjangoCon Europe 2020 to September 16-20.
As you might be aware, conferences are being cancelled worldwide. We still have hope, and before throwing the towel, we have decided to postpone. We took particular care to choose safe dates, far enough from the current outbreak peek estimates, but also far from the next fall/winter. Some experts state this is here to stay, and if they are correct, we should have troubles next fall/winter, let's just hope to a smaller degree.
We are aware that many things can change meanwhile, and that in the end we might be forced to cancel the conference, but for now, we urge you to believe with us. Many of you have already bought tickets, and to those, we kindly ask to hope with us.
Ticket refunds will happen in any of the following scenarios:
- Participant's inability to participate, due to restrictions in place at the time or unavailability on the new dates.
- Conference cancellation
Please do not rush requesting ticket refunds. We will process them as we can. Please note that a ticket refunded and latter on bought again has double the fees for us. So delay your decision for as long as you can. If everything goes well, we will have a conference, and we count on you to be there! When booking your trip to Porto for September, please make sure to book with the possibility to cancel.
For those of you who are planning or have already booked your flights with TAP, our official carrier, here is some crucial information. In short, they have plans for flight reschedules free of charge - you can reschedule your tickets to the new dates.
During the conference, we will follow the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, as well as the Portuguese Direcção Geral da Saude (DGS) guidelines in Portuguese.
The general guidelines include, but are not limited to:
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We ask all participants who have been in critical disease zones, at the time of the event, to communicate with the organization. Together we will evaluate the actual presence and refund when applicable.
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At the reception, the organization will have hand sanitizers, infrared thermometers, masks (exclusive for hazardous situations) and a garbage bin of sanitary waste. A DGS approved poster will be displayed with the instructions for basic procedures.
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To those who request or appear symptomatic, we will have a thermometer for fever screening and we will provide, together with local authorities, an isolation room for people with symptoms to be able to wait for the presence of health authorities.
Thank you for your understanding and patience during this uncertain time. We appreciate your support of this difficult decision and look forward to seeing you soon in September.