For five days next week, from August 19-23, the inaugural event of The Great WP Virtual Summit will be taking place.
Conceived by South African based WordPress developer Anchen le Roux, the summit aims to bring together experts from various fields within the WordPress ecosystem to share their knowledge over the five days
I reached out to Le Roux, to find out why she came up with the idea of the summit, and what her goals are for the event.
“Being an organiser of WordCamp Johannesburg for the last few years, I’ve been very aware of how only a small number of people are actually able to attend an event like WordCamp.
Obviously there are a lot of reasons, but for the most part travelling, accommodation, and other logistical items seemed to be the biggest hindrance.”
Being based at the tip of Africa, Le Roux also realized that many other African countries don’t even have a WordCamp, and started wondering what she could do to bring WordCamp to them. The idea for the summit was born.
“I’m hoping an online summit can introduce aspects of WordPress, and being part of the WordPress community, to those living in areas where it’s not easily accessible. It’s also my hope that this will plant a seed with folks, to start their own local communities around WordPress, and ultimately lead to more local WordCamps.”
Anchen is hoping to recreate some of the atmosphere and energy that takes place at a local WordCamp, at this online event.
“I know nothing can substitute for the in-person experience of a WordCamp but I’m trusting that some bits of what makes WordCamps awesome can be recreated in what we do. I’m hoping for this to be the first of many. This first one is very much an experiment but I’m anticipating for it to grow into something that more people can be involved in.“
I asked Le Roux what she hopes attendees will take away from the event.
“Firstly, the goal is to allow folks to learn from top authorities in the WordPress realm on a variety of topics. We have four different tracks catering to all types of WordPress users. Topics range from branding and design, development, and running your business with WordPress, to running a WordPress agency or being a WP freelancer.
Above and beyond that, I’m hoping that folks who are new to the community, or are operating on the fringes of our community, are encouraged to become a bigger part of the WordPress community, by giving them the opportunity to chat with other community members, ask questions and/or share ideas.
We have 20+ experts over 5 days, who will teach you strategies you can use to both improve and scale your WordPress business, no matter which stage you’re at, or what type of user you are.”
The Great WP Virtual Summit is happening August 19 – 23 and you can get your free tickets to the event right now by visiting the tickets page.
