Come See All Things Open at CLS 2017!
The All Things Open team has been traveling all over the country this spring in an effort to support other events. It’s something we strongly believe in and try to do at every opportunity. However, there’s one coming up in about month that deserves special mention.
We’re very proud to say we’ll not only be attending, but we’ll be speaking at the Community Leadership Summit (CLS) in Austin on May 6 & 7. It will be our second time in attendance, our first time speaking, and it’s quickly become one of our favorite conferences all year.
There are many reasons we say this but here are just a few..
1. It’s community focused
By definition this event is focused on the open source community, the very people we love and respect immensely. The importance of community cannot be overstated and without question determines the success or failure of so much.
2. Community leaders of all types attend and participate
Do you currently contribute to an open source project, or perhaps follow one closely and want to learn more? If so chances are you’ll find the people behind the project, both maintainers and contributors, at CLS. And even better, you’ll meet and hang out with them in a truly relaxed environment where they’re open and accessible, which is a big deal. Having so many experts and leaders in one place also means the content will be world-class.
3. It’s an unconference
For the uninitiated, an unconference means the sessions to be featured are largely undetermined at this time. While there will be multiple plenary keynotes in the morning both days the remaining sessions will be determined by what attendees “pitch” and which ones are voted on and chosen. So, this means the lineup is unpredictable, but because a who’s who in the open source community participates, it is guaranteed to be excellent. In addition, anyone attending has a chance to speak, which is really cool.
4. Accessibility
Did we mention the event is FREE to attend? We were surprised by this the first time we learned of the conference many years ago but we’ve been pleasantly surprised to see it remain this way. It being free means anyone interested in contributing to a project, or just getting involved in open source in general, should be able to get in the door without an issue. In this way it’s an event after our own hearts. We strongly believe in accessibility and have structured everything we do around it.
Finally, we’d like to give Jono Bacon the due he deserves, and he’s a big reason we’ll be there. Jono has been a key player in the open source community for many years, wrote “The Art of Community“, and has been coordinating and hosting CLS for 8 years now. Jono would never say this about himself but he does a wonderful job and has proven his commitment to the community over many years. Simply put, that means a lot to us.
As we’ve encouraged our community to do at several other events this spring, come out and join us at CLS on May 6 & 7 in Austin, TX. We’ll be there in attendance, speaking, and smiling. Always smiling.