The PyCon Hatchery Program is an effort to establish a path for introduction of new tracks, summits, demos, etc which share and fulfill the mission of the Python Software Foundation into PyCon’s schedule.

The program was first run as a trial in 2018, resulting in the creation of the PyCon Charlas track. Last year we added three more events - the Mentored Sprints, the Maintainers Summit, and the Art of Python. You may also want to look at Sumana Harihareswara’s excellent write ups of both the motivation and execution of the Art of Python. This year we are hoping to continue that growth, and are encouraging more projects to apply.

To support hatchery programs, we have assigned one room equipped similarly to the PyCon Talks, Tutorials, Education Summit, and Charlas for the hatchery program. Accepted hatchery programs that require this room may take place Saturday, April 18th or Sunday, April 19th 2020.

Proposals that require additional facilities or resources to organize are encouraged, however their acceptance may be determined by availability of funds for the additional cost. If your proposal would require unique facilities, please reach out to the Hatchery team as soon as possible and we will assist in assessing feasibility!

Proposals for the hatchery program will be accepted through January 3, 2020 AoE and will be reviewed by an ad-hoc group of the Conference Chair, the Hatchery Chair, PSF Directors, and community volunteers.

After a review process, we plan to announce accepted proposals no later than January 20, 2020.

Submit Hatchery proposals online here.

Time expectations for content

Proposals should be for either a half or full day’s worth of content. Scheduled talk programs should fill time slots similarly to PyCon Conference talks to allow attendees to flow naturally between tracks. You can see the 2019 schedule here to use as a guideline for 2020 as they will be similar. Note that Sunday is a shorter content day so if you wish to propose specifically for that day, please mark so in your proposal.

Call for Proposals & Review process

The criteria for acceptance will be based on the following guidelines:

• Does the program adhere to PyCon’s Code of Conduct?
• PyCon is a professional setting where everyone should feel welcome and safe. We expect all proposals to keep the Code of Conduct in mind.
• Is the program being proposed and organized by an existing or potential community in the Python ecosystem?
• Our goal is to foster community driven efforts. Proposals with a community origin, involvement, and focus are desired, rather than proposals stemming from and/or managed by corporations or for-profit entities.
• Does the program track align with the Python Software Foundation’s mission?
• Our goal is to support topics that are relevant to our community. Additionally, the track content being proposed should help us enforce the PSF’s mission of diversity, inclusivity, and foster the growth of Python.
• Is the proposal well organized and detailed?
• Proposals should be representative of the effort, thought, and ongoing work that will be necessary to organize, sustain, and grow the proposed event.
• Does the proposer have any experience organizing events/putting talk programs together?
• While not strictly a requirement, having previous experience in organizing among the proposing party will be considered in the overall application.
• Is the target audience underrepresented or is the subject about underrepresented topics within the tech community?
• As we strive to improve the diversity of PyCon overall, priority for this program will be given to proposals that bring new viewpoints and additional representation to the conference.
• Does the proposed track pertain to a topic that has enough content on it to form a continued “spin-off” event at PyCon?
• While not strictly a requirement, the time and resources which will be furnished by the PSF, PyCon staff, and PyCon volunteers to support these programs are best served by sustainable proposals. Ephemeral programs are welcome and will generally be given lower priority.

A few examples of types of topics that are suitable for the program (not a complete list, creativity is expressly encouraged):

• PyLadies talk track
• Foreign language talk track (see the PyCon Charlas, the first track created in the hatchery).
• Scientific data summit

What are we asking for in proposals?

• Who is the organizing team or individual
• Do you (or the team) have experience organizing conferences, workshops, tutorials, meetups?
• Do you have experience putting together a talk program?
• What subject are you proposing?
• What is your (or the team’s) experience/involvement with the subject?
• Can you list some of the subject subtopics that will be addressed during your program? Do you have participants in mind for the track? If so, who are they? If not, what is your plan of outreach to attract participants?
• What will PyCon attendees gain from attending your program?
• What will be the actionable take away from the proposed program? How will you get Pythonistas more involved in the subject beyond the conference and how do you plan on proposing this actionable to the attendees?
• If applicable, how do you see this subject evolving into a spin-off event at PyCon going forward?

Questions

If you have questions, please email pycon-hatchery@python.org! We welcome your feedback and are happy to provide clarification. Please note that until the review period answers to your questions may take some time so please be proactive!