Call for Speakers

UPDATE 4/2/20: We are giving you a little extra time to send in your speaker submissions for WordCamp Kent — the deadline is now Friday, April 17th, 2020.

UPDATE 3/18/20: In light of the developments with COVID-19, we have decided to move to a 100% online conference for 2020. You can read the announcement about that here.

We will be hosting the conference through the CrowdCast platform. The stream will be embedded in the WordCamp Kent site for attendees to watch during the conference.

With that in mind, we are giving the speakers two options:
1. Do your session live
2. Pre-record your session to be played at your scheduled time in the agenda. With this option, the speaker can also do a live Q & A in Slack with attendees as their presentation is playing.

Either option will require prior communication and possibly testing with the WordCamp Kent organizers. Once your application is submitted and accepted, we will be in touch with you about the logistics of your session(s).


WordCamp Kent is looking for speakers for the 2020 conference happening May 30-31! If you are a WordPress enthusiast looking to inspire and inform other WordPress enthusiasts on all things (or maybe just one thing)

WordPress, you are invited to submit a speaker application!At WordCamp Kent, our attendees include designers, developers, marketers, business owners, bloggers, and content strategists who all come together to learn, connect and have a great time. We welcome and encourage submissions on a wide variety of topics!

What to Know About Speaking

  • Standard sessions will be 45 minutes. When practicing your talk, please remember to build in some time (10-15 minutes) for questions.
  • This year, we are also going to incorporate lightning talks, which will be 15 minutes. If you think your session would work best as a lightning talk, please indicate it in your application below in the topic description section.
  • The deadline to submit speaker applications is now 11 PM EDT on Friday, April 17th, 2020.
  • You will be notified when a decision about your submission is made no later than April 25th.
  • If you are accepted as a speaker, please be prepared to submit your slides to the WordCamp Kent organizers by Friday, May 22nd.

General Guidelines for Speakers

  • We’ re looking for talks that are relevant to casual WordPress users, experienced developers, and anywhere between.
  • We are always on the lookout for new speakers of ALL ages and backgrounds.
  • You do not need to be a professional speaker, but you should be knowledgeable about the topic you are presenting.
  • You are encouraged to apply even if you have never spoken at a WordCamp before. If you need some inspiration, take a look at some of the talks published on WordPress TV.
  • Sessions are not intended to be sales pitches; please do not use them to promote your business or product.
  • Speakers will be provided free admission to WordCamp Kent 2020

Speaker Requirements

In order to keep a safe and welcoming environment, we require all speakers, sponsors, and attendees to follow our Code of Conduct.

No prior speaking experience is necessary to apply to speak. However, if you are speaking for the first time, the Community Handbook has a handy guide!

What to Talk About

Below are general areas for topics, but please feel free to submit any ideas you feel would benefit the WordCamp Kent community!

  • WordPress Fundamentals
  • Content Creation & Blogging
  • Design & User Experience
  • Community Building
  • Backend Development
  • Marketing & Branding
  • Freelancing/Business Topics
  • Themes & Plugins
  • Security

If you’d like to propose multiple topics, please submit the form multiple times, once for each topic. Please remember to indicate whether you’d like your topic to be a lightening topic

We look forward to seeing your ideas!

Call For Speakers is Closed.

KNOW SOMEONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR SPEAK? If you know a person who is a great speaker, or a new speaker with tons of knowledge to share, and would like to nominate them to speak, get in touch via our Contact Form and let us know who it is, where they are located, and what they speak about, as well as a way for us to get in touch.

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Call for Sponsors

Updated 5/18/20

WordCamp Kent would not be possible without the support of You! Yes, you, our sponsors! In addition to our amazing global sponsors that contribute to all WordCamps in a certain region of the world,  we need the help of our community sponsors to make Kent the best WordCamp it can be.

WordCamp Kent will be happening this year on May 30-31 online!

What You Are Supporting

We will continue to educate beginners through our WordPress 101 track as well. Last year, we featured 26 amazing speakers covering topics ranging from SEO to accessibility to development topics and community building.

Check out our schedule for this year!

Read Last Year’s Recap

Who You Are Supporting

WordCamp Kent is organized by members of the Northeast Ohio WordPress Meetup group. Our community has a great mix of technical and non-technical individuals. We have a lot of Meetup attendees that run their business on WordPress or make money setting up and managing WordPress sites for clients. Our Meetup group has traveled to a handful of Northeast Ohio cities and is a great platform for new speakers. We’re a laid-back and supportive group that meets 1-2 times a month near the Cleveland and Akron areas.

In 2018, our community was featured at WordCamp US!

Requirements

In order to keep a safe and welcoming environment, we require all speakers, sponsors, and attendees to follow our Code of Conduct. Sponsors must comply with WordCamp Central guidelines for promotional materials, use of the WordPress name and trademark, etc. Those guidelines are available in the community handbook and a pdf copy will be sent along with the sponsor agreement (after acceptance and before payment).


If you want to get involved in our community by sponsoring, we have several different sponsor levels to choose from.

Updated 5/13/20

$1,000 Gold (Limit of 1 Community Sponsor)

  • Large logo placed on the site
  • Blog post & social media update(s) introducing your business as a sponsor
  • Brief introduction during remarks at WordCamp Kent
  • Branding displayed in between online sessions (large logo display)
  • Virtual Sponsor Booths

$500 Silver (Limit of 2 Community Sponsors)

  • Medium logo placed on the site
  • Medium logo on promo material
  • Blog post & social media update(s) introducing your business as a sponsor
  • Brief introduction during remarks at WordCamp Kent
  • Branding displayed in between online sessions (medium logo display)

$250 Bronze

  • Small logo placed on the site
  • Blog post & social media update(s) introducing your business as a sponsor

$100 Small Business

  • Mention on the website of your sponsorship

Sponsor Application

5/20/20 – The call for sponsors is now closed! Thank you for your interest and support.

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Announcing WordCamp Kent 2020

We’re happy to announce that WordCamp Kent is officially on the calendar!

WordCamp Kent will be happening this year on May 30-31 at the Kent State University Hotel & Conference Center.

WordCamps are designed to showcase the local community, and WordCamp Kent is no exception. Featuring speakers and sponsors from the northeast Ohio region, WordCamp Kent will provide great opportunities for learning and networking.

We are expecting around 130 attendees this year.

Sessions are broken down into three (3) tracks in classroom-style rooms where you can feel free to ask questions directly to the speakers. There is also a quiet area in the Conference Center if you identify as an introvert and would like space to retreat to during the event.

Last year, we had 2 full days with 3 tracks. Our local community is passionate about development, SEO, marketing, freelancing, and community involvement. We hope to feature many of these topics again in 2020 along with our WordPress 101 track.

Read Last Year’s Recap

Can’t wait that long? Join the Northeast Ohio Meetup group or check out our Slack channel to get involved as a WordCamp Kent volunteer!

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