A presentation at DevRel Summit 2017 in in Seattle, WA, USA by Angel Banks
Creating the Most Diverse and Inclusive Conference: Lessons learned from WE RISE
Hello! I’m Angel Banks 2 ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ UX Designer / Front-End Developer / Event Organizer Co-Director of Women Who Code Atlanta Curriculum Director Girl Develop It Atlanta Co-Organizer of WeRISE and ngAtlanta ▪ Find me on twitter: @angelmbanks
QUICK OVERVIEW OF WE RISE ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 3 WWCode Atlanta Network created and hosted We RISE Women in Tech conference June 2017, Atlanta 2 days / 6 tracks / 7 workshops / 80 + speakers / over 400 attendees / 30 sponsors & partners First large women in tech in Atlanta
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WE’RE DOING IT AGAIN! ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 6 June 21 - 22, 2018 at Loudermilk 2 days / 5 tracks / workshops / code labs CFP is open until 2/7/18 ▫ https://www.papercall.io/we-rise-tech Open to everyone! ▫ women ▫ tech allies of all genders ▫ first time speakers
ngAtlanta 7
“ 8 Diversity is being at the party, inclusion is being asked to dance
What does an inclusive event mean to you?
What are some issues you’ve experienced at tech events?
How can tech events do better to address these issues?
What does your ideal inclusive tech conference look like?
THANKS! You can find me at: @angelmbanks, @WWCAtl, @WeRiseConf, @ngAtlanta www.angelbanks.com www.meetup.com/women-who-code-atlanta www.werise.tech www.ng-atl.org 13
FIGURE OUT THE WHY ▪ What is your inspiration? ▪ What motivates you? ▪ What does success look like? 15
FIGURE OUT THE WHO ▪ Who is your audience? ▪ Who do you want in the room? ▫ Geographic ▫ Profession ▫ Areas of Interest ▫ Level of Experience 16
FIGURE OUT THE WHAT ▪ What are you trying to accomplish? ▪ What does your conference need to be to meet your WHY? 17
FINDING SPONSORS AND PARTNERS ▪ Who are your sponsors and how do they fit with your mission? ▪ When to say “No” ▪ What do they bring to the table? ▪ Finding people and organizations to fill in your “holes.“ 19
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? ▪ Outreach to speakers (CFPs v. Invites) ▪ Evaluation process ▪ Building your track(s) 21
MARKETING: GETTING THE WORD OUT ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 22 Messaging is key... make it clear Where are the people you want to reach? Highlighting speakers and content Sales strategies
YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE ▪ Recruit an army of volunteers ▫ Make them diverse ▫ Keep them engaged ▫ Treat them well ▫ Communicate ▫ Properly train them 23
CODE OF CONDUCT ▪ Make it clear ▪ Have a plan for handling concerns ▪ Identify a point person for these issues and share that with speakers, attendees, and volunteers 25
DIVERSITY ▪ Getting the right people in the room AND on the stage ▪ If you want to expand the speaker group, consider including first time speakers ▪ Identify communities to invite but welcome everyone 26
DETAILS MATTER ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 28 Create a welcoming experience Food to accommodate dietary needs Ensure the size of the location fits your group Accessibility ▫ Public transportation and parking ▫ ADA compliant
GOING BEYOND Gender neutral bathrooms Childcare Make adjustments on the fly Community channel for conference speakers and attendees before, during, and after ▪ Support your speakers ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 29
MEASURING SUCCESS ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 32 Surveys Social media Did it make an impact? What are people saying? Was it fun?
MAKING IT BETTER ▪ Gather feedback: ▫ Analyze survey results ▫ Capture planning team thoughts immediately ▫ Gather other feedback (blogs, conversations…) ▫ Check-in with sponsors & partners ▪ Put it in your plan for next time! 35
WWCode ATL team created their first tech conference with astounding success. Beth and Angel will talk about what it takes to create a true technical event where everyone feels comfortable and included, regardless of level of technical experience, gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, accessibility or other groups of identity.
Presented by WWCode leaders Angel Banks and Beth Laing
for free. You
can too.