RailsCamp Germany 2013

RailsCamp Germany is back, and you're all invited!

29 May 2013

You’ve probably heard it on Twitter already, but this is where shit gets real: RailsCamp Germany is back, and it’s going to be [fill in favorite neologism or TV show quote for the highest level of awesomeness]!

It’ll be happening during the weekend of July 27/28, with our traditional warm-up party the night before, of course. Fortunately, we found an incredible venue in Cologne, accommodating about 200 humans, and allowing all sorts of activities and spontaneous RailsCamp craziness to happen. If you want, you can even set up tent in the the neighboring skate hall, so you don’t have to leave during the whole weekend. And how about a climb up the walls during the day?

As you can see, RailsCamp Germany is still all about networking and exchanging knowledge and ideas in the most laid-back atmosphere possible – no stress, no hardcore schedule, lots of fun, and space for whatever you feel like doing. And most importantly: you will decide what exactly the camp will be in the end! In fact, we have only 2 rules:

1. Everybody contributes, no matter what or how small. ¹
2. There are no other rules.

With this 5th edition of RCG more than doubling the size of the event once again, it’ll take some more hands and planning to stay on top of our customary anarchy. And as a 100% non-profit community event we’ll need as many of you as possible to help get everything in place for this Unconference Extraordinaire.

As a decentralized organization team, we’ve set up some tools to help us collaborate remotely. If you want to get get involved before the event, check out what we already have, find something you’d like to help with or add something new, and join the conversation:

• GitHub Issues on the event repo are our main organization channel. We started adding some topics and tasks a week ago, but people are adding new things every day.
• The original idea pad still contains some things, that are not yet converted to GitHub issues. Furthermore, specific pads are linked at the bottom. Feel free to add and edit anytime.
• #railscamp_de on Freenode is our offical IRC channel. Just drop by anytime.
• The orga mailing list is the only non-public channel, which we only use for confidential information. If you want access, just request it. It’s not necessary for anything other than looking at a few boring numbers, though. ;)

We’re also doing regular Google Hangouts every Tuesday at 5pm. The URL is always shared on both IRC and Twitter.

For session planning before and during the event, we will have a nice little Rails app, developed by the fine folks of eurucamp. You’ll be able to add whatever you want to start – talks, discussions, activities, workshops, etc. – and people can then register their interest, so we can decide on the room/location details on site, depending on how much space is required.

In light of the increased costs, and that we cannot afford too much uncertainty on no-shows, this year we will have entry fees for the first time ever. We’ll have 3 types of tickets – students, normal, and supporters – with the normal one costing around 25 EUR. That’s still a killer deal for a 2.5-day developer paradise, and that’s mostly due to our awesome…

Sponsors! We haven’t compiled the various packages yet, but if you’re running or working at a company which could chip in a few bucks (or many), please get in touch! We’ll have sponsoring opportunities starting at a few hundred Euro, so there’ll be something for every budget. And if you’re on the lookout for new developers to hire, we have some nice extras planned for you.

So, long story short: fellow RailsCampers, you’re all invited to join us for the 5th incarnation of RailsCamp Germany in about 2 months in Cologne! We’re open to everyone, from beginners to masters of their craft. It’ll be an epic weekend of learning new things, meeting fellow enthusiasts, and having tons of fun. Everything is allowed², and you’re in charge of the program. We’re incredibly excited, and we hope to see you there!

If you’re interested, then mark your calendar, follow us on Twitter, and track the event on Lanyrd.

Oh, and one more thing: In order to keep the books clean and pool more resources within the German Ruby community, we’re glad to announce that the Ruby Berlin e.V. will be the official host of this year’s camp! They’re an amazing bunch of committed volunteers³, and we’re very happy to have them on board.