Speaker Submissions Are Now Open!

NOTICE: You MUST log into your wordpress.org AND wordcamp.org (same login credentials as wordpress.org) account in order for the application to appear. If you do not have an account, you can create one here.

Speaker submissions are open through August 22. We will begin with announcing an initial round of speakers shortly thereafter. You may submit multiple talks, but only one talk will be selected per speaker.

Presentation Guidelines are found below the submission form.

Please fill out the form below in as much detail as possible to help us better select speakers:

If you’d like to propose multiple topics, please submit the form multiple times, once for each topic.

WordCamp Milwaukee is looking for a wide variety of presentations at our event. A WordCamp isn’t your typical conference with a strict set of guidelines for what and how a presentation goes. If you have a unique idea for your presentation, let us know, we’d love to hear!

This is a conference centered around WordPress, but that doesn’t mean all presentations have to be strictly on WordPress. We have had talks in the past on non-WordPress specific programming topics like JavaScript and CSS, Social Media, Internet Marketing, SEO, running a business, and more. If you have an interesting idea for a non-WordPress talk, let us know. That being said, we love WordPress presentations and if you have something good we’d love to see it. Our sole criteria is that we believe the presentation will be of value to our attendees.

Your presentation can be of any structure you feel works best. It can be lecture style, demonstration, panel, or something else. We are open to great ideas for unique presentations. We only ask that you be sure it fit in 40 minutes or less. Typically, presenters will give some time within the 40 minutes for questions.

You will need to provide your own laptop (or other device) for use in the presentation. Projectors with VGA connection (and possibly HDMI) will be available at the venue. If you have any other needs please contact the organizers.

1. I agree that WordCamps are meant to benefit the local WordPress community through live events and the broader WordPress community through the sharing of online video and other materials.
2. I agree that a WordCamp is a casual, locally- and volunteer-organized event, focused on WordPress and reflecting the local WordPress community it represents.
3. I understand that WordCamp organizers, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers are expected to support the WordPress project and its principles.
4. I understand that the principles of the WordPress project include:
   • no discrimination on the basis of economic or social status, race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or disability
   • no incitement to violence or promotion of hate
   • no spammers
   • no jerks
   • respect the WordPress trademark
   • embrace the WordPress license; If distributing WordPress-derivative works (themes, plugins, WP distros), any person or business officially associated with WordCamp should give their users the same freedoms that WordPress itself provides: 100% GPL or compatible, the same guidelines we follow on WordPress.org.
   • don’t promote companies or people that distribute WordPress derivative works which aren’t 100% GPL compatible
5. I agree that WordCamps are not-for-profit events, organized with budget and funding transparency.
6. I agree that WordCamps should be accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of financial status.
7. I agree that I am not an employee of the WordPress Foundation and am participating in WordCamp exclusively as a volunteer.

WordCamp Milwaukee is dedicated to provide a welcoming environment to everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, or religion. The harassment of WordCamp participants in any form will not be tolerated. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate during a conference event. WordCamp participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the WordCamp without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers. More details on the WordCamp Milwaukee Code of Conduct.

WordCamps get a lot of great presentation submissions and it is a very hard process sorting through them all to find those that will provide the most value to our attendees. We look for the best speakers and topics, but we also may give preference to local speakers in some occasions as we want to feature our local talent alongside national WordPress experts.

The WordCamp Milwaukee organizing committee will review all applications previewing the abstracts and stated qualifications. We will review each speaker for adherence to the WordCamp agreement above and find topics and presenters that provide the best value to our attendees. We base our decisions solely on value to our attendees and our local WordPress community. As stated, because we want to bring value to our local community, some local applicants may be chosen over similar non-local applicants.

If you are selected, we are looking forward to having you give a talk at WordCamp Milwaukee! Once we have made a decision we will contact those we have selected. We plan to contact all who we have been selected within 7 days after the speaker deadline. We expect a prompt response from you, so if you can no longer make the event we can offer your spot to a different applicant. If we start announcing some speakers and you don’t hear from us immediately, we may still be considering your application. We will contact all applicants informing them of our decision within 15 days after the speaker deadline. We may ask some speakers who we have initially declined if they would like to be on a standby list in the case of a speaker needing to cancel.

All speakers will receive one ticket to WordCamp Milwaukee. This will gain admission on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All accommodations and travel are the responsibility of the speaker. Unfortunately, our budget does not allow us to play for speaker expenses. We will, however, be holding a speaker/sponsor/organizer reception on Friday evening to thank everyone. We will contact speakers with more info on this prior to the event. If you happen to buy a ticket before being selected as a speaker, we will refund your ticket, but we also suggest finding someone who loves WordPress to come and use it.

All WordCamp Milwaukee talks will be recorded and posted on WordPress.tv. We feel that more than just those who attend for the weekend should be able to benefit from the learning at WordCamps. Each speaker will be asked to sign an A/V Release prior to speaking. We will do our best to get videos posted online in a timely fashion, but as a strictly volunteer crew, it takes a lot of work and time to process hours and hours of video.