PyCon JP 2025 Chair's Daily Report Back to Home

April to May Tasks for the Program Team

Japanese version is available here

This is a daily report published by @nishimotz, the Chair of PyCon JP 2025.

PyCon JP 2025 will be held at Hiroshima International Conference Center on September 26-27.

We are recruiting organizing members. Please apply through the Organizing Member Application Form.

With about 6 months remaining until PyCon JP 2025, the Program Team now has a leader who will guide the team’s activities going forward. This article is shared as a foundation for aligning everyone’s understanding of the tasks that the Program Team will be working on from April to May.

Chair’s Vision

PyCon JP 2025 represents an important step in expanding the Python community beyond Tokyo.

Reflecting the current state where Python is spreading in fields such as education, we welcome the introduction of Python use cases from regional areas and aim to create a venue where Python users from diverse backgrounds can come together.

We aim to create content that first-time participants can enjoy, and our goal is to widely communicate that “PyCon JP is an event where newcomers can enjoy themselves with peace of mind.”

Here are our specific goals:

• Encourage past PyCon JP participants to continue attending and contributing
• Position PyCon JP as a preferred choice for speakers looking for technical conference opportunities
• Gather content that first-time participants can enjoy, making PyCon JP truly “an event where newcomers can enjoy themselves with peace of mind”

Main Program Team Tasks

Keynote Speaker Related

• April: Finalizing and Announcing Keynote Speakers
  • Collecting information from confirmed speakers (profiles, talk outlines, etc.)
  • Preparing to announce the confirmed keynote speakers
  • Collaborating with the PR team to plan website and social media announcements

In selecting keynote speakers, we aim to consider individuals with diverse perspectives and backgrounds, reflecting the significance of holding the event in Hiroshima.

Call for Proposals (CFP) Related

• April: Launching the CFP
  • Aiming to launch the CFP in the first week of April (however, prioritizing proper preparation over strict adherence to this timeline)
  • Carefully organizing what needs to be communicated to submitters and ensuring that the concepts and ideals of PyCon JP 2025 are clearly conveyed
  • Creating guidelines that encourage diverse Python use cases and perspectives to come together
  • Setting up submission platforms (such as Pretalx) and creating submission forms
  • Implementing CFP announcements in collaboration with the PR team
• May: Closing the CFP and Review Process
  • Aiming to close the CFP by the second week of May
  • Compiling and analyzing submission data, considering deadline extensions if necessary
  • Selecting and inviting reviewers, finalizing review criteria
  • Implementing the review process and selecting acceptance candidates

Here are some potential themes we are considering for the CFP:

• Scientific computing and data analysis
• Web development and cloud
• Machine learning and AI
• System operations and DevOps
• Education and community
• Regional-specific problem solving

We will also explicitly welcome Python use cases from Hiroshima and other regional areas, and encourage mathematical and scientific topics related to Python 3.14 (π).

The following were the review criteria used in 2024:

1. Relevance: Is the content related to the Python community?
2. Clarity: Is the talk content clearly written?
3. Expertise: Is the content based on personal experience or specialized knowledge?
4. Practicality: Is the content interesting or useful?
5. Diversity: Does it reflect various perspectives and experiences?

Featured Talks Related

• April: Considering and Inviting Featured Talks
  • After finalizing keynote speakers, considering featured talks as needed
  • Creating and prioritizing a list of candidates for featured talks
  • Creating and sending invitation letters
• May: Finalizing Featured Talks
  • Confirming responses to featured talk invitations and finalizing speakers and content
  • Collecting information from featured speakers (profiles, talk outlines, etc.)
  • Preparing to announce featured talks

Featured talks will be held as one of the parallel track sessions. Implementing featured talks is not mandatory.

Tasks Requiring Inter-Team Coordination

The main Program Team will coordinate with other teams on the following tasks (if a team has not yet been established, the Chair Team will provide support):

• Coordination with the Venue Team
  • Sharing session venue requirements
• Coordination with the PR Team
  • Promoting and announcing the CFP
  • Announcing keynote speakers and featured speakers
• Coordination with the Participant Management Team
  • Announcing travel support to encourage CFP submissions
• Coordination with the Chair Team
  • Adjusting budget and accounting matters
  • Coordinating the overall schedule

Tutorial Subgroup Tasks

The Tutorial Subgroup, as part of the Program Team, will work on the following tasks:

Tutorial Planning and Implementation

• April: Planning Tutorials
  • Considering policies and themes for tutorials
  • Designing multiple tracks for tutorials
  • Selecting and inviting instructor candidates
  • Considering tutorial content and format
• May: Finalizing Tutorials
  • Making final arrangements with tutorial instructors
  • Finalizing tutorial content and format
  • Preparing to announce tutorials

We would like to implement tutorials to accommodate participants of various skill levels. However, this is not mandatory.

We anticipate that participants will purchase tutorial tickets in addition to the main conference tickets, so it is important to select themes that meet attendee needs.

Tasks Requiring Inter-Team Coordination

The Tutorial Subgroup will coordinate with other teams on the following tasks:

• Coordination with the PR Team
  • Announcing tutorials
• Coordination with the Participant Management Team
  • Setting tutorial ticket prices
• Coordination with the Venue Team
  • Coordinating tutorial dates and venues
• Coordination with the Chair Team
  • Considering outsourcing (requests to external service providers)
  • Adjusting budget and accounting matters

Overview of Schedule Beyond May

• June: Send talk acceptance notifications, finalize program details
• July: Publish timetable
• August: Speaker support, preparation for various events
• September: Final preparations, conference execution, request for publication of presentation materials

Update History

• 2025-03-29: First version published