Chairperson Report for 2022

Hello! I’m Rebecca Waters, the chairperson of DDD Perth in 2022. As part of our annual general meeting, I’m required to give a Chairperson Report. Traditionally I present this for the first time at the AGM, but there are no rules against making it a blog post, and it’s an excellent reflection on the year that was.

Oh, and for extra points, I ended up putting the key information into ChatGPT and letting it loose. It’s been edited since.

Enjoy!

Raise your hand if you snagged a ticket to DDD Perth 2022.

---

DDD WA Inc. Annual Report

Introduction:

We are pleased to present the annual report of DDD WA Inc., a not-for-profit organisation that runs the DDD Perth technology conference. This report provides an overview of the achievements, challenges and opportunities faced by the organisation in the previous year.

Overview of Activities:

DDD Perth is a one-day conference that brings together the Perth technology community to share their knowledge and experience. In the previous year, the conference was held on a Saturday and attracted 1200 registered attendees and another 250 waitlisted participants. The conference featured nine tracks and 49 sessions, with 60 speakers from various backgrounds and levels of expertise.

In addition to the conference, we also organised and facilitated three Call for Papers (CFP) workshops to encourage and support more individuals to become speakers and contribute to the conference. Moreover, we offered two speaker mentoring courses, one online and one in-person, both lasting for three weeks, to provide additional support and guidance for the speakers.

Achievements:

22 sponsors: The conference was made possible with the support of 22 generous sponsors, who recognised the importance of providing a platform for the technology community to share their knowledge and experience.

CFP Workshops: Our three CFP workshops helped to encourage and support more individuals to become speakers and contribute to the conference. The workshops provided practical tips and advice on writing and submitting proposals.

Speaker Mentoring Courses: Our two speaker mentoring courses provided additional support and guidance for the speakers. The courses covered topics such as preparing and delivering presentations, as well as how to handle Q&A sessions.

Low-Cost Conference: The conference was made accessible to as many people as possible, by keeping the cost as low as possible. This reflects our commitment to affordability and accessibility, which are core values of our organisation.

Streamed Content: The entire conference was streamed live to Youtube for attendees that couldn’t make it to the venue on the day. The recordings were available the following day, allowing people to review the sessions immediately following the conference.

Challenges and Opportunities:

Waitlisted Participants: While we were pleased with the high level of interest in the conference, we were unable to accommodate all the attendees due to space constraints. This highlights the need for us to explore alternative venues or expand the conference in other ways, including our online offering.

Online Speakers Mentoring Course: Despite the success of our in-person speaker mentoring course in the past, we received feedback that not everyone was able to attend in person, and just as 2020 has seen the rise of more flexible working, this was a trend we saw continuing. As such, we plan to continue offering an online speaker mentoring course in the future to make the support and guidance more accessible.

Conclusion:

DDD WA Inc. is committed to promoting Openness, Affordability, Accessibility, and Inclusivity through our annual DDD Perth conference. Our achievements in the previous year demonstrate our ability to bring the Perth technology community together, provide practical support for aspiring speakers, and keep the cost of the conference as low as possible.

We would like to thank our sponsors, speakers, attendees, and volunteers for their support and contributions to the conference. We look forward to continued growth and success in the future, and to providing even more opportunities for the Perth technology community to connect and learn from each other.