announcements – WordCamp Kochi 2018

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018

WordCamp Kochi 2018 Is Postponed To November 3rd 2018 (Saturday)

A couple of days back, we announced that we are thinking of postponing WordCamp Kochi 2018 to a later date in future, given the adverse situation in Kerala after the devastating floods.

We have made a final decision regarding the same, after much thought, discussion, and deliberation.

WordCamp Kochi 2018 stands officially postponed to November 3rd 2018, Saturday. The venue remains the same: Udyan Convention Centre, Vennala. Only the dates have changed. The change has been confirmed by the WordPress Community Support team, and has been updated in the WordCamp Schedule as well.

Why postpone WordCamp Kochi 2018?

This was not a decision that we took lightly. We had most of the preparations in place to hold the event on the planned date (September 2nd, 2018). However, the floods in the state of Kerala during the third week of August has devastated a major part of the state. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost all their lives belongings in the floods, and hundreds have lost their lives. Many members of our organizing team, several volunteers, not to mention several other members in our community were also directly affected by the same.

Given the extent of damages in the state at present, which has not only affected the lives of people – but also disrupted air, and road transport – we realize that conducting the event on September 2nd would be far from ideal – given the extent of damage in the state (even though our venue was not affected by the natural disaster).

We discussed this in detail with the WordPress Community support team, and they were in full agreement with the idea of postponing the event, given extent of the natural disaster.

Besides, one of the ethos of conducting a WordCamp is to ensure a safe space for attendees and participants. Since the state is still recovering from the floods, conducting a big event poses a lot of threats/challenges, like rain-borne diseases, unpredictable weather, etc.

Why choose November 3rd as the date of the WordCamp? Could you choose an earlier/later date to conduct the event?

It is estimated that the state would take at least 3-4 weeks to get back to normalcy from this date. Even so, the weather may take more time to stabilize (right now, the weather has improved and the rains have more or less subsided – apart from sporadic showers). We felt that two months would give ample time for everybody that are affected from the floods to recover from the damages and actively participate in the event.

Upon discussion with our venue availability with the venue folks, we arrived at November 3rd as the date of our event. It is a Saturday; and the day is a holiday for many people – ensuring that maximum people can still attend the event.

But I’m not free on November 3rd due to a prior engagement. I purchased the ticket for WordCamp Kochi, as September 2nd would work best for me! What do I do?

We are sorry to hear that. As event organizers, we completely understand your situation. In case you cannot attend the event on the new date, please feel free to send us a message through the contact form. We will see how we can help you with this situation (even though we don’t have refunds enabled at this time).

The new date for WordCamp Kochi 2018 works for me. I would still like to attend the event. Is there anything else we need to do?

Nope, you can use the same ticket you purchased to attend WordCamp Kochi 2018. The venue remains the same – Udyan Convention Centre, Vennala.

I booked my flight/train/bus, and hotel at Kochi during these dates. What do I do?

We are sorry to hear about that. We kindly request you to reach out to your hotel, flight/bus/train booking provider and cancel/reschedule the tickets immediately. Due to the floods in Kochi, many providers are willing to provide a full refund for tickets to Kochi. You can consider speaking with the support of the booking provider and request them to consider issuing you a full refund.

Unfortunately, these providers are beyond our control, but there’s little we can do to help you with getting you a refund for your purchases.

I’m a speaker/sponsor/volunteer of WordCamp Kochi 2018 – and I would like to discuss some sensitive matters, which may affect us, as the event gets postponed. Who do I talk to?

We understand. Please feel free to reach out to us at kochi -at- wordcamp -dot- org. Or contact us through our Facebook page, or Twitter handle. We’ll be happy to get back to you. You can also contact the WordCamp Kochi organizing team through our Contact Us page.

Can I still get a ticket to attend WordCamp Kochi 2018, on the new date?

Yes, you can! Ticket sales are still open, and several tickets to WordCamp Kochi 2018 are still available (along with the discounts we had advertised). Get your tickets for WordCamp Kochi 2018 now!

When can I know more details about WordCamp Kochi 2018? Like, speakers, schedule etc?

We had actually finalized a list of speakers for WordCamp Kochi 2018, with the original list in mind – but since the dates have changes, there may be changes in the speaker list/schedule. We are working on this, and we hope to announce the final list of speakers within the first week of September.

I would like to contribute to the flood relief work in Kerala. How do I go about it?

Thank you for your kindness! <3 There are several ways wherein you can help the needy people in Kerala, who were affected by the disaster. Some of those methods are listed in these pages.

You can also consider making a financial contribution to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund through this link: https://donation.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in/

The official website managed by the state government discusses more methods wherein you can contribute to disaster relief: https://keralarescue.in/

I don’t see my question listed here, and I have a concern that needs to be addressed immediately. How do I go about this?

Please feel free to reach out to us at kochi -at- wordcamp -dot- org. Contact us through our Facebook page, or Twitter handle, if you are active in those platforms. We’ll be happy to get back to you. You can also try reaching out to us using our Contact us page.

August 20, 2018August 20, 2018

Important Announcement: WordCamp Kochi 2018 And The Floods In Kerala

You would definitely have heard about the massive floods in the Kerala by now. The floods were ravaged the state, resulting in the death of at least 357 people, and the displacement of 200,000 people, causing damages to the tune of INR 19,500 crore (USD$ 2.78 billion). As bad as the numbers sound, they don’t speak the real story – hundreds of thousands of people lost everything their owned, their houses, assets, money, loved ones… That feeling when you lose everything you own overnight, it can’t be mentioned in words.

The state of Kerala had not seen a natural disaster of this scale in the past one hundred years. This itself speaks volumes about the spread and extent of the disaster.

In Kochi (the Ernakulam district) the Northern parts – Aluva, Angamaly, etc were badly affected. However, the WordCamp venue (Udyan Convention Centre), as well as most areas in the city of Kochi were unaffected by the same.

Since we had made preparations for WordCamp Kochi in advance, we were fairly confident about conducting the event on schedule (on the 2nd of September 2018). Several people contacted us about the same, and we passed on the same message, as well However, as the floods receded, and as we took stock of the damage caused by the floods, a different picture emerged. Even though our arrangements are in place, it appears to us, that conducting an event – which is a celebration of WordPress, learning, and fun – is definitely inappropriate in this grim situation, where thousands of people are left without a home.

On that note, we would like to announce that we are seriously considering postponing WordCamp Kochi 2018, from September 2nd 2018, to a later date.

We have not finalized anything yet – we are still trying to work out the logistics of the same, as this involves a lot of arrangements to do, and changes to make. However, we will be making a final announcement on the whether we would be postponing the event, as well as future dates of the event (in such a situation), within Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 midnight.

If you are yet to book your flights/trains/buses to WordCamp Kochi, hold your bookings until Wednesday, please – until we are in a position to share a final announcement.

In the meantime, we kindly urge the global WordPress community to help the people of Kerala who have been severely affected. You can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who have lost everything to flash floods. Please consider donating to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Relief and Development Fund to do your bit fo the people of Kerala. You can make your donation at https://donation.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in/

Additionally, members of the WordPress Communities in Kerala (the Trivandrum, Kochi, and Kozhikode community) have been actively volunteering in different capacities (both individually and collectively) at relief camps. Many of us had volunteered as technical volunteers, to coordinate with rescue missions. Others have donated in cash and kind. Some of us (including some of our co-organizers) suffered severe losses in the floods. Member of our community – active volunteers in the WordPress project as well as our meetups, also had their houses flooded.

On behalf of the global WordPress community, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to the spirit, and the kindness of volunteers all over the world for all their heartfelt contributions to the flood relief operations in Kerala!

Jai WordPress!

If you have any questions on the same, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to guide you in the right direction.

Featured Image Courtesy: News18