Book Monday 9th of July to Wednesday 11th of July 2007 in your calendar! EuroPython 2007, the European Python and Zope Conference, will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania. Last year's conference was a great success, featuring a variety of tracks, amazing lightning talks and inspiring keynotes. But with your participation, we can make EuroPython 2007, the fifth EuroPython, even more successful than the previous four.

This year we have decided to borrow a few good ideas from PyCon. The first idea is to do away with the 'track' structure. Instead, speakers are invited to submit presentations about anything they have done with Python that they think would be of interest to the Python community. We will then group them into related groups and schedule them in the space available. In the past, Europython participants have found the following themes to be of interest:

• Science
• Python Language and Libraries
• Web Frameworks
• Education
• Agile Methologies and Testing
• Social Skills

As usual we will be holding Lightning Talks. A Lightning Talk is a very short talk -- five minutes maximum -- scheduled one after another. You can fit 10 of them in a 60 minute session. There is no approval process: speakers merely sign up at the door. Topics are often up-and-coming Python projects, cool hacks, things you wish were different, recruitment for a new Sprint based on an idea you just had, war stories, and amusing mistakes. If a topic is boring, or incomprehensible, don't worry, it will be over in five minutes!

The second idea we have borrowed from PyCon -- and from Agile 2006 and XP 2006 conferences, is OpenSpace. An Open Space is an area reserved for informal presentations, talks, demonstrations and discussions. Like Lightning talks, Open Space is not planned in advance. But unlike Lightning Talks, Open Space is not plenary, and does not have a time limit. Go meet with like-minded folk to discuss a problem you all have. Show off that cool game you have been writing. Have So-And-So give his talk again, for those who missed it the first time.

After the conference (from Thursday 12th July to Saturday 14th July) we will, as usual be holding Sprints: sessions of collaborative development focused on creating or improving software projects, documentation, and other materials.

• XXX click here for 'what is a sprint' and 'why should I sprint'?

• [http://www.python.org/moin/EuroPython2007Sprints Propose a sprint!]

• XXX for a list of sprints already proposed?

Open Space is a new concept for EuroPython. We've imported the idea from PyCon and the Agile 2006 and XP 2006 conferences. An Open Space is an area reserved for informal presentations, talks, demonstrations and discussions. Pretty much anything is fair game. An important part of the concept is that things are not planned in advance. Instead, while at the conference, you reserve a time slot and write down a title. If you are familiar with Lightning Talks, then you can think of OpenSpace as non-plenary Lightning talks without the time limit.

This provides a structured way to realise the main benefits of attending a conference: to break down barriers between special interest groups and encourage the sharing of experiences with other attendees.

(Discussion)

XXX sell this better - discussing/experience sharing is the main value not sure what to add.

XXX There will be a refereed papers track as well this year, which will be announced separately. --- how to rewrite this science/refereed being joined..

This year, talks with a scientific theme will be presented alongside refereed papers. This merge reflects the common themes of both tracks in previous years, and it provides a focus for contributors with backgrounds in peer-reviewed fields of work and study. --- DB

XXX lac: Ah, why are we merging this? Cannot write what I do not know. say that we are chosing to have fewer tracks this year. To this end Science and Refereed have been merged. And Education is now a big umbrella that convers 'Social Skills' and 'Methodologies' for those people who want to schedule a talk in those subjects. Or are we doing away with such things? hope not, lac

To read a longer description of each track go here:

• http://indico.cern.ch/conferenceProgram.py?confId=44

XXX fix track descriptions, update and fix link

To submit a talk, go here:

• http://indico.cern.ch/abstractSubmission.py?confId=44

For more general information on the conference, please visit:

• http://www.europython.org/

XXX make sure all necessary info is updated