WordCamp Boston 2020 has been cancelled due to concerns and uncertainty related to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
This decision was a very difficult one to make and was only made after monitoring all aspects of the global COVID-19 pandemic for several weeks. The decision can be boiled down to the answer to one question:
“Are we convinced that we can successfully plan and execute an inclusive, safe event for everyone that wishes to attend and meets the high standards for our event established over the last 10 years with the information that we have available to us at this time?”
Because we could not confidently answer yes to this question, the decision has been made to cancel.
The organizers will continue monitoring local, national, and international recommendations from the government, CDC, and other health experts. The idea of a larger scale Boston WordPress meetup event resembling a mini-WordCamp remains on the table should the pandemic be brought under control later this year and public gatherings are deemed safe.
We are also investigating ways that we could potentially host an online version of WordCamp Boston at some point this year.
Until Next Time
We know that many community members (organizers included) look forward to this event every year. Because of that, we’re sad that we won’t be able to showcase our incredible local communities to the world in what would have been our 11th iteration of WordCamp Boston.
Until it’s safe to gather again, we encourage you to checkout the Boston WordPress Meetup website where you will find information on how to get involved, and recordings of talks from almost every monthly meetup over the last several years. To the right you’ll find links to the talks that took place in each of the last 10 WordCamp Boston events.
We also invite you to become involved in our local monthly meetup communities. Although they will likely not meet in the next few months due to the same health concerns, they are just as great a place to network and learn about WordPress on a smaller scale.
Each group is always looking for volunteers and speakers. If helping organize a community event like the monthly meetup or WordCamp Boston interests you, please reach out through this get involved form. No experience necessary! Speaking at the monthly meetup is also a great way to practice a talk you would like to give at a WordCamp in the future.
A huge thank you also goes out to the rest of the WordCamp Boston 2020 organizing team. The event being cancelled is not a reflection of the amount of effort put into the event to this point. It takes a village to plan a WordCamp (even a cancelled one).
How did we make this decision?
I felt it was important to explain how we arrived at this decision in order to potentially help other WordCamp and event organizers make their own decisions in the weeks and months ahead. Here are some of the factors that were considered when deciding whether to cancel WordCamp Boston 2020:
- The current recommendation from the WordPress community team is to cancel or postpone any event planned between now and June 1 if there is any evidence of community transmission.
- Major events continue to be cancelled or postponed following the advice of world health experts. These include Boston Calling music festival locally, WordCamp Europe in the WordPress community, the 2020 Olympics in Japan globally, and many major sports leagues that hold daily/weekly large public gatherings are suspended indefinitely.
- At the time of publishing, Massachusetts is ranked 6th in total COVID-19 cases among all states with the northeast portion of the country being one of the most heavily effected areas in the nation overall.
- The United States federal government extended their recommendation for social distancing through at least April 30th earlier this week.
- Many states in the region are currently under shelter-in-place, stay-put, essential businesses only, or travel advisory orders through April, May, or indefinitely, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.
- An international travel ban is in place preventing anyone who is not a US citizen or permanent resident from traveling to the United States.
- It’s impossible to predict the affects on the local economy when the pandemic is deemed under control and venturing out into public is safe again.
From a planning perspective, the timing of our event is very difficult. Normally, a large majority of our planning activities happen during the months of April, May, and June. For example, our calls for speakers and sponsors were scheduled to be announced this week with speaker submissions being accepted through approximately May 1st. We also schedule our after party, speaker breakfast, and other necessary vendor services during these months.
With the large amount of uncertainty around the situation, applying to speak at an event with hundreds of people is not something that many people would consider doing at this time and it is unlikely that we would receive enough speaker applications to fill our schedule appropriately. Because we lean on local businesses for vendor services as much as possible and many are currently closed or operating in a limited fashion as they are financial and legally able to, it would be very difficult to schedule and arrange these parts of the event at this time.
Based on recent projections from federal and international health experts, it’s also not unreasonable to anticipate that the social distancing recommendations and “stay home” orders may be extended further.
Summary
If you are planning a WordCamp or event in the near future, I hope that this breakdown helps you flag aspects your organizing team may not considered or makes you feel more confident in your thinking process.
But above all, remain compassionate and understanding. Many of your community members (and their extended families) are likely experiencing some difficult and trying times financially or related to health at no fault of their own.
Be there for each other.
WordCamps and WordPress meetups are built to empower and service the surrounding local communities. There’s no better time to use the reach of those communities to help each other out than now. There will be plenty of time in the not too distant future to reconnect and have in-person events (even if it doesn’t feel that time will ever come).
Times like this are easier to get through together, even at a safe distance.
Best wishes and stay safe,
Jonathan Desrosiers
WordCamp Boston 2020 Lead Organizer