#WCEU 2016 Preview Things to Know About WordCamp Europe 2016

The clock is ticking and WordCamp Europe in Vienna is approaching very fast. In just a couple of days, WordPress people from all around the globe will meet at the largest WordCamp Europe that ever took place. How awesome does that sound?So, before we start packing, we just want to show you a preview of whats to come in Vienna, what to see and where to be!Here it is:10 years of WordCampThe WordCamp term first appeared 10 years ago when San Francisco hosted the first WordPress-related event in history, on August 5th, 2006. So it only took the community 3 years from the first ever version of WordPress to the first ever WordCamp. There were 500 attendees and the whole event lasted just a single day.From that point on, it took Europe 7 long years to have their own event. WordCamp Europe was born in 2013 and was held in Leiden, The Netherlands. It hosted over 700 attendees and lasted 3 days. Then, there was Sofia (Bulgaria), then Seville (Spain), and here we are today Vienna!Sessions high lightsThis years WordCamp is going to be 3 awesome days, and were going to hear from a group of world-class speakers, including the founding fathers, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. The only downside is that 3 parallel sessions are scheduled to run at the same time, so itll mean some tough decision time for you.Probably the best way to get your head around this is to follow specific categories of presentations that cater to your interests the most. This year, well have: Development, Development for Beginners, Design, Community, Business, Running a local WP community, Running a WordPress agency, and Content. So you have plenty of options.Heres the official agenda.And here are our picks:Friday, June 24thMike Little will talk about the early years of WordPress. He will share stories from the  inside, which he experienced as a co-founder. Its the first presentation of the day, starting at 9:30AM, local time. So youd better wake up early on Friday.Adam Silverstein will offer some insig hts on design. More specifically, hell focus on ads and how to make them look appealing to audiences. The presentation title: Making Ads Great Again. Probably most people in the marketing space should  listen to this.Next, learn how to make your team happy and create a relaxing environment for your employees, from Brian Krogsgards Cultivating happy teams, for better business.The next big talk comes from the man himself Matt Mullenweg takes the stege at 2:30PM, plus he will be available for interviews and QA sessions.Joost De Valk and Marieke van de Rakt end Fridays session with a talk about (you guessed right!) SEO and beyond. Dont miss their presentation: Beyond SEO: copywriting for professionals.Saturday, June 25thHelen Hou-Sandi is opening the second days round with a development-centered topic: Code is poetry: A Musicians Tale.Happiness is, after all, a state of mind that automatically makes us productive. And it takes skills to be happy because happiness is a science in its elf. Or at least this is how Tom Nowell and Davor Altman want us to think about it. Take part in the debate: Handling anxiety, the science of happiness.Andrew Nacin will also open the after-lunch sessions, with another development topic: Inheriting large and legacy projects.Working remotely is one of the issues that many companies face these days. How to manage remote work successfully? Mario Peshev  has a few tips for us.Siobhan McKeown teaches us how to communicate more efficiently in this virtual world that were maybe spending too much time in. Find out how to do it from her: Rebuilding Babel: Communication in Virtual World.Last but not least, our own Ionut Neagu, is going to apply for a spot during the Unconference sessions. The topic? 10 Quick SEO Wins for WordPress Theme Shops. Shhh, though his appearance isnt 100% yet.Sunday, June 26thNo more speakers today. Sunday is time for action the Contributor day. every attendee can come and do some work for WordPress, no matter if its development, marketing, social media, support, community etc. The event starts at 9:30AM with a brief introduction of the agenda, and then the contributing begins!Heres the floor plan, how to register once youre in Vienna, and other useful info on whats going to happen each day of the event.Meet us thereAs you might have expected, the pirates from ThemeIsle are going to be present at the conference and we cant wait to meet you! If you notice us around, dont hesitate to say hi!We are also excited to be part of the  volunteers team and, according to the official schedule, we will help the organizers by doing multiple tasks. We will welcome you in the registration zone, we will guide you through the large halls  of the museum, we will keep your jackets safe in the wardrobe, well be mic runners, and well keep you updated with live tweets on the social media channels. Well be everywhere!WordCamp Vienna on social mediaThe closer we get to the event, the more excited everyone is especially on social media. 🙂 Heres a taste:First-time volunteer at #WCEU . Cant wait to meet you all! pic.twitter.com/SXkYcxwSxn Cristian Ungureanu (@rikydzee) June 7, 2016Hello @WCEurope veterans! Any tips or suggestions for a #WCEU newbie? Jen Tocker (@wpcommaven) May 26, 20164 weeks to #wceu. More excited than freaked out. Not panicking at all 🙈 (at @mob_bcn) https://t.co/8tweiNN1nw pic.twitter.com/Jzw1Bob85r Petya Raykovska (@petyeah) May 25, 2016Just wanna get this off of my chest: I cant wait for #wceu! Look at these sessions 😠 Felix Arntz (@felixarntz) May 14, 2016Getting ready for #WCEU !!! pic.twitter.com/KnN4H1TWmE Andrei BÄÆ'icuÈ™ (@andreibaicus) June 16, 2016So I had this dream last night, it was the first day of #wceu and people were wearing shorts and spoke German on stage. Sabina Ionescu (@s2abina) June 8, 2016OH: #wceu is the Eurovision of WordCamps. Jenny Beaumont (@jennybeaumont) May 23, 2016WordCamp fun eventsOkay, so WordCamp is not o nly about attending the sessions. There will be lots of other great things going on, and plenty of opportunities to have fun in Vienna:WordCamp Europe BallSaturday night comes with a nice surprise. At 8:30PM, the WordCamp Ball starts. As the organizers say, its the only occasion when you can wear a tuxedo at WordCamp, but if you dont have one, thats okay too. The ball will take place in Hall E of the MuseumsQuartier. There will be free drinks, photo contests, dancing and other fun stuff.  WordCamp is not only about professional meetings, its more about building friendships most of all!Tribe Meetups and Speed NetworkingThese two mini-events are great and ingenious ways through which you can meet new people. Its all about communication and chatting. If youre the kind of person who loves to socialize, dont miss two of the most important activities in this case. The meetups take place separately during the sessions according to a specific schedule, while speed networking will happen q uickly during the morning breaks.WordCamps by the numbersBefore you get going, did you know these cool facts about WordCamp?There were over 589 WordCamps held in 48 countries, 66 cities, and on 6 continents until now.During all this time, over 5,856 speakers presented at WordCamps from all around the world, which adds up to a total of 7,451 sessions.Over 600 organizers stood behind WordCamp events, 366 of them  having this role for the first time.There were over 184 WordCamps that took place outside the US.There were over 90,000 WordCamp tickets sold so far.There are going to be more than 2,000 attendees at WordCamp Europe this year, which  turns Vienna into the largest WordCamp Europe ever (by the way, the full list of attendees is live, so  you can start making plans on who you want to meet).Heres even more WordCamp-related numbers, stats and interesting bits of info. For instance, did you know that the number of WordCamps each year has been growing consistently since 2011?W e dont know about you, but we are very excited about this years WordCamp Europe! Its going to be a full weekend, with work, fun, food, drinks, music, great people, interaction, and a lot of WordPress. Have you made your schedule already?