Proposal to do AsyncAPI Conference 2022 online only

[derberg]

Yes, you read the title of the conference correctly

Discussion created as a result of the last meeting related to the conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfe3gLZBgSQ

Context

This is the end of August, and we still have no venue selected for the event 😞 (in the video ☝🏼 , I share the whole context, but basically looks like in the dates that we selected with the community, nothing is available in Barcelona)

This means:

• we still cannot start looking for sponsors as we do not know the final costs
• we're getting signals from sponsors that, for them it will be super hard to get budget for the event in such a short time
• 2 months to organize sponsors and registration, and other onsite services, like streaming, is going to put a lot of stress on the whole conference setup and people around it

Online 2022

We should still do the online event, 3-5 (but only if speakers scheduled for Saturday will agree to present) or 9-11 (if we have issues) of November

• CfP process is done. We had a lot of great proposals. We should not let down the community and enable access to all the stories related to AsyncAPI
• We of course need to contact presenters if they are open to present online, in the way that they record 2 weeks before and then join live as we did in 2021 and 2020
• We have experience with doing online. We did it great last year, only improvement needs to be done around the event "registration" process
• Getting prospectus with sponsor tiers is just a matter of a few days, and finding sponsors should not be a huge challenge
• When we surveyed the community if online or in-person is preferred, the result was 50% vs 50%, so I do not think the community will be very angry if we switch to online only

In-person 2023

We immediately start working with Linux Foundation to look for a venue for May/June 2023 in Barcelona. And only once we get a proposal of possible dates and venue we ask the community what they prefer

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PS. You cannot imagine how sad I am to write this discussion, I really hoped that I would have a chance to meet some folks from the community in person finally 😞

[jessemenning]

Sad to read this as well, but I think it's the right call, @derberg

[smoya]

As I expressed during our last streaming, I completely support your suggestions.

[mcturco]

I think this is a great idea 👍
I was thinking to myself yesterday how we are so close to the conference but still a lot has to be finalized!

[quetzalliwrites]

While sad we cannot find a venue this year I still think doing the online event is more than worth the effort!! ♥️♥️♥️✨✨✨✨

[Barbanio]

Yes, I also agree. The 2022 conference will be great anyway. Moreover, the in-person event is only delayed by a few months. The plan sounds good!

[derberg]

@alequetzalli @Barbanio @mcturco @smoya @jessemenning thanks a lot for your support 🙇🏼