*TL;DR :* 1. There's only one week left before our call for talks closes on April 30th. Don't hesitate to submit your draft ideas or works in progress here: ➡️ CALL FOR TALKS SUBMISSION PAGE: perlkohacon.fi/cft <https://perlkohacon.fi/Call-For-Talks-Perl-Koha-Helsinki-August-2023.html> 2. The Perl and Koha Conference in Helsinki will happen from 📅 *August 14th to 18th, 2023* More hints on this soon! 3. Track our social channels (we prefer Telegram): - *t*.me/PerlKohaCon <http://t.me/PerlKohaCon> - *Facebook*.com/PerlKohaCon <http://facebook.com/PerlKohaCon> - *Twitter*.com/PerlKohaCon <http://twitter.com/PerlKohaCon> - *Instagram*.com/PerlKohaCon <http://instagram.com/PerlKohaCon> - *LinkedIn*.com/showcase/PerlKohaCon <http://linkedin.com/showcase/PerlKohaCon> - (Mastodon) *Fosstodon*.org/@perlkohacon <http://fosstodon.org/@perlkohacon> ... and share the link to this message you are reading among your friendly bubble. 🤗 We need more interesting talks, we need more attendees, and you. *LONG VERSION, with some fun and suspense:* We're inspired to bring you the "Perl and Koha Conference in Helsinki" (also known as KohaCon with YAPC::Europe/PerlCon) taking place from 📅 August 14th to 18th, 2023. The conference will feature three days of talk streams (August 14th to 16th) and two additional days of workshops and special meetings (August 17th to 18th). Among all the usual things you know about KohaCon, this time, we have a unique event that gives an opportunity for the Koha and Perl communities to unite, exchange insights, and forge (unwind together!) new connections. As a valued member of the Koha community of all of you, we need your expertise! 🌟 We also need your help to present Koha to the Perl community in the best possible way, as Koha could become the flagship product for the Perl community. To make that happen, we need to unite, present ourselves, and share all the ideas we can come up with! (By the way, you can propose ideas through our channels or by reaching out directly to the main organizer, Andrii, at nugged@gmail.com) There's only one week left before our call for talks closes on April 30th. Don't hesitate to submit your draft ideas or works in progress here: ➡️ CALL FOR TALKS SUBMISSION PAGE: perlkohacon.fi/cft <https://perlkohacon.fi/Call-For-Talks-Perl-Koha-Helsinki-August-2023.html> After you make a placeholder for a talk (i.e. send the form), we will know this, and confirm with you later, and this will help us to select the best talks, make the conference most interesting and useful, and plan our schedule. Afterward, you can progress with your talk development further, this means no need to have the talk ready in one week, so no panic. No-panic more: if you want, you can talk to our dedicated team, who is ready to help you refine your talk and provide guidance if needed. Reach out to us at perlkohacon@gmail.com 💌. If you have experience in Koha or around, but no experience in stage-action: we value first more, so we'll try to cover your back! Mind that talk is only one part of the reason and only ignition point to share your experience: you might find mates and interested people after your presentation, so that might be just the beginning of something greater! We will talk all about expansion, improvement, and experience exchange, and these are engaging topics for your talk (but keep your experience in priority of anything below): Best practices, tips, hacks, and challenges in using Koha in the library Koha software development, including integrations with other systems The future of BIBFRAME, MARC, and Linked Open Data in Koha Features needed for Koha to become more capable, which the Perl community can contribute to, such as ILL, ERM, and others Upcoming or requested Koha feature developments: proposals, progress, and collaboration opportunities As this will be an event with many IT professionals and developers from the Perl community, we will also cover geekier and dev-related topics. However, we will have one separate stream fully dedicated to libraries (usage, pro-tips, and KohaCon-related topics). You will meet library and Koha experts from 🇫🇮Finland, a country that has already switched hundreds of libraries to Koha, as well as experts from ByWater Solutions, BibLibre, PTFS Europe, Koha-and-library IT-topic activists from France, Germany, Sweden, and more. Even from Ukraine (consider there will be something special about this). This conference is an excellent opportunity to make meaningful connections with the Perl community and explore how these relationships can benefit the Koha community! 🤝 Don't forget, August is an ideal time for a summer vacation in Helsinki with your family. ☀️ Extend your stay over the weekends to experience the city's culture and attractions while attending the conference. We will have a partners program and more coordinated activities (might be even sponsored, but we need more participants and attendees to make that happen!). Stay connected by following us on social media, there, we will publish more and announce things that we will have these weeks soon before the conference (yes, something gifty or nifty is planned). We'll target as main social channel Telegram one: - t.me/PerlKohaCon and encourage you to use this geeky, fast, and comfortable groups, channels, and messaging platform. But feel free to join us on any of these platforms for news and updates: - Facebook.com/PerlKohaCon <http://facebook.com/PerlKohaCon> - Twitter.com/PerlKohaCon <http://twitter.com/PerlKohaCon> - Instagram.com/PerlKohaCon <http://instagram.com/PerlKohaCon> - LinkedIn.com/showcase/PerlKohaCon <http://linkedin.com/showcase/PerlKohaCon> - (Mastodon) Fosstodon.org/@perlkohacon <http://fosstodon.org/@perlkohacon> Feel free to use the platform where you have the most connections to share and spread the word! *🙏 "Kiitos" - this means "Thank you" in Finnish.* Btw, and sounds as it reads, no fine prints! Please share this message with colleagues and friends who might be interested in presenting at the conference or attending. Together, let's make this event a significant and enriching experience for both the Koha and Perl communities! 🚀 ... and we look forward to seeing you in Helsinki! Warm regards, The Perl and Koha Conference Organizing Team === Andrii and the National Library of Finland Koha team!