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SeaGL 2023: turning it up to 11!

Today marks the return of an in-person SeaGL!

Welcome to our eleventh year, SeaGL 2023!

There are a variety of details regarding how to attend, what’s on the schedule, and how you can help. Please take a moment to read and share!

How to Attend

You may have heard… this year SeaGL will be hybrid! The in-person event will take place on the University of Washington campus at the Husky Union Building (known as the HUB). We’ve created this page with maps and links to information about parking and the venue.

As the venue is located within a public university, it has a wide variety of accessibility and diversity features. However, if there are additional ones that are important to you, please suggest them in this IDEA form and we will see what accommodations can be made.

If you are planning to join remotely, visit attend.seagl.org and either create an ephemeral account or sign-in with your Matrix ID. You will be added to the broader SeaGL hallway chat and sent instructions for how to join specific chat rooms. To view a talk, enter one of the “Current Session” channels and click on the watch button to open an embedded live stream.

Code of Conduct + Health and Safety Policy

SeaGL, like free software, is for everyone. It’s paramount to us that all attendees feel (and be!) safe and welcome.

To that end all staff, presenters, and attendees of SeaGL are expected to obey the Code of Conduct not only at SeaGL but also in all SeaGL-associated spaces including but not limited to associated social events and virtual channels.

In-person attendees are also expected to obey the Health and Safety Policy for the duration of the conference. This includes requiring masks inside presentation rooms and encouraging them in other areas. If you don’t have your own we are providing them gratis.

If you have any concerns that are at all of a Code of Conduct nature, please email coc AT seagl.org as soon as possible. If you need immediate help, please locate any SeaGL staffer.

Keynotes + Programming + Social Events

Each day of SeaGL will be packed full with two keynote speakers nominated by this year’s organizers followed by over 40 presentations selected by our program committee. Each afternoon we will have a tea break (TeaGL, described below) and each evening there will be a social event at the conference venue. On Friday there will also be a career expo where you can get assistance and advice on your professional development.

Some of the schedule highlights:

Friday

Saturday

Beverages and Snacks

Venue doors open at 8am each day and we’ll be providing coffee and tea with some light pre-packaged fare.

This year we will not be able to offer lunch, however, there is an excellent selection of eateries within walking distance of the HUB and on Friday there are various in-building options available.

We are also unable to provide a larger meal or drinks during the social events. That said, we will have individually packaged nibbles and finding a few feathered friends for later night food focused conversations is always fine!

Finally, the afternoon talks will be separate by a special event we like to call…

TeaGL: Tea Tasting and Exchange

If you’re a fan of tea, we’ve got just the event for you!

We’ll have a variety of grab-and-go teas, hot water, and disposable cups for those wanting to hold something warm while socializing.

However, for the patient and persistent, this year will feature a sampling of black, green, white, oolong, and pu-erh Chinese teas, as well as an herbal blend named “Lunar Orchard” that turns purple.

Additionally, if you’d like to bring your favorite teas along to sample and share, please do! But make sure they are in an unopened package to keep the venue satisfied.

Social Media

We encourage people to get together, chat, and just generally share their SeaGL experiences. People are the best part of Free Software, after all.

If you share anything on your social network of choice, please use the #SeaGL2023 hashtag so everyone can follow along. If you use Mastodon, please follow @SeaGL@mastodon.social for announcements and updates.

Volunteering

Per usual, we are seeking volunteers to help make the event a success. Here are some of the at-event positions we’re looking for more help with:

  • Room Monitors: introduce speakers (with their permission), perform room head counts, make sure speakers have everything they need, and ensure sessions run smoothly and finish on time.
  • Sign-Wranglers: post up and take down signs in and around venue.
  • Refreshment Aides: help with the set up, tear down, and clean up of coffee and tea breaks.
  • Information Attendants: register attendees (if they want), check-in speakers and exhibitors, hand out programs, and provide directions and answers to questions.
  • Virtual Hosts: keeps an eye on the Matrix channels, identifies content in need of moderation, reaches out to in-person staff as needed.

We also welcome up-and-coming volunteers for future years. If you’re interested in joining the flock, please fill out this form or reach out via Matrix or email.

Whew, that was a lot

There’s so much going on at this return to an in-person SeaGL and we can’t wait to see you there!