Foreign Speakers Gets A Little Aid at YAPC::Asia Tokyo 2011
Well, so the Yen is at a historic high. Japan's hotels are expensive. We have a record low number of foreign visitors.
Historically, we asked fellow mongers (like Dan Kogai) to accomodate foreign guests, but we have never really spent money for foreign speakers who come all the way to Japan just to talk at our conference. I think it's a shame, but we have no mone...
Oh wait: we have almost 100 individuals who paid a little extra to become Individual Sponsors this year. We have a record-breaking 27 Corporate Sponsors.
Hmmmm... Okay!
We were aware that visiting speakers have an extra barrier to come talk at YAPC::Asia, but previously we didn't have enough funds to do anything about it. While the amount we can pay this year is small, I hope this can at least alleviate some of the costs that otherwise may have been a nuisance to come talk at our conference.
Maybe we can continue this trend next year. Maybe not. That all depends on how financially successful we can make YAPC::Asia, but I'm pretty glad we made it that way this year. Hopefully that would encourage you to make an attempt for next year.
(to be honest, Takesako-san prodded us to sponsor visiting speakers, but we liked the idea in the end :)
You are doing a great job over there! I wish I had the time to come. Maybe next year.