This year, the EuroPython Society shared a booth at FOSDEM with the Python Software Foundation and the Django Software Foundation.

For two days, we welcomed many people who stopped by to learn about EuroPython, our grants programme, and what the Society has been up to.

At our booth, we promoted the Call for Proposals for EuroPython 2026 and distributed flyers throughout the venue. We also handed out a special first edition of our 2026 stickers, the very first batch ever, created especially for FOSDEM. It was great to see people excited about this exclusive sneak peek.

FOSDEM also featured a Python devroom, where we left promotional materials to help spread the word about EuroPython and our community. The devroom was well-attended and provided a great space for Python-focused talks and discussions. We hope to see it continue in future years!

Thank you to everyone who staffed the booth and helped make our presence at FOSDEM. It was wonderful to connect with so many people from across the Python and open source communities.

And a big thank you to our partners, the Python Software Foundation and the Django Software Foundation, for sharing the booth with us and making this collaboration possible.

See you at the next event!

• Artur Czepiel (Chair)
• Mia Bajić (Vice Chair)
• Anders Hammarquist
• Angel Ramboi
• Aris Nivorlis
• Ege Akman
• Yuliia Barabash

You can read more about them in their nomination post at https://www.europython-society.org/list-of-eps-board-candidates-for-2025-2026/. The minutes and the video recording of the General Assembly 2025 will be published soon.

Together, we will continue to serve the community and head off to the preparations for EuroPython 2026!

List of Board Candidates

The EPS bylaws require one chair, one vice chair and 2 - 7 board members. The following candidates have stated their willingness to work on the EPS board. We are presenting them here (in alphabetical order by first name).

The following fine folks have expressed their desire to run for the next EPS board elections: Angel Ramboi, Aris Nivorils, Artur Czepiel, Ege Akman, Mia Bajić, Yulia Barabash.

Angel Ramboi

Engineer / Gamer / Geek / Wanderer

Hello everyone! My name is Angel, I’m a seasoned engineer with more than 20 years experience designing and building software and web apps. My current role doesn't involve much coding these days, still Python and its community is where my heart is. ☺️

My first EuroPython was in Florence 2012 where I was blown away by the amazing people gathered around the conference and the language. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before and the energy was palpable ... I was hooked!

Since then I've attended many EuroPythons, I was board member for the 2020 edition (briefly), an active on-site volunteer in 2019 and 2023, and joined the awesome Sponsors team for Prague 2024.

As a board member, one of my focus areas will be optimizing processes with the aim to make the organizing experience less stressful for the people involved, and whatever else is needed of me of course. Also bringing in positive vibes and fresh energy to every meeting. 🤩

Looking forward to an amazing conference next year. 🚀

Aris Nivorlis

Geoscientist / Data Steward / Pythonista

Aris is a geophysicist and data steward at Deltares, where he leverages data and tooling to tackle complex subsurface challenges. He’s passionate about promoting sustainable and reproducible scientific coding practices, and he actively contributes to the European Python community through conferences and initiatives.

Aris has been involved with EPS for the past two years; first as Ops Team Lead (2024) and currently as a board member (2025). He is the Chair of PyCon Sweden and has been a core organizer for the past four conferences. Aris is running for the EuroPython Society (EPS) Board to continue working in shaping its future direction.

He is particularly interested in how EPS can further support local Python communities, events, and projects, while ensuring the success of the EuroPython conference. Aris aims to build on the efforts from previous years toward a more independent and sustainable organisation team for EuroPython. One of his key goals is to lower the barriers for others to get involved as volunteers, organizers, and board members, fostering a more inclusive and accessible society.

Artur Czepiel (nomination for Chair)

Software developer

I’m a Software Developer based in Poland. I attended my first EuroPython in 2016, joined the organising team after the 2017 conference, and have since served five terms on the EPS Board, two of them as Chair.

Over the years, I have contributed to various parts of the Conference and the Society, including infrastructure, programme, community outreach, and most of the financial spreadsheets 🙂

My main focus for next year would be to set up a local presence at the EP2026 location (on the fiscal, legal, and community sides), improve our internal processes around financial aid and reimbursements, and continue infrastructure upgrades. As a bonus goal, I would like to lay the groundwork for a Fiscal Sponsorship programme.

Ege Akman

Pythonista / Open Source Advocate / Student

I started using Python in 2019 and since then I’ve tried to give back to the communities that shaped me, including starting the Python in Turkish documentation effort in 2021 with Python Turkey. I discovered EuroPython in 2023, was genuinely moved by how much people pour into it, and wanted to help make that kind of community possible for others too.

Over the past year on the EPS Board, I focused on removing blockers and making progress more feasible. On infrastructure, I helped migrate the old website setup to a more maintainable structure (with static content now on static.europython.eu) and back-ported the Program API for the last four EuroPython editions so historical data is available again. Alongside this, I supported core conference operations (volunteers, website updates), helped run the grants program in the second half of the year, and represented EPS at multiple community events.

Later in the year, I coordinated with the CPython core team to bring the Language Summit to EuroPython 2026 (still ongoing, and super excited for it!!), and I contributed to the 2026 venue selection discussions, with most of the work carried by our amazing venue team ❤️. Also, stay tuned for a conference companion app this year; it’s coming soon!

It was a year with ups and downs, and at times it was mentally and emotionally difficult, but I’m proud of what we delivered and grateful for the people I worked with. This year also made me much more conscious of the culture I want to help strengthen within the EPS: one grounded in trust, openness, kindness, and care for the people who make this community possible. I feel clearer than ever about my North Star, and I’m ready to work hard to live it and help it grow.

With the experience I have now, I expect to deliver more by strengthening student involvement through collaborations with organizations like AIESEC (stay tuned!), supporting volunteers more sustainably, continuing to improve our infrastructure, and helping the Board make progress without burning people out.

Mia Bajić (Nomination for Vice Chair)

Software Engineer & Community Events Organizer

I’m a software engineer and community events organizer. Since joining the Python community in 2021, I’ve led Python Pyvo meetups in Prague, brought Python Pizza to the Czech Republic, contributed to PyCon CZ 23 as well as EuroPython 2023 and 2024, and served as Vice-Chair of the EuroPython Society in 2025.

I’ve spoken on technical topics at major conferences, including PyCon US, DjangoCon, FOSDEM, EuroPython, and many other PyCons across Europe.

I’ve shared a reflection on the past year on my blog, including what went well, what I learned, and some ideas for the year ahead. If you’d like to check it out, you can find it here: https://clytaemnestra.github.io/tech-blog/eps-reflection

I’d like to continue working on the topics that are relevant for the next year: hiring a second event manager, improving our fiscal processes, and strengthening our relationships with European communities.

Yuliia Barabash

Over the past two years, I have been involved in EuroPython as part of the programme organisation team and general conference support. In particular, I have helped with the CFP and talk selection process, schedule preparation, and communication with speakers. Through this work I have gained a good understanding of how EuroPython operates, and the expectations of our community.

In the next Board term, I would like to continue contributing to the programme team, while also taking a stronger role in infrastructure topics. My main focus areas would be:

• Community voting: improving and maintaining the systems we use for voting (e.g. for programme selection or community decisions) to make them more reliable, transparent, and pleasant to use.
• Infrastructure and automation: helping to modernise, deploy, and automate core pieces of our conference infrastructure.

I care a lot about EuroPython as a welcoming, community-driven conference and would be happy to support it at Board level, working collaboratively with the rest of the Board and organisers.

What does the EPS Board do ?

The EPS board is made up of up to 9 directors (including 1 chair and 1 vice chair); the board runs the day-to-day business of the EuroPython Society, including running the EuroPython conference series, and supports the community through various initiatives such as our grants programme. The board collectively takes up the fiscal and legal responsibility of the Society.

For more details you can check our previous post here: https://europython-society.org/general-assembly-2025/#what-does-the-board-do

You can find more details about the agenda of the meeting, as it is defined in our bylaws here:  https://www.europython-society.org/bylaws/ (Article 8).

One of the items on the Agenda is electing the new Board.

What does the Board do?

The Board consists of a chairperson, a vice chairperson and 2-7 other board members. The Board carries the Society’s legal and fiscal responsibility, but in practice the largest part of the workload revolves around one thing: EuroPython conference organisation.

Board members currently handle substantial parts of the planning, decision-making, coordination, and operational oversight of the conference. This requires:

• Understanding how the conference is structured and run
• Being able to work with volunteer teams and external partners
• Managing recurring issues around finances, logistics, and continuity

Beyond the conference, the Board also oversees membership, budgets, grants, infrastructure, and long-term planning and sustainability (including hiring an event manager, selecting future locations, strengthening outreach, managing trademarks, legal compliance, and many more).

Furthermore, specifically for 2026:

• Hiring the second part-time Event Manager in the EP2026 location.
• Finaid and reimbursements restructuring
• Building and coordinating the EP2026 Team.
  

Time Commitment

Serving on the Board is a volunteer role, and it does take a steady amount of time each week. There’s a 1.5-hour meeting every two weeks in the evening CE(S)T, plus a few hours of ongoing async work. Around conference season, things naturally get a bit busier than that.

If a member can’t commit that time, their tasks fall to others, so thinking carefully about your availability is really important.

Who Should Consider Running?

Working on the board means making decisions about various aspects of the conference. Therefore having experience being on previous EuroPython teams is necessary. Also, you will need to:

• Dedicate consistent weekly time
• Be willing to learn how the Society and the conference operate

It’s great if you can also bring some experience from other non-profits, community organising, or event work (helpful, but not mandatory)

How to Nominate Yourself

Email your nomination to board@europython.eu before 10 December 2025. In your nomination statement, please focus on your EuroPython experience - what you’ve already helped move forward or complete, and what you hope to work on in the next Board term. We will publish the list of candidates on 12 December 2025.

During the General Assembly, you will have the opportunity to introduce yourself and share with our members why you believe they should vote for you. Each candidate will typically be given one minute to present themselves before members cast their votes.

If you're on our EPS Organisers' Discord, there's a dedicated channel for interested candidates. Please ask in the general channel, and we’ll be happy to add you.

It sounds a lot, I want to help, but I can’t commit to that

That’s completely understandable! Serving on the Board comes with significant responsibilities, time commitments, and administrative tasks. If that’s not the right fit for you, but you’re still interested in supporting us, we’d love your help! There are many other ways to get involved. We have several workgroups (see 2025 Teams Description document, as an example) that work on conference preparations during the months leading up to the event, and we also need volunteers to assist onsite during the conference.

EuroPython Society Fellows have contributed significantly towards our mission, the EuroPython conference and the Society as an organisation. They are eligible for a lifetime free attendance of the EuroPython conference and will be listed on our EuroPython Society Fellow Grant page in recognition of their work.‌

Martin has been part of the Europython Conferences volunteers since 2017.
Some have “met” him the first time in a response on an issue sent to the helpdesk or during the organisation meetings of the Ops team.
Others interacted with him as a volunteer at reception, out in the halls, a tutor in a Humble Data tutorial, a session chair, or a room manager in a tutorial or talk.
While pretending to be just an “On-site volunteer” or a member of the “Operations team” — over time, he has taken over not only the organisation of the registration desk, but also developed and orchestrated the training of session chairs.
He also expanded the programme with the informal session for first time conference attendees, which have been well received by all attendees.

The EuroPython Society Board would like to congratulate and thank all Fellows for their tireless work towards our mission! If you want to send in your nomination, check out our Fellowship page and get in touch!

Many thanks,
EuroPython Society
https://www.europython-society.org/

The EuroPython Society has posthumously elected Michael Foord (aka voidspace) as an Honorary EuroPython Society Fellow.

Michael Foord (1974–2025)

Michael was a long-time and deeply influential member of the Python community. He began using Python in 2002, became a Python core developer, and left a lasting mark on the language through his work on unittest and the creation of the mock library. He also started the tradition of the Python Language Summits at PyCon US, and he consistently supported and connected the Python community across Europe and beyond.

However, his legacy extends far beyond code. Many of us first met Michael through his writing and tools, but what stayed with people was the example he set through his contributions, and how he showed up for others. He answered questions with patience, welcomed newcomers, and cared about doing the right thing in small, everyday ways. He made space for people to learn. He helped the Python community in Europe grow stronger and more connected. He made our community feel like a community.

His impact was celebrated widely across the community, with many tributes reflecting his kindness, humour, and dedication:

• In memoriam on discuss.python.org
• My friend Michael by Nicholas Tollervey

At EuroPython 2025, we held a memorial and kept a seat for him in the Forum Hall:

• In Memoriam: Michael Foord (EuroPython 2025 session video)
• Photo of the reserved seat
  

A lasting tribute

EuroPython Society Fellows are people whose work and care move our mission forward. By naming Michael an Honorary Fellow, we acknowledge his technical contributions and also the kindness and curiosity that defined his presence among us. We are grateful for the example he set, and we miss him.

Our thoughts and thanks are with Michael's friends, collaborators, and family. His work lives on in our tools. His spirit lives on in how we treat each other.

With gratitude,
Your friends at EuroPython Society

Reports

Over the course of the conference, the Code of Conduct team was made aware of the following issue:

• One person was uncomfortable with certain phrases being used in one of the poster sessions. The author was informed, and the phrases reported were removed by the author from their poster presentation promptly.

Thank you the Code of Conduct team responded to the issue reported.

We also helped release the schedule and coordinated all the related activities.

On top of that, we worked with our event manager to confirm a few more details, sign contracts, handle billing, and take care of similar administrative tasks.

Individual reports:

Artur

• Sponsor management
• Various small infrastructure updates, mainly in our static files hosting and the internal discord bot.
• Adding data sync and parsing from pretalx and pretix to the internal discord bot.
• Call for venues 2026 and related calls with communities
• Regular sync with the event manager
• Program: coordination of the documentary premiere with producers

Mia

• Communications: migration to Canva; copywriting for social media & articles
• Call for Venues 2026: kick-off and calls with communities
• Payments
• Design: coordination of design items with the designer; reviews
• Website: PR reviews; page updates
• Grants program: communication with recipients and administrative tasks
• Community outreach: DjangoCon Europe
• Program: coordination of the documentary premiere with producers
• Regular sync with the event manager
• PSF Grant Work

Aris

• Ops team activities, meetings and planning
• Tickets/vouchers documentation and workflow
• Accounting updates
• Payments

Ege

• Promotional material orders for PyCon US: Stickers, Posters, Retractable roll up banner, laminated info sheets
• Website and Programme API updates
• PR reviews

Shekhar

• FinAid: Completed Round 1 of our Financial Aid Programme
• Visa Application Letter: Distribution and Management

Anders

• VAT Report for March

Cyril

• …

It was a great chance to meet people from other Python communities, catch up with old friends, and make some new ones. At our booth, we gave out stickers (including a sneak peek of our 2025 ones), talked about our grants programme, and shared what the Society has been up to.

PyCon US was also where something special was announced. The filmmakers from Cult Repo, formerly known as Honeypot, are working on a documentary about the history of Python and its vibrant community. It features over 20 core developers, from the early days of Python to the newest contributors. They showed a trailer during the opening session on the third day and announced that the premiere will happen at EuroPython!

We managed to take a group photo with some of us during the PyLadies auction, which many of us attended. With such a full schedule, it can be tricky to get everyone together, so we were happy to catch that moment.

Outside of the talks and sessions, we also spent some evenings together just hanging out and catching up. These moments are always a highlight of any conference.

We are especially happy to share that our chair, Artur Czepiel, received a community award. So did Laís Carvalho, a former board member, and Raquel Dou, a former chair.

Karolina Surma, a member of Czech PyLadies and the 2023 programme team, also received an Outstanding PyLady Award for her contributions to the PyLadies community in the Czech Republic

Congratulations to all of you and thank you for all the time and energy you give to the community!

Thank you to the PyCon US organisers for running such a fantastic event and for giving us space to be part of it.

Thank you to our board member Ege Akman for sorting out materials and helping get everything ready for the booth.

And a big thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat. It was a pleasure to meet you. See you next year!

EuroPython is the longest-running volunteer-led Python conference in the world, uniting communities across Europe. It’s a place to learn, share, connect, spark new ideas—and have fun along the way.

We aim to keep the conference welcoming and accessible by choosing venues that are affordable, easy to reach, and sustainable. As with the selection process in previous years, we’d love your help in finding the best location for future editions.

If you'd like to propose a location on behalf of your community, please fill out this form:

👉 https://forms.gle/ZGQA7WhTW4gc53MD6

Even if 2026 isn’t the right time, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We'd also like to hear from communities interested in hosting EuroPython in 2027 or later.

Questions, suggestions, or comments? Drop us a line at board@europython.eu—we’ll get back to you!

EuroPython Society Board

We launched our ticket sales, dedicating substantial effort to setting up the ticket shop, coordinating with multiple teams, and promoting the event.

We also open our call for sponsors, investing considerable time in budgeting, setting up and improving the process, and onboarding our sponsors.

Individual reports:

Artur

• Budget projection updates
• Ticket launch and related activities.
• Sponsor setup update and managing some of the sponsor interactions
• Configuration upgrade of our static sever.
• Catering negotiations.
• Internal discord bot updates.
• Financial aid meetings.
• Billing flow updates.

Mia

• Website: Ticket requirements, PR review, and content updates.
• Design: T-shirt review, creation of social media assets for ticket sales and sponsors, and a briefing with a designer.
• Budget: Budget proposal.
• Sponsors: Cold emailing, sponsor packages, and coordination of the sponsor launch.
• Comms: Creation, review, and scheduling of content for the ticket sale launch and call for sponsors; speaker cards; automation proof of concept; International Women’s Day communications; newsletter writing and review; board report; and YouTube videos communications.
• PyCon US Booth: Coordination and paperwork.
• Grants Program: Communication with recipients.
• Venue: Re-signed contract.
• Calls with the event manager.
  

Aris

• OPS work, meetings, planning.
• Accounting updates.
• Billing workflow.
• Payments
  

Ege

• Read the Docs previews
• Programme API setup.
• Implementing a redirection system in the website.
• Dependency updates and tailwind migration.
• Website: issues and PR reviews.
  

Shekhar

• Financial Aid: Planned how to handle responses and evaluated the process.
• Ops: GitHub for task tracking and monitored integrations with team members.
  

Cyril

• …

Anders

• …
  

By now, the concept of combining Pizza and Python is well established and documented, it just works! But adding Brno into the mix makes it feel a little bit special for our local community. This was the second Pizza Python in Czechia, following the highly successful event in Prague.

While Prague set a high bar with its buzzing gathering of Python enthusiasts and pizza lovers, Brno brought its own unique flavor to the table, that was definitely no pineapple.

Attendees

We capped the event at 120 attendees — the comfortable maximum for our venue. While we didn’t require attendees to disclose gender or dietary info, we did include optional fields in the ticket form. Based on the responses, we had 99 men and 34 women registered, including both in-person and online tickets. Unfortunately, nobody ticked the box for non-binary or transgender options, which will serve as valuable information for future inclusivity improvements..

We also asked about dietary preferences so we could make sure everyone would be fed and happy. The majority (98) had no restrictions, but we were glad to accommodate 6 vegetarians, 6 vegans, 2 gluten-free eaters, 1 halal, and one “no bananas 🍌”. The last one was the hardest to accommodate because when we called up pizzerias and told them how many pizzas we would like, they thought we were certainly bananas…

The event ran smoothly, with no breaches of the Code of Conduct reported—a testament to the respectful and friendly atmosphere fostered by the community.

The menu

At Brno Python Pizza, we served up a feast sliced into 21 talks on the schedule, several lightning talks and plenty of opportunities to network. Each talk was kept short and snappy, capped at 10 minutes, ensuring a fast-paced and engaging experience for attendees. This is absolutely perfect for us that are having slightly underdeveloped focus glands. Not everyone likes mushrooms on their pizza, neither does everyone enjoy listening purely about AI advances. That’s why we curated a diverse menu of topics to cater to our diverse audience.

Feedback, Things to improve and the Future

From what we’ve gathered, people enjoyed the event and are eager to attend again. They enjoyed the food, talks and that topics were varied and the overall format of the event.

The feedback gathering is also the main thing to improve as we have only anecdotal data. For the next time we have to provide people with a feedback form right after the event ends.  

If you ask us today if we would like to organise another edition of Python Pizza Brno, we will say "definitely yes", but we will keep the possible date a secret.

Stream and more photos

Stream is available here and rest of photos here.

Another priority was budget planning. Our funding comes from ticket sales and sponsors. We reviewed fixed costs and discussed our strategy for this year. We want to keep the event as affordable as possible to allow more people to attend while also attracting sponsors. At the same time, we need to make sure that the event breaks even and remains financially sustainable in the long term. We also worked on defining sponsorship packages.

The third priority was onboarding the remaining co-leads and teams. Some board members are still involved in specific teams to support new co-leads and other newcomers. We're making sure that everyone has the support and tools they need to contribute.

Individual reports:

Artur

• Budget: Discussing different scenarios and overall plan for the budget.
• Sponsorship setup: Packages, team meetings and internal sponsorship flow and infrastructure
• Updates to the internal discord bot and the community voting app
• Community: Attending FOSDEM & Python Pizza Brno
• Finaid: onboarding and working out the plan for setup updates for 2025.
• Event logistics: Working with Anežka and the rest of the team on various items regarding different providers, contracts and payments.

Mia

• Comms & Design: worked on the design brief and budget proposal. Drafted and scheduled some community voting and reviews posts. Reviewed others. Comms & Design team calls. Website design coordination & calls.
• Budget: worked on the proposal & spreadsheets.
• Sponsorship: helped define sponsorship packages and pricing. Reviewed and helped prepare content for the web and other materials. Coordinated communication between multiple people.
• Infrastructure: code reviews.
• Community: attended Brno Python Pizza.

Aris

• Billing: Setup payments for grants and vendors
• Billing: Looked into the current billing workflow and how it can be optimized.
• Budget: Onboarding myself to the spreadsheet, looked and discussed the different scenarios
• Ops: Onboarding team members, capacity planning and kickoff meeting
• Community: Attending FOSDEM & Python Pizza Brno

Ege

• Transfer 2025 Discord server ownership to EPS account
• 22-24 website migration
• Website PRs
• Program API setup with the new deployment logic

Shekhar

• PR for Visa Application process for EuroPython 2025 Conference.
• Overviewing Budget sheet for EuroPython 2025 Conference
• Overviewing Grant programme and the existing proposals from various conferences.
• Finaid team coordination and helped launch the FINAID programme.

Cyril

• …

Anders

• …
  

Our second priority was onboarding teams. We’re happy that we already have the Programme team in place—they started early and launched the Call for Proposals at the beginning of January. We’ve onboarded a few more teams and are in the process of bringing in the rest.

Our third priority was improving our grant programme in order to support more events with our limited budget and to make it more clear and transparent. We went through past data, came up with a new proposal, discussed it, voted on it, and have already published it on our blog.

Individual reports:

Artur

• Updating onboarding/offboarding checklists for Volunteers and Board Members
• Started development of https://github.com/EuroPython/internal-bot
• Event Manager onboarding
• Various infrastructure updates including new website deployment and self-hosted previews for Pull Requests to the website.
• Setting up EPS AWS account.
• Working out the Grant Guidelines update for 2025
• Attending PyConWeb and FOSDEM
• Reviewing updates to the Sponsors setup and packages for 2025
• More documentation, sharing know-how and reviewing new proposals.

Mia

• Brand strategy: Analysis of social media posts from previous years and web analytics. Call with a European open-source maintainer and a call with a local events organizer about EP content.
• Comms & design: Call for proposal announcements, EP 2024 video promotions, speaker mentorship, and newsletter. Video production - gathering videos from speakers, video post-production, and scheduling them on YouTube shorts, and social media.
• Event management coordination: Calls with the event manager and discussions about previous events.
• Grants: Work on new grant guidelines and related comms.
• Team onboarding: Calls with potential comms team members and coordination.
• PR: Delivering a lightning talk at FOSDEM.
  

Cyril

• Offboarding the old board
• Permission cleanup
• Team selection
• Onboarding new team members
• Administrative work on Grants

Aris

• Worked on the Grants proposal
• Teams selection
• Follow-up with team members
• Board meetings
• Financial updates
• Community outreach: FOSDEM

Ege

• Working on various infrastructure updates, mostly related to the website.
• Reviewing Pull Requests for the website and the internal bot
• Working on the infrastructure team proposal.

Shekhar

• Timeline: Discussion with the Programme Team, and planning to do the same with the other teams.
• Visa Request letter: Setup and Test Visa Request Automation for the current year
• Team selection discussion with past volunteers
• Board Meetings

Anders

• ...

• We are making small changes to the Grant Programme
• We are increasing transparency and reducing ambiguity in the guidelines.
• We would like to support more events with our limited budget
• We’ve introduced caps for events in order to make sure all grants are fairly given and we can support more communities.
• We’ve set aside 10% of our budget for the local community.
  

Background:

The EPS introduced a Grant Programme in 2017. Since then, we have granted almost EUR 350k through the programme, partly via EuroPython Finaid and by directly supporting other Python events and projects across Europe. In the last two years, the Grant Programme has grown to EUR 100k per year, with even more requests coming in.

With this growth come new challenges in how to distribute funds fairly so that more events can benefit. Looking at data from the past two years, we’ve often been close to or over our budget. The guidelines haven’t been updated in a while. As grant requests become more complex, we’d like to simplify and clarify the process, and better explain it on our website.

We would also like to acknowledge that EuroPython, when traveling around Europe, has an additional impact on the host country, and we’d like to set aside part of the budget for the local community.

The Grant Programme is also a primary funding source for EuroPython Finaid. To that end, we aim to allocate 30% of the total Grant Programme budget to Finaid, an increase from the previous 25%.

Changes:

• We’ve updated the text on our website, and split it into multiple sub-pages to make it easier to navigate. The website now includes a checklist of what we would like to see in a grant application, and a checklist for the Grants Workgroup – so that when you apply for the Grant you already know the steps that it will go through later and when you can expect an answer from us.
• We looked at the data from previous years, and size and timing of the grant requests. With the growing number and size of the grants, to make it more accessible to smaller conferences and conferences happening later in the year, we decided to introduce max caps per grant and split the budget equally between the first and second half of the year. We would also explicitly split the total budget into three categories – 30% goes to the EuroPython finaid, 10% is reserved for projects in the host country. The remaining 60% of the budget goes to fund other Python Conferences. This is similar to the split in previous years, but more explicit and transparent.

Using 2024 data, and the budget available for Community Grants (60% of total), we’ve simulated different budget caps and found a sweet spot at 6000EUR, where we are able to support all the requests with most of the grants being below that limit. For 2025 we expect to receive a similar or bigger number of requests.

We are introducing a special 10% pool of money to be used on projects in the host country (in 2025 that’s again Czech Republic). This pool is set aside at the beginning of the year, with one caveat that we would like to deploy it in the first half of the year. Whatever is left unused goes back to the Community Pool to be used in second half of the year.

Expected outcome:

• Fairer Funding: By spreading our grants out during the year, conferences that happen later won’t miss out.
• Easy to Follow: Clear rules and deadlines cut down on confusion about how much you can get and what it’s for.
• Better Accountability: We ask for simple post-event reports so we can see where the money went and what impact it made.
• Stronger Community: Funding more events grows our Python network across Europe, helping everyone learn, connect, and collaborate.