- The schedule is ready

We can assure you it wasn't easy!

We have accepted almost 100 talks, and we must say the overall quality is simply amazing.

You can see the schedule here: http://yapceurope2009.org/ye2009/schedule.

Don't forget to click the other days to see the rest of the schedule ;-)

We focused mostly on three tracks: one for talks related to the conference theme - Corporate Perl - one for beginners and one for all the other talks.

You'll also notice we have a fourth room where we'll be holding a few workshops. We hope you enjoy them.

- hotels and hostels

The list of designated/suggested hotels and hostels for the conference is now online at http://yapceurope2009.org/ye2009/wiki?node=Accommodation.

The official hotel for the conference is Hotel Alif, a mere two subway stops from the venue, and located in central Lisbon.

We already have two other hotels on the list too, one for the eventuality of the first one running out of rooms (it always happens), and one for those wanting a luxury hotel.

There are also two hostels on the list, for those looking for more affordable options. Do note, however, that these are not your average hostels; these are hostels that have been getting prizes and amazing reviews worldwide for the last few years.

Check out the Wiki for more information, book as early as possible and feel free to add your name to the WhoIsStayingWhere page (http://yapceurope2009.org/ye2009/wiki?node=WhoIsStayingWhere).

- more sponsors

To the ranks of logicLAB, SAPO, Caixa Mágica, Best Practical, FCUL, Active State, TAP, O'Reilly, Apress, $foo magazine, The Perl Review and o3 magazine, the following now also get on board:

Booking.com

Booking.com is "Europe’s leading online hotel reservations agency by room nights sold". It is also one of the leading companies when it comes to hiring Perl developers.

Onyx Neon Press

Onyx Neon Press is a book publishing company ran by Perl programmers. They have some wonderful Perl books and will be donating a few to the conference auction.

log - Open Source Consulting

log is a Portuguese Consultancy company specialized in Open Source technologies such as Perl and PHP. They had a very important role back in the 2005 YAPC::EU, which also took place in Portugal, and this year they're sponsoring again.

Marty Pauley

Marty is a long standing member of the Perl community and has always been a great supporter of YAPCs in general and the Portuguese Perl scene in particular. This year, apart from submitting a few wonderful talks, he's also put his money where his mouth is, and is sponsoring YAPC personally.

Eurotux

Eurotux is a Portuguese company specializing in planning, integration and development of computer systems. They provide global solutions in interenterprise service network management, internet access and web hosting. It is also said that they have Perl as a religion.

- updates on the send-a-newbie project

We thought we'd summarize the latest developments on the send-a-newbie project.

So far there's been 1,230 euros donated and a total of 27 applications for grants have been submitted.

This value means that at least two grants will be awarded. Hopefully, with a few more donations, more grants will be possible.

Considering the Beginners' Track, we look forward to have as many grantees as possible present at the conference.

It's going to be wonderful, and you can help too, even with small amounts; check out http://www.send-a-newbie.com/ for more information.

- behind the scenes

We're still working hard on a lot of things, namely the Partner's Program and the Training Classes that'll take place the two days after the conference.

We hope to announce the full details on both these initiatives pretty soon.

Also in the workings are the conference dinner, the quizz show, the auction, the conference t-shirts, the coffee breaks, the Job Fair, further sponsorships...

It's a great thing that we had no personal lives to begin with O:-)

That's all for this newsletter.

Feel free to contact us at organizers@yapceurope2009.org for anything conference related.

See you at the next newsletter,

the organizers

In our next newsletter:

- we have absolutely no idea what subjects we'll talk about in the next issue of this newsletter :-)