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Comment by jawns | Hacker News Reader

Did anybody else read through the (English language) conference website for the (presumably English language) conference, and wonder to themselves, "Why ... Poland?"

I'm not knocking Poland, but it seems strange to have an English-language conference there and not offer anything in the way of explanation for the choice.

I mean, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation (central location, picturesque setting, low costs, fits the ethos of a polyglot conference, offers the possibility of both a conference and a vacation) but I find it strange that the explanation isn't more visible.

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I spoke at a Ruby conference in Poland some years ago. All the talks were in English, and there were attendees from a number of different countries, including two busloads from Germany. Same thing for conferences in Norway, Sweden, and Spain. It seems that English is the default language for tech conferences in Europe.

That may not always be so, and one day I might be giving my talks in Mandarin. But for now, this does not seem unusual.

I don't really understand why it needs an explanation. I presume the organizers are Polish, but the international language of tech is still English in Europe. It's very normal to have international events in English, here.

It's not in Poland, it's in European Union. What is the problem?

In that case, if the conference is in, say, New York or Miami, shouldn't that then need an explanation as well?

Only if the conference is in Polish. :)

LWN has a nice list of upcoming conferences, note that not all of them are held in English speaking countries:

http://lwn.net/Articles/646594/

You know, it would be very boring if all conferences were held in English-spoken cities, eg. New York or London. You should come to PolyConf and check one Poznan, one of the most beautiful cities in Poland. :)

I've lived in Poznan for a couple of years and I definitely wouldn't call it beautiful though the 'old center' is quite nice.

What Poznan does have going for it is that it is the economic motor of a very large part of Poland.

I am not sure to understand your comment. If I understood it well, the answer is likely to be because the organizers are from Poland.

Is an English-speaking conference in a non-English speaking country in this day and age really that weird? I don't get why. I guess conferences tend to have an explanation? Except when the explanation is "obvious" (warm subtropical/"Mediterranean" setting...).

Alternative, glib answer: because computing shouldn't be confined to the US, or I guess places like London in this case.

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