There is always a first time for everything. There is a first time for when you laid your hand on a keyboard, there is a first time for when you wrote "hello world" and there is a first time for when you released some code you wrote.

We have picked some awesome rock stars to speak at Web Rebels. They are experienced in the art of public speaking. But; there was also a first time for them when they first spoke in public.

When you see them up there on the stage they might look like gurus, but they are no different from everyone else. They sure are good in what they do, but they are only different in the fact that they have taken the step to speak in public.

Through organizing meet-ups on a regular basis and keeping our eyes open for what’s going on around us, we see so much cool stuff being done by not yet rock stars. You attendees know so much and create so much amazing stuff that we are regularly blown away. We think you should be given the chance to show off. But; yes, we know, that first step can be tricky to take.

So, we would like to create an environment where those who would love to try or take the first step towards public speaking can get a chance to do so during Web Rebels.

On the 23rd of May we will host a small pre-party. During this pre-party we will run a few 30 minutes open mic lightning talk sessions. The location is large enough for most of our attendees, but the stage area will be small and intimate. Its all shoulders down in a relaxed environment with no high expectations. Think of this as a pre-party where you get to know everyone who will be at the conference and this is an opportunity to get a head start before the big event.

Dear attendee; this is your night!

If you would like to try yourself on the stage you are more then welcome too. Prepare a small talk, ~10 minutes, on any relevant topic you like and send us a mail at openmic@webrebels.org before the 22nd of May with your name and the title of your talk and we will give you the stage!

Note: there will be three 30 minute batches of lightning talks so we are more or less limited to nine talks. This might be a subject for change. We'll see.