Biratnagar, one of the oldest cities in Nepal, is gearing up to host its first WordCamp on December 22, 2018. The local community organized its first meetup in 2011 with 40 participants. Since that time the community has grown and recently hosted 250 members for a two-day meetup in January 2018.
“WordPress Biratnagar has a remarkably large number of enthusiastic participants in local WordPress meetups, more than any other meetups in Nepal,” lead organizer Ganga Kafle said. Kafle is a developer and WordPress.org theme reviewer. He said his local community is full of energetic youth who are excited to make the WordCamp happen.
“From an 8th grade student in a government school to a 56-year-old passionate retired army soldier, all are members of the WordPress Biratnagar community. This community is diverse, open, and has the ability to have fun together. They help each other out a lot, sharing tips and tricks, and solve problems together.”
Kafle said the topics of most interest to the local community include WordPress SEO, blogging, and WordPress theme development, as the majority of community members are students, developers, freelancers, and designers. He expects the WordCamp will attract attendees from different cities inside Nepal and from nearby countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other South Asian countries. Sessions will be conducted in both English and Nepali.
WordCamp Biratnagar will be the seventh WordCamp held in Nepal, following WordCamp Pokhara which is scheduled one month earlier on November 24. Pokhara is 11 hours away by car so the two WordPress communities are quite a distance away from each other. WordCamp Biratnagar is the last camp on the global WordCamp calendar for 2018.
Kafle said he hopes the event will bring the Biratnagar WordPress community opportunities that will lead to more entrepreneurship and contribution to the greater tech community in the region. The event has 200 tickets available and the capacity to expand if there is a greater demand. Early Bird Tickets are now on sale at Rs 1000. Once those are sold, Regular Tickets will be available for Rs 1500.
