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Kia ora whānau 👋 Gracie here!
That came around fast — Kiwi PyCon 2025 is just 11 days away! 🎉You’ve got till the end of Wednesday at the very latest to get your order in for a conference t-shirt. 👉 Check out the design here
🎟 Tickets and Discounts
There are still some Kawaiicon discount codes floating around — but they’re only available for a limited time, so don’t wait too long to use them.Can you crack the puzzle? 👉 check it out here
🐍 Also, quick note Friday 14th will be the last opportunity to grab an enthusiastic, student, or unwaged ticket.
🐍 We’ll continue selling professional and contributor tickets right up to and during the conference, and if you’re just keen on a specific session, we’ll also have workshop-only tickets available on Friday.
💬 Join the Community
Come join our Discord to chat, ask questions, plan meetups, and connect before the big weekend
So join us for three days of learning, community, and the kind of hallway chats you’ll still be thinking about in December.
Ngā mihi nui,
Gracie 💛
Kiwi PyCon 2025 Comms
🗞 Stay Connected
To stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn Discord or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you.
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🐍 Do you want to run a Python Conference in 2026?
Kia ora whānau 👋 Gracie here!
It’s happening — Kiwi PyCon 2025 is just 37 days away! 🎉Every year, Kiwi PyCon is brought to life by an incredible crew of volunteers — from those helping at the registration desk to those assisting with A/V during the talks and so much more; which all keeps everything humming behind the scenes.
Kiwi PyCon is a community-led, not-for-profit event powered entirely by volunteers — and we’re looking for more helping hands for Kiwi PyCon 2025 (Nov 21–23, Wellington) and for the leadership crew who’ll help shape Kiwi PyCon 2026.
Volunteering is one of the best ways to give back, meet amazing people, and see how all the moving parts of a community conference come together.
Whether you can help for a few hours, the whole weekend, or step into a leadership role next year — there’s a place for you 💛If you’ve ever thought, “One day I’d love to help organise Kiwi PyCon,” this is your chance to learn the ropes and be part of something special.
👉 Become a Volunteer
✨ What’s in Store
Looking over the final schedule, we honestly can’t tell you how excited we are to bring everyone together in Wellington, November 21–23.
We had exactly 80 talk submissions — an incredible spread of topics — and as our review team finalised everything, it became clear this is going to be the best Kiwi PyCon line-up yet.
You’ll find:
- 🧰 A full Friday of training, with your choice of MicroPython IoT Development or Beginner’s Python – a Carpentries-Inspired Tutorial
- 🎤 Two keynote speakers bringing insight and inspiration
- 🗣️ Two full days of dual speaker tracks (22 talks total!)
- 📊 Poster sessions to showcase new ideas
- ⚡ Lightning Talks and Bottlenecks — always high-energy and never predictable
Three days of learning, community, and the kind of hallway chats you’ll still be thinking about in December.
📆 Where & When:
📍 Shed 6, Wellington Waterfront
🛠 Workshops – Friday 21 November
🌟 Main Conference – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 November
Quick Links 🔗:
👉 See the Schedule
👉 Buy Your Ticket
👉 Become a Volunteer
Ngā mihi nui,
Gracie 💛
Kiwi PyCon 2025 Comms
🗞 Stay Connected
To stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you. -
🐍 Kiwi PyCon 2025 — The Schedule’s out, and it’s looking Epic!
Kia ora whānau, Gracie here 👋 It’s happening! the Kiwi PyCon 2025 schedule is now live 👉 kiwipycon.nz/schedule and in 45 Days Kiwi PyCon will be here!
You can officially start planning your conference weekend — from the hands-on workshops on Friday to the back-to-back talks, lightning sessions, and keynotes across Saturday and Sunday. This year’s lineup is a mix of deep technical dives, community-driven projects, and creative explorations of Python in the real world.
f you’re the kind of person who colour-codes their conference calendar (no shame, that’s me too), you’ll want to get started — because there’s a lot to get excited about 😊
✨ What’s in Store
Looking over the final schedule, we honestly can’t tell you how excited we are to bring everyone together in Wellington, November 21–23.
We had exactly 80 talk submissions — an incredible spread of topics — and as our review team finalised everything, it became clear this is going to be the best Kiwi PyCon line-up yet.
You’ll find:
- 🧰 A full Friday of training, with your choice of MicroPython IoT Development or Beginner’s Python – a Carpentries-Inspired Tutorial
- 🎤 Two keynote speakers bringing insight and inspiration
- 🗣️ Two full days of dual speaker tracks (22 talks total!)
- 📊 Poster sessions to showcase new ideas
- ⚡ Lightning Talks and Bottlenecks — always high-energy and never predictable
Three days of learning, community, and the kind of hallway chats you’ll still be thinking about in December.
💪 Volunteers Wanted
Now, about how this all happens — it’s you.
Kiwi PyCon runs 100% on volunteer power. From registration and A/V to wrangling signs, cables, and sanitiser refills — it’s the helpers who make it all run smoothly.
We’ve got a Become a Volunteer page where you can pick a specific role or just say “throw me in wherever I’m needed.”
No experience required. If you can notice something that needs doing and jump in, you’ll fit right in.
A few things to know:- You’ll need to be early for set-up and stay a bit late for pack-down.
- You might miss a talk or two if you’re on duty (we try to work around this).
- If you’re joining A/V, there’ll be a short training session (details TBC).
Every extra hand makes the event better for everyone.
So if you’ve been thinking about getting involved — this is your cue. Sign up and join the team that makes Kiwi PyCon happen 🐍
📆 Where & When:
📍 Shed 6, Wellington Waterfront
🛠 Workshops – Friday 21 November
🌟 Main Conference – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 November
Quick Links 🔗:
👉 See the Schedule
👉 Buy Your Ticket
👉 Become a Volunteer
Ngā mihi nui,
Gracie 💛
Kiwi PyCon 2025 Comms
🗞 Stay Connected
To stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you. -
The days are getting warmer, tickets are selling, and it’s time to let you in on our second keynote for Kiwi PyCon 2025: Benno Rice 🎉
Benno is widely known as someone with opinions and a (possibly over-)willingness to share them. He has been working with computers professionally for over 30 years (unprofessionally for longer) and takes particular joy in examining how computers, the Internet, and all that surrounds all of these intersects with the humanity that it is meant to help.
“Skill Issue”
I make code for a living. I also make code, and other things, for fun. I love learning new things and discovering new tools. So when I run into a tool that everyone tells me is the future of coding but I just can’t bring myself to accept it, what do I do?
Large language models are the future of coding, right? It’s what everyone’s saying. It’s what everyone’s boss is saying. We all need to get on board or get left behind.
Is this true? What makes a change like this inevitable? What makes a change like this good?
When things like this come along and I find myself disagreeing it’s always interesting to try and work out where that’s coming from. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s a whole journey that involves a lot of self-reflection and a bunch of reading about history.
So, am I being paranoid? Is this change inevitable and I just need to get over it? Is it just… a skill issue?
Join me as I try to unpack what worries me about all this, what I think LLMs can and should be used for, what we might expect given things that have happened in the past, and what this has to do with some guy called Ned Ludd.
Kiwi PyCon 2025 🐍
Where & When
📍 Shed 6, Wellington Waterfront
🛠 Workshops – Friday 21 November
🌟 Main Conference – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 NovemberKey Dates 📅
📣 Call for Posters: Open until 15 October (AoE)
📣 Call for Sponsors: Open now
📣 Call for Volunteers: Open nowTo stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you.
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Hey folks, your conference director Chelsea here! Tickets are on sale, the speaker schedule’s nearly locked in, and Kiwi PyCon 2025 is starting to feel very real 🎉
The next thing on our list: finding some helpers to keep everything humming along so everyone has a great time.
Volunteering at a conference covers both the planned jobs, like helping at the registration desk or running A/V, and the surprise jobs that always pop up on the day. Things like: we need better signs to rego, the sanitiser needs a refill, speakers need water, a sponsor booth needs power, or we just need more hands with set-up and pack-down.
We’ve got a “Become a Volunteer” page where you can put your hand up for a specific role, or just say “throw me in wherever I’m needed.”
No experience required. A bunch of us have done this before and can show you the ropes. Half of it is just spotting something that needs doing and getting it sorted, if that’s how your brain works, you’ll smash it.
Now, the obvious question: what do you give up by volunteering?
- You might miss a talk you wanted to see live if you’re on duty in another room. We try to work around that, and the more volunteers we have, the easier it is.
- You’ll need to be around early for set-up and stick around late for pack-down. So yeah, less chance for a sleep-in.
- If you want to join the A/V crew, there’ll be a training session you’ll need to make (details TBC).
Kiwi PyCon is entirely run by volunteers, and every extra hand makes the whole thing better. Head over to the “Become a Volunteer” page, sign up, and let’s make it happen 🐍
Wait, there’s more!
To wrap this up, here’s a sneak peek at our Kiwi PyCon 2025 t-shirt design. I might be a little biased, but I think it’s great.
Make sure to order one… or three!
Kiwi PyCon 2025 🐍
Where & When
📍 Shed 6, Wellington Waterfront
🛠 Workshops – Friday 21 November
🌟 Main Conference – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 NovemberKey Dates 📅
📣 Call for Posters: Open until 15 October (AoE)
📣 Call for Sponsors: Open now
📣 Call for Volunteers: Open nowTo stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you.
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The daffodils are out, the days will soon be getting longer, and we’re buzzing with excitement because we’re thrilled to announce Joelle Maslak as our first keynote speaker for Kiwi PyCon 2025 🎉
Joelle is a network engineer for Netflix, where she uses Python to configure and monitor a network that spans the globe. She started programming on an Apple II when she was 5 and has worked in many different IT roles over her 30-year-long career.
She holds dual degrees, one in Computer Science and the other in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, which help fuel her vision of a world where everyone is included. Outside of work and her research interests (she is involved in research that benefits the neurodivergent and the rainbow communities), she loves to tinker with toy operating systems and old computing technology
“A Neurodivergent Career–Making Work Fit Us”
Neurodivergent brains can excel at tech, but excelling in formal employment can be more difficult! Most jobs are designed for the mythical neurotypical brain, and many are a particularly poor fit even for well-qualified neurodivergent brains. Learn about strategies that might work for different kinds of neurodivergent brains to adapt these neurotypical-centric jobs to neurodivergent brains. Knowing what adaptations can actually help and how to get those adaptations is important! This talk will give some examples and strategies to shape a job to fit a neurodivergent brain better. Joelle will also encourage those with lead, partnership, or management responsibility to consider alternatives to the ways we’ve always done things, to allow more people to do amazing work in tech.
This talk will draw from 25 years of professional experience in both tech and neurodivergent communities. It will go beyond the simple answers given to neurodivergent folks in the workplace (“Wear noise-cancelling headphones!”) and instead talk about what a job that actually fits some neurodivergent brains might look like. How do we communicate/collaborate with coworkers? Get feedback? Use technology and scripting to assist us? I will mix tech solutions and non-tech solutions to the problems with neurotypical-centric employment. I hope to present a vision of neurodivergent employment futures.
Kiwi PyCon 2025 🐍
Where & When
📍 Shed 6, Wellington Waterfront
🛠 Workshops – Friday 21 November
🌟 Main Conference – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 NovemberKey Dates 📅
📣 Call for Posters: Open until 15 October (AoE)
📣 Call for Sponsors: Open now
👀 Call for Volunteers: SoonTo stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you.
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Kia ora Python whānau,
Our Call for Presentations (CFP) for Kiwi PyCon 2025 has been quietly gathering brilliant ideas for weeks… but now we’re in the home stretch.
⏳ CFP closes on 21 August (AoE) — less than a week away!
If your idea’s been simmering on the back burner, this is the week to bring it to a boil. Whether it’s a mind-bending hack, a fresh take on an old problem, or a joyful side project that makes people grin, we want it on stage. First-time speaker? Even better — your perspective is exactly what makes Kiwi PyCon magic.
Let’s make this year’s programme the most diverse, creative, and energising yet. Submit your proposal today and join the line-up that will have the whole conference buzzing.
🐥 Early Bird pricing disappears after 17 August – that’s this Sunday – so if you want those sweet, discounted rates – now’s your chance.
🐍 Kiwi PyCon 2025
Where & When
📍 Shed 6, Wellington Waterfront
🛠 Workshops – Friday 21 November
🌟 Main Conference – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 November
Workshops 🛠
This year, workshops can be purchased separately from the main conference – perfect if you just want a deep dive on Friday or can’t make it for the weekend.
We’ve got:
- Python Crash Course – ideal for beginners and non-developers keen to get practical, real-world Python skills under their belt.
- MicroPython for Tinkerers – back by popular demand for all the hardware-curious Pythonistas.
Details here: Friday Workshops Programme
Main Conference 🌟
Two days of talks, hallway chats, lightning talks (yes, ⚡they’re back⚡), and the wonderful randomness that happens when the Python community gathers in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
Lunchtime Adventures 🍜
In 2025, we’re doing something a little different: a 2-hour lunch break so you can roam Wellington’s waterfront and explore its incredible eateries.
Key Dates 📅
📣 Early Bird Closes: 17 August (AoE)
📣 CFP Closes: 21 August (AoE)
📣 Call for Posters: Open until 15 October (AoE)
📣 Call for Sponsors: Open nowFor updates, join our mailing list, hop on Slack, or follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, and LinkedIn.
See you in November,
Gracie
On behalf of the Kiwi PyCon Organising TeamTo stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you.
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We’re delighted to launch Early Bird ticket sales and workshops for Kiwi PyCon 2025! 🐦
Get in before August 17th to secure your place in our workshops and the main conference days at exclusive Early Bird rates 😻Kiwi PyCon is once again being held at Shed 6, on the incomparable Wellington Waterfront
- Workshops – Friday 21st November
- Main Conference – Saturday 22nd November / Sunday 23rd November
Workshops 🛠️
This year, workshops can be purchased as a standalone event, separate from the main conference days. We hope this will accommodate folks who only wish to attend the workshops or are unable to make it on weekend days.
On Friday, 21st November, we’re excited to be hosting two full-day workshops.
- A crash course ideal for beginners and non-developer professionals who are interested in learning enough practical, real-world Python to enhance their personal and professional skills.
- Back by popular demand, a full-day workshop on hardware programming with MicroPython for tinkerers and Pythonistas
More details about each workshop will added here: https://kiwipycon.nz/programme/friday-workshops
Main conference 🌟
We’re looking forward to welcoming our Python whanau from New Zealand and abroad back to Te Whanganui-a-Tara for two full days of learning, socialising and coming together as a community to talk about all things Python, Technology, Community, and whatever delightful and bizarre topics are proposed as Lightning talks.
⚡Yes, there will be lightning talks ⚡
The full Kiwi PyCon Event Schedule will be made available once the CFP has closed and talks are confirmed; we’re just waiting on your proposals 😻
A note on catering for 2025 🍜We’d also like to mention that this year, we’re sending attendees out to explore Wellington’s vibrant waterfront and myriad diverse eateries during an extended 2-hour lunch break.
Other key dates to put in your Calendar 📅
- 📣 Call for Sponsors: Open Now
- 📣 Call for Presentations: Open until 21st August (AoE)
- 📣 Call for Posters: Open until 15th October 2025 (AoE)
- 📣 Call for Volunteers: Stay tuned
To stay informed about important Kiwi PyCon announcements and updates, subscribe to the Kiwi PyCon Mailing List, join us on Slack, follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn or come along to a monthly Python Meetup near you.
Kia ora,
Gracie and Simon
On behalf of the Kiwi PyCon Organising Team -
Dear friends, we are delighted to get to announce to you the opening of the Kiwi PyCon 2025 call for proposals.
Kiwi PyCon 2025 is the fourteenth New Zealand Python programming language and community conference. It will be held in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, from the 21st to the 23rd of November.
Kiwi PyCon is a three-day, two-track conference. Saturday and Sunday are populated by 30-minute and 45-minute presentations on all ranges of topics and skill levels. Our conference is attended by people with a wide range of interests and experiences, including experienced professional programmers, people who use Python to support their work in other fields, students, hobbyists, researchers, and academics.
Today we are opening the call for proposals for presentations and for the “poster session”.
By speaking at Kiwi PyCon, you are shaping the future of the community in New Zealand and beyond. Speaking at a conference is an amazingly rewarding experience, and Kiwi PyCon cannot be what it is without the contributions of our speakers, new and experienced.
This year, for the first time, we’re also offering an additional optional Academic Track option for your proposal. The abstracts for the Academic Track presentations will be peer reviewed and published on Zenodo after the conference. The talks will still be in the same venue to the same audience – but you’ll get to have a peer-reviewed publication afterwards.
The CFP for presentations will close on the 21st of August (“anywhere on earth“). The final day for poster submissions is October 15th.
Head to the submitting a talk page for the full details, and to submit your proposal. By the way: you can edit your proposal right up until the deadline, so you can open it now, and improve it over time.
Other pages with information you’ll want to read include our tips for presenters page, our health and safety policy, and our code of conduct.
We are so glad to once again be able to host you all here in Wellington. We can’t wait to see you, and learn from you!
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Join our monthly Christchurch meetup about all things Python on May 27 at Trade Me’s office at 181 High Street. Doors open at 5:30pm, with the talk starting at 6:30pm. Trade Me is generously providing food and drinks. The meetup will also be accessible virtually.
This month’s talk will be Connected Agents: Building Distributed Multi-Agent AI Systems with MCP and A2A by Cameron McEwing.
AI is moving beyond single-model prompting toward systems of intelligent, cooperating agents. This talk introduces the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that enables agents to interact with tools in a structured and consistent way. We’ll also explore the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol, which supports direct communication between agents and the creation of distributed multi-agent systems (MAS). The session includes practical examples using emerging Python libraries that implement MCP and A2A.
For more details and to RSVP, see the Meetup.com page.
Python New Zealand’s Code of Conduct applies to all Python New Zealand meetings and participants agree to abide by it.
Join our meetings online or in person:
* Python New Zealand – Online Events
* Python New Zealand – Auckland
* Python New Zealand – Wellington
* Python New Zealand – Christchurch
