English – Nederlands
As WordPress grows in popularity and its user-base continues to increase we also see an increase in the amount of WordCamps being organized and the amount of people attending. A topic that is often forgotten is the environmental footprint that all these WordCamps have. As an organizing team we realize the difference we can make by making this topic more important. With the upcoming WordCamp Rotterdam we aim to organise the most environmentally friendly WordCamp to date.
How are we going to do this? To be honest we don’t have the complete checklist yet but instead we will consider the environmental impact of every single decision we need to make as an organizing team.
Event location
We have carefully selected the most environmentally-aware location in Rotterdam. The event location BlueCity is situated in a former subtropical swimming oasis Tropicana overlooking the river Maas. This well known iconic building has sadly lost its function and grandness but a group of innovative, sustainable and circular entrepreneurs decided that tearing it down would be a shame. Together they demonstrate the circular economy by connecting their waste-streams in different ways. The coffee-waste that is produced by Aloha Bar-Restaurant serves as nutritious soil for the mushrooms of RotterZwam. The carbon dioxide that is released in the process is used by Spireaux for the creation of Spirulina, and in BlueCity Lab mycelium is used to develop packaging materials. Of course, to complete this perfect circle, you will ultimately find the mushrooms that grew on the coffee waste of Aloha on the menu of the same restaurant.
Yes, you got that right, WordCamp Rotterdam will take place in a former subtropical swimmingpool. How cool is that?!
Getting there and around
We encourage all WordCamp visitors to use public transport and bikes when coming to the event. The location is only a 7 mins walk from the nearest metro station (Oostplein) and a 12 minute walk from the closest train station (Rotterdam Blaak). Want to get there by bike? Try oBike, GoBike or rent a bike near Central Station.
Swag
We don’t want to ban swag and goodies. Let’s be honest, we all love some cool presents and goodies during a WordCamp. We will ask our sponsors to think carefully about the swag that they are bringing to the event though. More information and tips about sustainable swag will be provided on the sponsor page.
Food & Drink
We have asked BlueCity to also provide the catering. We can’t get into detail yet because we like to surprise you a bit too but all food and beverages that are served during the event have a story attached to them. BlueCity uses as much seasonal, local and organic ingredients as possible.
Bottled water is banned from the event!