DDD Perth 2021: Versent sponsoring inclusive tech conference

Versent is proud to announce that we are sponsoring DDD Perth 2021, Western Australia’s largest community-run, diversity-proactive tech conference.    

DDD Perth’s inclusivity philosophy closely aligns with Versent’s cultural ideology of nurturing ethnic and gender diversity in the tech industry. DDD hosts an independent community event catering to a wide audience, with the aim of including demographics normally underrepresented at tech conferences.    

“We’re not about specific technologies or methodologies, and welcome anyone who is interested to talk to the Perth technology community about what they are working on or interested in,” said DDD Perth Chairperson Rebecca Waters. “DDD Perth is a multi-track conference that is driven by the community. We strive to be an approachable event that is accessible to all members of the community.”   

“Versent was looking for an opportunity to give back to the Perth tech community, and sponsoring the DDD conference seemed like an ideal conduit to achieve that,” said Bobby Mansoor, Principal Consultant, Versent WA. “This is a community that’s passionate about innovation and have a strong growth mindset. They get together to share thought leadership ideas in an open forum, and that’s exactly the sort of proactive culture Versent likes to encourage.”  

Keynote speaker   

Telstra’s Cyber Optimisation Principal Hannah McKelvie is the keynote speaker at this year’s DDD conference. Hannah is an award-winning coder with a background in cognitive science.  Her experience encompasses the software industry spectrum, from solution architecture, development and deployment to front-end users and cybersecurity. She approaches cybersecurity through the lens of people and technology, seeking to bridge the gap between IT and psychology. Hannah’s keynote talk at DDD Perth will address the theme of human error and cybercrime.   

“In a world where ransomware can be bought for a couple of dollars, and we stand in the throes of a global pandemic, we now learn that over 70% of us are comfortable with restricting peoples’ freedoms to keep Australia safe,” Hannah says in her speaker’s notes. In her DDD talk, she will ask the vital question: is it inevitable that we hand over our privacy and freedom or can understanding human performance help save us from cyber-crime?   

A conference focused on diversity   

DDD Perth aims to create opportunities for underrepresented social groups, young people and first-time speakers to present their ideas. DDD’s bigger mission is to influence the wider IT industry to create more forums for minorities and newcomers in all mainstream conferences and events.   

This year’s DDD Perth will likely be an online event to manage the risks associated with COVID-19. In 2020 the DDD event was cancelled because of COVID-19. But DDD 2021 will definitely go ahead, say the organisers, whether online or at the live venue.    

DDD Chairperson Rebecca Waters: “When our committee started to plan what DDD Perth could look like in 2021, we had a few things on our minds. Our hometown’s strict response to any transmission was forefront because it can mean we’re exposed to shutting down the conference with a few hours’ notice. Simply put, this could mean the end to the conference in any form. The conference in 2019 was something very special, and we wanted to reconnect with our community. We also felt like the community wanted an in-person conference. So, we decided we’d move ahead with an in-person conference, but that if we needed to, we’d pivot to an online conference. Cancelling is not on the cards for us. We’ve limited the conference to 300 delegates initially, and as we draw closer, we’ll look at opening the conference up to the waitlist.”   

About DDD Perth   

DDD Perth was founded in 2015 by Rob Moore and Matt Davies, and since 2018 it has been run by DDD WA Inc.    

DDD Perth started out its life as part of the Developer!Developer!Developer! series of events, hence the DDD acronym title. Developer!Developer!Developer! started in 2005 in the United Kingdom as a community conference organised by software developers for software developers. It has since spread all over the UK and Australia. DDD’s heritage is as a developer-focused conference, but DDD Perth is not just for developers but for all professionals in the software industry.    

DDD was set up with a number of key principles in mind, which hold true for all DDD conferences worldwide. The conference aims to have a minimal ticket price, to encourage young people and students to attend. DDD conferences are staged on weekends, making it easier for working people or people with childcare responsibilities to attend. DDD has an open submissions process to encourage up-and-coming thought leaders to put themselves forward as speakers. Once submissions have been received, the DDD agenda is drafted democratically, based on the public proposals submitted to the conference organisers.   

Versent is proud to be a sponsor and supporter of DDD Perth. The conference is a non-profit event, and all funds raised as part of running DDD Perth are used to mount future events. DDD also supports meetup groups in the WA software industry that align with the purpose and goals of DDD Perth.  

DDD Perth 2021 will be held on Saturday 14th August 2021 at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. Doors open at 8:10 am. Tickets at dddperth.com.    

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