What we are changing after this year's feedback

Every year we send one feedback form, keep it short and read every answer. This year 612 of the 1,380 people who came filled it in, which is the highest response we have had. Thank you. Most of it was kind, some of it was pointed, and nearly all of it was useful.

What worked

The things you asked us to keep were consistent: the size of the event, the keynotes on the Main Stage, the terrace, and the fact that talks start and finish on time. Recordings went out within a week and were the most-used thing we made all year. We are keeping all of it.

What did not

Three complaints came up far more than anything else.

• Lunch was too crowded. Seventy-five minutes is enough time, but there were not enough seats, and the queue for the hot counter went back into the foyer.
• Workshops were a lottery. Signing up on the morning meant those who arrived first got the places, and ninety minutes was not enough to finish most of the exercises.
• The Studio was hard to hear from the back. The room is long and narrow, and the sound did not reach the last few rows.

What we are changing

For 2027, these are the commitments.

1. Twice the seating on the terrace, with a second food counter at the river end and lunch served from two sides.
2. Workshops booked in advance, two hours long and capped at forty. We will publish the details in the summer.
3. New speakers in the Studio, plus a second screen halfway down the room.
4. Live captions in all three rooms, not only on the Main Stage, and on the recordings.
5. A quiet room on the first floor, open all day, with no phones and no laptops.
6. Vegetarian lunch by default, with fish and meat dishes on request at registration. Most of you were choosing it already.
7. Pronoun stickers and a “happy to chat” badge colour at registration, both optional.

The single most repeated line in the form was “please do not get bigger”. We are not going to.

What we are not changing

A few people asked for a third day, a larger expo and an app. We have looked at each and decided against them for now. A third day would push the price up for everyone, the expo would take over the terrace, and the schedule already works well in any phone browser.

If you have more to say, the form stays open until the end of July, and you can always write to Beatriz Lopes, who looks after access, at beatriz@example.com. Anything about safety or behaviour goes to the code of conduct team instead.