WICCON Diaries #3

A testimonial from Christel Sanders (WICCON Speaker)

by Brigitte Heijkoop

“Let the CFP committee decide.”

Not every talk starts with a deeply technical topic or a tightly defined piece of research. Sometimes it starts with curiosity, with history, or with the wish to make a world visible that not nearly enough people know about yet. Those are exactly the kinds of stories that can unexpectedly resonate on a stage like WICCON.

Christel Sanders, also known online as Boekenwuurm, knows that better than most. She studied physics and now works in the development of sensors, high-tech cameras and nanostructures.

“Understanding what is happening is exactly what physicists do.”

Besides that, she is active in the hacker scene, among other things through a hackerspace in Eindhoven, and has already organised several hacker events, including one together with our very own Nancy Beers. Her own path into cyber started surprisingly small: with an Arduino kit, and later through a hackerspace in Amersfoort.

At WICCON, Christel spoke about the history of hacker camps, festivals, spaces and much more. Her talk was part of a series she gave at multiple festivals, and focused on more than forty years of history of people coming together collectively to build things, share knowledge, and make the world safer, more interesting and more beautiful. What she herself found so special about that was how long this has already been happening, and how diverse that world really is.

“It was also a way of making something visible that many people still know very little about.”

The history of hacker camps is long, rich and quite complex, and that is exactly why she wanted to tell that story. Not only as a look back, but also as an introduction to a world in which much more is happening than people sometimes realise. And maybe also as an invitation: hacker camps exist, organising is fun, building things together is fun, and you do not have to stay alone in your attic room.

Christel eventually found her way to WICCON through Chantal. She had heard about it, saw how strong the event’s perspective was, and immediately felt that it aligned well with what she herself values. There are still more men than women on many stages, and that is exactly why WICCON appealed to her. She has been involved since the second edition.

“Speaking at WICCON was a very positive experience.”

Christel describes it as a beautiful place for a conference, with lovely people and an organisation that was technically well prepared. Of course, something still went wrong, but that is exactly something that stayed with her as well. Not because it was unpleasant, but because everyone immediately stepped in to help and make sure the talk could still go ahead. That is just part of it sometimes, and the way people respond in those moments says a lot about the atmosphere.

What also stood out to her were the reactions from the audience. Somewhat surprisingly, she received both tips and compliments from men and women. But those tips also came in a positive way. And that is exactly what she appreciated.

“When people respond, it means you have made an impression and stirred something in them.”

It creates space for conversations, for responses, and for other people to start sharing their own stories too.

That does not mean that speaking has always felt natural to her. Her very first talk was at a hacker conference, and she found it incredibly exciting at the time. She was so nervous that a talk that was supposed to last an hour was already over after twenty minutes. But even that did not turn out to be a disaster. People still enjoyed it, and even now she is sometimes still approached about it and even asked if she would give that talk again.

“What helped back then was going through the slides with an experienced speaker shortly before the talk.”

Not because everything has to be perfect, but because it helps to create some structure and support for both you and the audience. It makes your story stronger!

That is also why she has a clear message for people who doubt whether they are “good enough” to speak:

“You should not be the one to rule yourself out.”

Let the CFP committee decide that. She once submitted a proposal to a conference while being almost convinced herself that it probably would not fit, but that slightly different perspective turned out to be exactly what they wanted. The responses afterwards were very positive.

Her advice is therefore simple: do not reject yourself too early.

Let the people behind the conference decide whether something fits. And if you are unsure, talk it through with them, they are often very willing to do that.

If it were up to Christel, she would absolutely love to speak at WICCON again. This time she is thinking about a technical talk, although she is also playing around with other ideas, including something around soft skills. So there is clearly still plenty in the pipeline, but what exactly it will be, she is keeping open for now.

When we asked her which moment from WICCON has stayed with her the most, she did not have to think long.

“What I really love about WICCON is that I could simply stand on stage in a dress with neon lights, and walk around wearing a vampire necklace because of Halloween, without that feeling out of place.”

You can just show up there exactly as you are. And she sees that as a huge added value, alongside all the interesting talks you hear there and that you do not always come across at other conferences in quite the same way and setting.

Maybe that is also exactly what makes her story such a beautiful summary: WICCON is not only a place where knowledge is shared, but also a place where there is room for people, for individuality, and for stories that do not have to fit into one standard format.

“WICCON is an incredibly beautiful event, I am happy that I got to speak there, and I would recommend everyone to take that opportunity.”

Are you reading this and thinking: maybe I have something to say too? Then maybe this is exactly your reminder that you do not have to figure it all out by yourself first.

Sometimes a good idea is already enough to simply send it in. Go for it!