You can come to BSides Cape Town for free. Here’s how.
BSides Cape Town has never been about the ticket.
We’ve run on the first weekend of December since 2011, and the thing that makes the weekend work isn’t a budget line; it’s people. People who show up early to tape down cables. People who scan tickets in the sun, fix broken badges, and walk a nervous first-time speaker to the right room.
We call them Volts. And if you volunteer as one, you’re in; free.
What a Volt actually does
Volts run the day. That looks like:
- Venue setup and teardown
- Speaker coordination; getting people and slides in the right room at the right time
- Attendee management and registration
- Ticket scanning at the door
- Badge repairs and the hundred small saves nobody sees
- Setting up stickers and games throughout the venue
What you get
Let’s be honest about the deal. You are not getting paid, but what you will get is:
- Free entry to the conference
- A drink and a high five
- The community; the actual reason most of us are still here
- A foot in the door: we pick our future organisers from our volunteers. Almost everyone on the committee started out holding a cable.
Why free access exists at all
BSides Cape Town is run by a registered non-profit, BSides Cape Town NPC, by volunteers who don’t take a cent. Our sponsors carry most of the cost of the event. That’s the whole model: keep the barrier low, keep it independent, keep it ours.
So if the ticket is the thing standing between you and attending, come and volunteer with us instead!
How to sign up
- Fill in the Register to be a Volt form
- We’ll come back to you with shifts and what to expect
- Join the Hack South Discord so you’re in the loop
Spaces are limited, because the day only needs so many hands. So be sure to get in early!
Not able to volunteer? Tickets are on Quicket :Â grab one here.
Oh, and if you’d rather be on stage, the CFP is open until the end of September : Â Apply here.
