React Finland

Finland might not be the most obvious place in the world to visit. It can be difficult to reach as it’s out of the way but that said, there are affordable flights from across the Europe and Asia even.

Normally when I speak with people, they mention that they visited Sweden but skipped Finland. That said, even if you have visited our dear neighbour, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something in Finland for you. At least then you can tell your friends you have visited the country!

React Finland (24–26.4.2018, Helsinki) is a good excuse to visit. It’s still cool at the end of April but it’s not the worst time. In addition to the metropolitan area, there’s a lot more to see. It’s a big country after all.

Not for the weather#

Given it’s still cool at the end of April (expect around +10 C), the weather isn’t the main attraction of React Finland. The point is that this is a good chance for you to see an exotic country that’s something called as the Japan of the north. I think we have less mechas, though. Finland is also less dense and has less Japanese people.

As the country is quite tall (about thousand kilometres), the weather can vary greatly from end to end. While it’s cold in the north, it can be warm in the south at the same time or sometimes vice versa.

To connect with the local community#

Visiting React Finland is your chance to connect with the local community that has had large impact on the world through companies like Nokia, Rovio, and Supercell. You have used a Finnish product but you might not be aware of it.

You might have heard of Linux. It was born in Finland and has since then taken over the world and your mobile phone unless you are using an iPhone. Finnish influence can be seen in databases such as MySQL or MariaDB and numerous web technologies (Cycle.js, RE:DOM, bacon.js, …) have Finnish background or contributors.

To meet globally known developers from around the world#

In addition to seeing a small part of the country, you will get to meet a diverse range of developers from all around the world. Our invited speakers include local talent, Europeans, and a few American friends. You will likely recognize names such as Ken Wheeler, Jani Eväkallio, Gant Laborde, or Sara Vieira, in our program.

To participate in workshops#

We put special emphasis on coming up with a good amount of workshops. The topics vary from tooling to React specific aspects and testing. Unless you take Michel’s full day course on Mobx-state-tree, you will have time to participate in two workshops during the day while enjoying a lunch in between.

Finland is not Italy when it comes to food. It’s not always as disappointing as you might think, however. Especially our fish, meat, vegetable, and berry based foods can be excellent as then we can use our local produce which tends to have high quality.

To enjoy the single track conference#

The two conference days are held in a single track format. This way you won’t miss out on content. The schedule has been kept relaxed so there’s time for discussion and panels. Also lightning talks will be present as it’s sometimes the little ideas that give the most value.

To explore the most boring country in the world#

If there’s enough demand, we’ll organize a trip to show the country to you and give you an experience you won’t forget. Locals tend to see the country as boring but perhaps boring is good? So prepare to experience boring things with us.

Conclusion#

React Finland has a lot to offer to web developers. I would say it’s worth visiting even if you aren’t that much into React. We don’t plan to convert you but you might get infected by some of the ideas. And that can be a good thing.

Get your ticket now and visit Finland!