--- title: How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna... description: A lightning talk from NDC Copenhagen 2026 by Anna Kvashchuk, a software developer at Equinor, sharing lessons from organizing the Equinor Developer Conference... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna Kvashchuk - NDC Copenhagen 2026 | daily.dev og:description: A lightning talk from NDC Copenhagen 2026 by Anna Kvashchuk, a software developer at Equinor, sharing lessons from organizing the Equinor Developer Conference... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/kMwX585A3.png og:image:alt: How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna Kvashchuk - NDC Copenhagen 2026 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna Kvashchuk - NDC Copenhagen 2026 **[NDC Conferences](https://daily.dev/sources/ndc)** · 13 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A lightning talk from NDC Copenhagen 2026 by Anna Kvashchuk, a software developer at Equinor, sharing lessons from organizing the Equinor Developer Conference (EDC). She outlines three pillars for a successful internal conference: community drive from below (letting employees propose and lead sessions), commitment from above (management support and treating social activities as first-class), and evolution (iterating based on feedback). Practical tips include using GitHub and Slack for proposals, one-hour time slots with 15-minute buffers, no video recordings to create a safe space for new speakers, prioritizing newcomers and new hires, and encouraging all attendees to stay in the conference hotel. The EDC is so popular that general admission spots fill in under 90 seconds, comparable to Taylor Swift tickets. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do you get employees to actually want to speak at an internal company conference? Make speaking a requirement for guaranteed attendance and prioritize newcomers over experienced speakers. At Equinor's internal developer conference, only contributors (speakers, workshop leaders, organizers) are guaranteed a spot, while remaining public tickets are limited; one year the conference filled up in 1 minute and 4 seconds. At least a third of participants are also active contributors, reinforcing an IKEA-effect sense of ownership. _Anyone planning a company tech event can find more organizer playbooks like this on daily.dev._ ### What conference format keeps a multi-track technical event running smoothly without staff managing room transitions? Using strict one-hour time slots with a 15-minute buffer built into each session lets the event run itself without anyone herding attendees between rooms. This produces a 45-minute talk format or three 15-minute lightning talks, with sessions starting sharp on the hour; the buffer absorbs early finishes into longer coffee chats since talks rarely run over an hour. _Developers refining event logistics can track more community-building tactics via daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [10 Tips on Giving Standout Talks at Developer Conferences](https://daily.dev/posts/10-tips-on-giving-standout-talks-at-developer-conferences-reye7o3kd) · Nordic APIs · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI and NDC London 2026: A .NET Conference From a Developer’s Perspective](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-and-ndc-london-2026-a-net-conference-from-a-developer-s-perspective-rruw1sx8x) · We Are .NET · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Considering a Tech Conference? Do’s, Don’ts, and Notes](https://daily.dev/posts/considering-a-tech-conference-do-s-don-ts-and-notes-zgi3gqmew) · Atomic Spin · 1 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#community](https://daily.dev/tags/community), [#company-culture](https://daily.dev/tags/company-culture) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna Kvashchuk - NDC Copenhagen 2026","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3"},"datePublished":"2026-08-05T12:02:49.026Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:31:49.439Z","description":"A lightning talk from NDC Copenhagen 2026 by Anna Kvashchuk, a software developer at Equinor, sharing lessons from organizing the Equinor Developer Conference...","image":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t5ZbcKX0qD8/sddefault.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t5ZbcKX0qD8/sddefault.jpg","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"NDC Conferences","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NDC Conferences","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--SiIyojEj--/f_auto/v1748760369/logos/ndc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ndc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"community,company-culture","timeRequired":"PT13M","video":{"@type":"VideoObject","name":"How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna Kvashchuk - NDC Copenhagen 2026","description":"A lightning talk from NDC Copenhagen 2026 by Anna Kvashchuk, a software developer at Equinor, sharing lessons from organizing the Equinor Developer Conference...","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t5ZbcKX0qD8/sddefault.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-08-05T12:02:49.026Z","duration":"PT13M","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/kMwX585A3","embedUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/t5ZbcKX0qD8"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NDC Conferences","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ndc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How to make an internal conference worth our time - Anna Kvashchuk - NDC Copenhagen 2026"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-make-an-internal-conference-worth-our-time---anna-kvashchuk---ndc-copenhagen-2026-kmwx585a3#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do you get employees to actually want to speak at an internal company conference?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Make speaking a requirement for guaranteed attendance and prioritize newcomers over experienced speakers. 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