| Additionally, CiviCon will feature a CiviClinic, an open question and answer area to bring your CiviCRM related questions to. Come along to learn from experts on how to solve any bugbears or conundrums you have with your specific CiviCRM setup. Special social events planned for the evenings include a dinner and tour at the Internet Archive on May 22. Please set aside this time in your calendar and start planning your trip. This is a global event attract attendees from across the US and Canada as well as from Europe, Australasia, and beyond. The program is still being finalized, but you can get an idea of the experience from these comments by previous event attendees: "I didn't go to my first CiviCRM event for years - didn't see the point, I knew what I needed to know - I thought... Then I went to one and now I try to go to as many as possible because it helped my understanding grow a lot - not just of the technical how-to stuff, but of how different organisations work, what they're trying to achieve etc. It's very easy to get siloed and rigid and miss out on the benefits of others' experience." -- Rich Lott, https://artfulrobot.uk/ "... a majority of the people there were ‘techies’ – programmers, developers, implementers – and I’m a volunteer, USER of CiviCRM! You can’t imagine a more diverse group of people all in one room. And yet, everyone I talked with was friendly and willing to share their knowledge. ... So, what would I say to someone who, like me, is looking at the next conference as a ‘first-timer’ and wondering ‘is it for me?’. I would say, you can’t lose. You’ll have a great experience, you’ll learn loads, you’ll be inspired to go to more CiviCRM events in the future and you will feel that you now belong to a community of people who you can keep in contact with, and who will be glad to support you and respond to your questions. I now have ‘friends’ from all over the world, including computer techies, charitable organisations and CiviCRM users who all want to make a difference to the world!" -- Anne Smale, Dru UK | 