The dates and venue for the fourth edition of WordCamp Asia have been set: the event will take place from April 9–11, 2026, at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India. For more information about the event and what’s next, read the official announcement.
Call for Speakers now open
The organizers are also calling for speakers to fill the schedule, covering the following topics:
- AI (Artificial Intelligence)
- Business, Marketing & Growth
- Community, Contribution & Culture
- Development & Technical Topics
- Design & User Experience
There is a strong focus on diversity, addressing underrepresentation, and giving people with little or no presentation experience the chance to speak. This approach should make it easier to find speakers with stories to share.
Will we see more local speakers at WordCamp Asia 2026?
Local speaker representation in the last two editions of WordCamp Asia has been lower than the organizers aimed to achieve:
- WordCamp Asia 2024 – 29% of speakers were from APAC, and 18% were from local businesses (source)
- WordCamp Asia 2025 – 38% of speakers were from APAC, and 28% were from local businesses (source)
The target for WordCamp Asia 2025 was 60%, as stated by the organizers. WordCamp’s Handbook recommends aiming for 80%.
Automattic’s presence at WordCamp Asia 2025 was also noticeable, with Automatticians delivering 30% of the talks.
WordCamp Asia 2025 showed a marked improvement, so we are hoping to see this trend continue next year.
WordCamp Asia 2026 should aim for at least 60% local speaker representation, ideally with a similar percentage from local businesses. The organizers should publish their target, as the team from the previous event did.
No, we are not particularly interested in seeing non-local speakers live
Last year, Taco Verdonschot, then Head of Relations at Yoast, shared his perspective in an episode of WP Builds:
“What I heard before is that whereas WordCamp Europe, for example, is trying to showcase the best Europe has to offer, Asia was aiming to bring talks from the rest of the world, so that people from Asia who typically have a harder time traveling to Europe or the US can also access the same content.”
This justification has also been shared by others in social media and communities but contradicts WordCamp’s own position on local representation. We will be reaching out to the organizers to understand whether they are adopting the same approach for WordCamp Asia 2026.
Furthermore:
- You don’t see many Asian speakers at other regional WordCamps – US and Europe.
- Live streams work just fine.
We are also hoping that non-local speakers that have already presented at WordCamp Asia events will support our initiative by playing a different role: to encourage and support their peers in the region who may have less experience in public speaking.
We want to hear local people share their stories
The APAC region is a driving force behind WordPress’ success.
Shahjahan Jewel of WPManageNinja analyzed data following the release of WordPress 6.8, counting contributors and contributions by country. 42% of contributors were from APAC, 35% from Europe, and 22% from the Americas.
There are many WordPress product businesses in the region developing some of the most popular plugins, along with thousands of agencies and freelance developers working on local and global projects.
Looking at WordCamps this year, at the time of writing, they were distributed across regions as follows:
- EMEA: 23 events → 41.1%
- APAC: 22 events → 39.3%
- Americas: 11 events → 19.6%
All of the above shows that there are plenty of people in the Asia-Pacific region with stories to tell, and a large enough pool of speakers to reach a 60% representation target.
Share your stories, ideas, and knowledge: Apply to be a speaker now!
The organizing team has done a great job explaining what they are looking for, the process, and their commitment to diversity.
At WordCamp Asia, we know diversity comes in many forms: culture, language, gender, age, ability, professional background, and even choice of tools. Whether you’re a first-time speaker or your fiftieth, your perspective has value. Your story could spark ideas, inspire action, or empower someone to take their next step. Representation on stage doesn’t just enrich the event; it empowers others to see themselves in spaces they may not have imagined before.
Interested? Start here: Step Into the Spotlight: Call for Speakers Now Open for WordCamp Asia 2026
You can also helped us by sharing this post.
Want to join WPapac?
We want to grow a community of WordPress professionals in Asia Pacific, to advocate for the region and help each other succeed. Learn more.
