Knights of Joomla - gather in the Netherlands for J and Beyond 2011

In June 2010, the brave knights and dames from all over Europe and from far away, gathered in a monestary outside Wiesbaden. Their quest was a noble one - to unite the kingdom of Joomla and to learn from each other. And so they did.

Word about the gathering spread far and wide, and the kingdom of Joomla (or is it really a republic?) felt like a warm and cosy place.

Next year, the knights who say J! will gather once more. In the city of Kerkrade, Netherlands, J and Beyond 2011 will have the Joomla world come together to share, learn and drink some insane amounts of Dutch brew.

The dates are May 6th - 8th 2011.

The new and updated site was lauched last night. Designed (by Chiara Aliotta) and built by Nuevvo, the site has a fun and different look. The knights theme has obviously been inspired by the venue for J and Beyond 2011, the ancient city of Rolduc.

The J and Beyond team searched across Europe looking for the perfect venue and with Rolduc Abbey in the city of Kerkrade, they believe they've found it. I certainly agree - the venue looks great!

Located within one hour drive of 6 countries and with excellent international travel connections Rolduc offers everything we could ask for and more.

We have access to rooms at the Rolduc Abbey and Conference centre suitable for sessions for all attendees and for breakouts and smaller sessions. There is great food on site and of course a bar for those quieter moments in the evening.

The venue can cope with up to 450 attendees and there is accomodation on site for up to 280 people.

As a regulare reader of Joomlablogger, you will know that I attended J and Beyond 2010 in Wiesbaden. It was a great opportunity to learn about Joomla.

The most important thing, however, was the social part of it. I got to meet and know a lot of great people from all over the world. A whole lot of those were for me, up until then, just an avatar on Twitter or in the Joomla forums. It's always a great pleasure to meet someone whom you have just "met" digitally.

Here's the post I wrote after the first day at J and Beyond 2010

I'm really looking forward to meeting those people again, and to make new connections.

Ryan Ozimek, president of Open Source Matters, meeting fellow Joomla enthusiasts.

Although J and Beyond 2011 was a private initiative, organized by Robert Deutz and a team of volunteers, the event will be remembered as the first international Joomla! event.

Brian Teeman, one of the organizers, writes on the JAB 11 website:

In 2010 attendees came from over 25 countries spread over 5 continents and only Australasia and Antarctica were not represented but maybe we can resolve that this year.

I believe the 2011 event will be a huge one - so make sure to grab your tickets as soon as possible!

Buy your tickets for J and Beyond 2011 here

One of the jurys from J and Beyond 2010 during the J! Oscars awards ceremony. Victor Drover speaking.

A recurring theme for J and Beyond 2010 was "Joomla rocks!". The phrase has been used continuously since the conference. It even resulted in a website solely aimed at promoting Joomla and the community feeling: ourcmsrocks.com.

Robert Deutz also set the theme of the conference very nicely in his opening keynote - stay positive - be friendly! And that's how i experienced J and Beyond 2010 as well. Positive and friendly people - all wanting to share and improve.

Here's a video I made after JAB 10, where people share their impressions from the event:

To set the mood even more, here's a scene from the classic movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

I hope to see you in Rolduc. And remember, bring a shrubbery ;)

View the original article here