Conferences can often fall into the trap of becoming reruns of their past selves — the same speakers with the same topics covered — so it’s nice to see PyCon Australia adopting the “Call for Topics” approach that PyCon US has been using.

“This is like the reverse of a traditional Call for Proposals; instead of proposing a presentation, you can propose a topic that you’d like to see a presentation on at the conference, or possibly a presenter that you really want to see present,” wrote PyCon Australia liaison Chris Neugebauer in the official blog post.

The conference will still be putting out the regular Call for Proposals next month, but, as Neugebauer points out, not everyone that reads the proposals call considers themselves good enough to present, and being invited can help get them over the line. I think it’s a great way for conferences to stay fresh and get feedback apart from the standard “OMG! Awesome!” post-conference high.

PyCon is going south this year, and will be held in Hobart over 18-19 August.