GUADEC (pronounced GWAH-DECK) is a unique forum for the GNOME project. Held
annually in cities around Europe, GUADEC attracts over 500 attendees each year
and is the largest GNOME-specific conference in the world. The conference is a
positive joining of minds, friendships and cultures, allowing developers and
users to meet face to face (often for the first time), discuss new ideas and
make future plans for GNOME.

While every GUADEC delegate takes something different away from the conference,
the primary goals of GUADEC are:
 - to set the direction of the project in the coming year;
 - to attract developers and contributors to the project;
 - to help corporate partners be involved in the project; and
 - to showcase our latest technologies

== The 7th Edition ==

2006 is the 7th year in which the developers and users of GNOME will gather in
person to meet and discuss future directions. While for some, this will be their
first time, others have done this many times before.

The first GUADEC was held in Paris in 1998, where a number of GNOME developers
thought that it might be nice to finally meet face-to-face in real life with the
people they worked with through the global community of the Internet.

GUADEC grew over the years, the conference becoming both famous and infamous.
In Kristiansand, six years later, GUADEC 5 was attended by more than 500
people. With a dazzling array of keynote speakers from government, business and
education, as well as GNOME community leaders and involvement from other
projects including KDE and FreeDesktop.org, GUADEC was well established as one
of the most important free software conferences in the world.

Last year in Stuttgart, GUADEC continued this fine tradition. GUADEC is serious,
with technical presentations, impressive showcases and involved discussion
groups; and fun with parties, some amount of drinking and just a little
sillyness.