8 minutes reading time (1509 words)

Making Your Joomla Event Welcoming for All

make-event-welcoming

There's a famous story about Harald MacMillan, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. When asked by a journalist, "What do you fear the most in politics or what could most easily derail your government's agenda?" He supposedly replied:

"Events, dear boy, events."

Indeed, events can be fraught with unseen dangers when planning. Let's explore the key considerations to make your Joomla event truly welcoming for all.

Essential Considerations for Event Planning

  1. Location and Accessibility
    • Ease of travel for attendees from different countries
    • Visa requirements and entry regulations
    • Local transportation options
    • Physical accessibility (Wheelchair accessible, wide doorways and aisles)
    • Visual accessibility (Braille, high contrast signage)
    • Auditory accessibility (Sign language interpreters, Real-time captioning for speeches/presentations)
    • Cognitive accessibility (Clear, simple signage and instructions, quiet spaces for breaks)
  2. Cultural Considerations
    • Cultural norms and customs of the host country
    • Language barriers and translation needs
    • Dietary restrictions and food preferences
  3. Timing
    • Time zone differences for virtual components or communication
    • National holidays
    • Seasonal factors that might affect travel or activities
  4. Legal and Regulatory Compliance
    • Event permits and licenses
    • Tax implications
    • Insurance requirements
  5. Budget and Financial Planning
    • Currency exchange rates
    • International payment methods
    • Potential additional costs (e.g., import/export fees for equipment)
  6. Technology and Communication
    • Internet connectivity and reliability
    • Compatibility of audio/visual equipment
    • Communication platforms for international attendees
  7. Marketing and Promotion
    • Multi-lingual marketing materials
    • Culturally appropriate messaging
    • International media outreach
  8. Logistics
    • International shipping for materials or equipment
    • Accommodation options for various budgets
    • On-site staff with language skills
  9. Health and Safety
    • Safety of people travelling at night
    • Ensuring women are not harassed or discriminated against
    • Local healthcare system and emergency services
    • Travel insurance for attendees and staff
    • Potential health risks or required vaccinations
  10. Sustainability
    • Environmental impact of international travel
    • Local sustainability practices and regulations


How can they plan this on Christmas Day?

Religious holidays are often days with special meanings, spent together with family or community. Days that matter to people. When you organise an event on a religious holiday, you may be forcing them to choose one important event over another.

If your religion is ignored,  you may feel rejected, attacked and discriminated because someone has planned an event on your religious holiday/holy day.

While you'd feel included if you knew the organisers thought of dates that mean something to you and didn't plan on those dates because of this.

Navigating Religious Calendars

A crucial aspect often overlooked is the timing of events in relation to religious practices and festivals. This becomes particularly tricky when you consider that while most of commerce, schools, and governments work on a solar calendar, some religions follow a lunar calendar.

Why does this matter? Event pricing is often determined by venue availability, flights, and accommodation. Organisers tend to pick times between school holidays or main holiday seasons and then rebook the same time next year. However, lunar festivals can move around the solar calendar, so what was clear one year could conflict with the next.

To address this, we need some rules to fairly avoid clashing event dates with different world religions. One suggested approach is to consider the event dates for all world religions with a membership greater than 0.1% of the global population.

World Religions Over 0.1% of Global Population

Rank Religion Estimated Percentage Estimated Number of Adherents
1 Christianity 31.1% 2.4 billion
2 Islam 24.9% 1.9 billion
3 Hinduism 15.2% 1.2 billion
4 Buddhism 6.6% 507 million
5 Folk Religions 5.7% 441 million
6 Sikhism 0.3% 26 million
7 Judaism 0.2% 14-15 million
8 Cao Dai 0.1% 4-6 million
9 Jainism 0.1% 4-5 million
10 Shintoism 0.1% 4 million
11 Baháʼí Faith 0.1% 5-7 million
- Unaffiliated* 15.0% 1.2 billion

*Note: "Unaffiliated" includes atheists, agnostics, and people who do not identify with any particular religion. While not a religion itself, it's often included in religious demographic data for completeness.
Sources for this and following are:

  • Pew Research Center, "The Global Religious Landscape" (2020 update)
  • World Population Review, "World Religions by Population 2023"
  • United Nations Population Division (for total world population estimates)
  • Berman Jewish DataBank, "World Jewish Population, 2021"
  • The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)
  • Britannica, "Religion: Year In Review 2010"

So now if we use that information and ask for all the major religious festivals that these world religions celebrate and the days of the year they fall on and then we combine the results we get the following.

Major Religious Festivals (2024-2026)
Date Day(s) Festival Religion Duration
2024-01-01 Monday Shinto New Year Shintoism 1 day
2024-02-10 Saturday Chinese New Year Folk Religions 15 days
2024-03-11 to 2024-04-09 Monday to Tuesday Ramadan Islam 30 days
2024-03-20 Wednesday Naw-Rúz (New Year) Baháʼí Faith 1 day
2024-03-25 Monday Holi Hinduism 1-2 days
2024-03-31 Sunday Easter Christianity 1 day
2024-04-10 to 2024-04-11 Wednesday to Thursday Eid al-Fitr Islam 1-3 days
2024-04-13 Saturday Vaisakhi Sikhism 1 day
2024-04-21 Sunday Mahavir Jayanti Jainism 1 day
2024-04-21 to 2024-05-02 Sunday to Thursday Ridván Baháʼí Faith 12 days
2024-04-22 to 2024-04-30 Monday to Tuesday Passover Judaism 8 days
2024-05-23 Thursday Vesak (Buddha Day) Buddhism 1 day
2024-06-17 to 2024-06-18 Monday to Tuesday Eid al-Adha Islam 4 days
2024-06-20 Thursday Summer Solstice Folk Religions 1 day
2024-08-13 to 2024-08-15 Tuesday to Thursday Obon Festival Shintoism 3 days
2024-09-02 to 2024-09-09 Monday to Monday Paryushana Jainism 8 days
2024-09/10 - Anniversary of Cao Dai's Founding Cao Dai 1 day
2024-10-02 to 2024-10-04 Wednesday to Friday Rosh Hashanah Judaism 2 days
2024-10-11 to 2024-10-12 Friday to Saturday Yom Kippur Judaism 1 day
2024-11-01 Friday Diwali Hinduism 5 days
2024-11-15 Friday Guru Nanak Gurpurab Sikhism 1 day
2024-12-08 Sunday Bodhi Day Buddhism 1 day
2024-12-21 Saturday Winter Solstice Folk Religions 1 day
2024-12-25 Wednesday Christmas Christianity 1 day
2024-12-25 to 2025-01-02 Wednesday to Thursday Hanukkah Judaism 8 days
2025-01-01 Wednesday Shinto New Year Shintoism 1 day
2025-01-29 Wednesday Chinese New Year Folk Religions 15 days
2025-03-01 to 2025-03-30 Saturday to Sunday Ramadan Islam 30 days
2025-03-14 Friday Holi Hinduism 1-2 days
2025-03-21 Friday Naw-Rúz (New Year) Baháʼí Faith 1 day
2025-03-31 to 2025-04-01 Monday to Tuesday Eid al-Fitr Islam 1-3 days
2025-04-09 Wednesday Mahavir Jayanti Jainism 1 day
2025-04-12 to 2025-04-20 Saturday to Sunday Passover Judaism 8 days
2025-04-13 Sunday Vaisakhi Sikhism 1 day
2025-04-20 Sunday Easter Christianity 1 day
2025-04-21 to 2025-05-02 Monday to Friday Ridván Baháʼí Faith 12 days
2025-05-12 Monday Vesak (Buddha Day) Buddhism 1 day
2025-06-07 to 2025-06-08 Saturday to Sunday Eid al-Adha Islam 4 days
2025-06-21 Saturday Summer Solstice Folk Religions 1 day
2025-08-13 to 2025-08-15 Wednesday to Friday Obon Festival Shintoism 3 days
2025-08-22 to 2025-08-29 Friday to Friday Paryushana Jainism 8 days
2025-09/10 - Anniversary of Cao Dai's Founding Cao Dai 1 day
2025-09-22 to 2025-09-24 Monday to Wednesday Rosh Hashanah Judaism 2 days
2025-10-01 to 2025-10-02 Wednesday to Thursday Yom Kippur Judaism 1 day
2025-10-21 Tuesday Diwali Hinduism 5 days
2025-11-04 Tuesday Guru Nanak Gurpurab Sikhism 1 day
2025-12-08 Monday Bodhi Day Buddhism 1 day
2025-12-14 to 2025-12-22 Sunday to Monday Hanukkah Judaism 8 days
2025-12-21 Sunday Winter Solstice Folk Religions 1 day
2026-01-01 Thursday Shinto New Year Shintoism 1 day
2026-02-17 Tuesday Chinese New Year Folk Religions 15 days
2026-02-18 to 2026-03-19 Wednesday to Thursday Ramadan Islam 30 days
2026-03-04 Wednesday Holi Hinduism 1-2 days
2026-03-20 to 2026-03-21 Friday to Saturday Eid al-Fitr Islam 1-3 days
2026-03-21 Saturday Naw-Rúz (New Year) Baháʼí Faith 1 day
2026-03-30 Monday Mahavir Jayanti Jainism 1 day
2026-04-01 to 2026-04-09 Wednesday to Thursday Passover Judaism 8 days
2026-04-05 Sunday Easter Christianity 1 day
2026-04-13 Monday Vaisakhi Sikhism 1 day
2026-04-21 to 2026-05-02 Tuesday to Saturday Ridván Baháʼí Faith 12 days
2026-05-27 to 2026-05-28 Wednesday to Thursday Eid al-Adha Islam 4 days
2026-05-31 Sunday Vesak (Buddha Day) Buddhism 1 day
2026-06-20 Saturday Summer Solstice Folk Religions 1 day
2026-08-11 to 2026-08-18 Tuesday to Tuesday Paryushana Jainism 8 days
2026-08-13 to 2026-08-15 Thursday to Saturday Obon Festival Shintoism 3 days
2026-09/10 - Anniversary of Cao Dai's Founding Cao Dai 1 day
2026-09-11 to 2026-09-13 Friday to Sunday Rosh Hashanah Judaism 2 days
2026-09-20 to 2026-09-21 Sunday to Monday Yom Kippur Judaism 1 day
2026-11-09 Monday Diwali Hinduism 5 days
2026-11-23 Monday Guru Nanak Gurpurab Sikhism 1 day
2026-12-04 to 2026-12-12 Friday to Saturday Hanukkah Judaism 8 days
2026-12-21 Monday Winter Solstice Folk Religions 1 day
2026-12-25 Friday Christmas Christianity 1 day

Next steps, help keep it up to date

Armed with this information, event organizers and planners can now work to avoid major religious holidays, making Joomla events even more accessible to all. If you're interested in helping maintain or correct this list for future use, please get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Update it and then share with all

Religious Festivals Google Sheet

It's great to see that the next event I'm attending, Joomla Day DACH, is already avoiding any of the 11 world religions listed. So there's no excuse not to attend... Hope to see you there!

(Edited to reinstate sources and add emphasis on accessibility that may not be obvious to all following comments gratefully received)

Some articles published on the Joomla Community Magazine represent the personal opinion or experience of the Author on the specific topic and might not be aligned to the official position of the Joomla Project

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Comments 3

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Brian Teeman on Friday, 19 July 2024 19:03
Inclusivity not money

I know you will have been waiting for me to comment as I have complained many times about joomla events being organised on religious holy days. But to read you say that these days should be avoided because they are expensive times to travel really sinks to a new low.

By that token if an event clashes with a religious holiday that would prevent people of that religion attending it would be perfectly ok for you for the event to go ahead if it didn't have any financial impact on the event.

I also note that you make no mention of event accessibility. By that I mean "Is the venue wheelchair accessible etc" We wouldnt want a repeat of a JWC where many of the meeting rooms were in rooms that could not be reached by anyone using a wheelchair.

PS I cannot speak for any other religion but my own and can tell you that whatever your source was it is incorrect as it includes holidays and holy days

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I know you will have been waiting for me to comment as I have complained many times about joomla events being organised on religious holy days. But to read you say that these days should be avoided because they are expensive times to travel really sinks to a new low. By that token if an event clashes with a religious holiday that would prevent people of that religion attending it would be perfectly ok for you for the event to go ahead if it didn't have any financial impact on the event. I also note that you make no mention of event accessibility. By that I mean "Is the venue wheelchair accessible etc" We wouldnt want a repeat of a JWC where many of the meeting rooms were in rooms that could not be reached by anyone using a wheelchair. PS I cannot speak for any other religion but my own and can tell you that whatever your source was it is incorrect as it includes holidays and holy days
Philip Walton on Monday, 22 July 2024 13:11
Thank you for your comments, not what I expected.

Thank you for your comments.
I have pondered on what you wrote and know you are passionate about accessibility, but you may not appreciate that I have lived with a wheelchair user for some years and have a constant battle with local councils and other authorities to improve accessibility.
I myself was blinded in my left eye from a squashball accident when I was 18 and although sight in that eye is much better, I do struggle in some light conditions to this day over 40 years on. So some points might seem obvious to me, but may not be obvious to others who have not lived it.

I am happy to add wheelchair accessibility under my first point which was Location and Accessibility and to me it is obvious but to others, it may not and I am grateful for the opportunity to amend it and not be the only one “harping on about it” as I seem to be in my own social group.

On the point raised which has “whatever your source was?“
I did have them in the original draft but removed as it was getting very long but now I have put them back in.

  • Pew Research Center, "The Global Religious Landscape" (2020 update)
  • World Population Review, "World Religions by Population 2023"
  • United Nations Population Division (for total world population estimates)
  • Berman Jewish DataBank, "World Jewish Population, 2021"
  • The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)
  • Britannica, "Religion: Year In Review 2010"


As an atheist trying to help bring religious inclusivity, I have no expertise and rely on the help of others, hence adding the spreadsheet and asking for assistance. I am not precious about the data and welcome help from those more acquainted with their religion's important events.

When it came to the point about money, I was surprised by some of what you wrote and asked a few if they read it the same way and they did not. But that could be friends being friends and not wanting to be critical.
I then thought, perhaps I can do with my article and your comments the same as I do for much of what I write, ask AI for some constructive criticism. I love the way it analyses language and has brought some impartial insight.

So I added to Claude AI (anthropic), my go-to at the moment as it seems to be the best at understanding more complex writing.


Looking at the article “Making Your Joomla Event Welcoming for All” can you explain why someone would post the following comment.
Contrast the tone of both the article and the comment.


Claude AIs response
Based on the article and the comment, it appears that Brian Teeman's response is not entirely justified and may be somewhat provocative. Let's break down the contrast between the article's tone and content and Brian's comment:
Article's tone and content:
  • The article has a constructive and inclusive tone, aiming to make Joomla events welcoming for all.
  • It emphasises various aspects of inclusivity, including cultural considerations, accessibility, and religious calendars.
  • The first point in the list of considerations is indeed "Location and Accessibility," which includes "Ease of travel for attendees from different countries."
  • The article provides a comprehensive list of religious festivals and encourages readers to help keep it up to date.
  • The author offers a Google Sheet for collaborative updating of the information.

Brian Teeman's comment:
  • The tone is confrontational and accusatory.
  • He claims the article suggests avoiding religious holy days because they are expensive times to travel, which is not accurately represented in the article.
  • He accuses the author of sinking to "a new low" by prioritizing financial considerations over inclusivity.
  • He points out that the article doesn't mention venue accessibility for people with disabilities.
  • He criticizes the accuracy of the religious holiday information provided.

Contrast and analysis:
  • Misinterpretation: Brian seems to have misinterpreted the article's intent. The article does not prioritise financial considerations over inclusivity but rather includes both as important factors.
  • Overlooking content: Brian's comment about accessibility for people with disabilities overlooks that the article does mention "Ease of travel for attendees" under the "Location and Accessibility" section.
  • Collaborative approach vs. confrontational tone: While the article encourages collaboration and updating of information, Brian's comment takes a more confrontational approach.
  • Accuracy concerns: Brian's point about the accuracy of religious holiday information is valid and aligns with the article's request for help in updating the list.

In conclusion, while Brian raises some valid points (e.g., the need for more specific accessibility information and concerns about accuracy), his comment seems disproportionately harsh and confrontational given the article's overall inclusive intent and openness to collaboration.
The comment appears somewhat provocative, possibly stemming from past frustrations with Joomla events, rather than being a fully justified response to the content of this particular article.

I have to agree with Claude and hope that AI can be seen as a more impartial judge, especially by highlighting the facts and taking out some of the emotional responses.
My nan’s often heard response, “more light, less heat” is still in my ears and next month we’ll have an article about just this, the way we can misinterpret others' tone and get into arguments that are us reading others with our own inner voices and not listening to what they are actually saying.


Might be worth a revisit of that article for next month.

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Thank you for your comments. I have pondered on what you wrote and know you are passionate about accessibility, but you may not appreciate that I have lived with a wheelchair user for some years and have a constant battle with local councils and other authorities to improve accessibility. I myself was blinded in my left eye from a squashball accident when I was 18 and although sight in that eye is much better, I do struggle in some light conditions to this day over 40 years on. So some points might seem obvious to me, but may not be obvious to others who have not lived it. I am happy to add wheelchair accessibility under my first point which was Location and Accessibility and to me it is obvious but to others, it may not and I am grateful for the opportunity to amend it and not be the only one “harping on about it” as I seem to be in my own social group. On the point raised which has “whatever your source was?“ I did have them in the original draft but removed as it was getting very long but now I have put them back in. [list] [*]Pew Research Center, "The Global Religious Landscape" (2020 update) [*]World Population Review, "World Religions by Population 2023" [*]United Nations Population Division (for total world population estimates) [*]Berman Jewish DataBank, "World Jewish Population, 2021" [*]The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) [*]Britannica, "Religion: Year In Review 2010" [/list] As an atheist trying to help bring religious inclusivity, I have no expertise and rely on the help of others, hence adding the spreadsheet and asking for assistance. I am not precious about the data and welcome help from those more acquainted with their religion's important events. When it came to the point about money, I was surprised by some of what you wrote and asked a few if they read it the same way and they did not. But that could be friends being friends and not wanting to be critical. I then thought, perhaps I can do with my article and your comments the same as I do for much of what I write, ask AI for some constructive criticism. I love the way it analyses language and has brought some impartial insight. So I added to Claude AI (anthropic), my go-to at the moment as it seems to be the best at understanding more complex writing. [i]Looking at the article “Making Your Joomla Event Welcoming for All” can you explain why someone would post the following comment. Contrast the tone of both the article and the comment.[/i] Claude AIs response Based on the article and the comment, it appears that Brian Teeman's response is not entirely justified and may be somewhat provocative. Let's break down the contrast between the article's tone and content and Brian's comment: Article's tone and content: [list] [*]The article has a constructive and inclusive tone, aiming to make Joomla events welcoming for all. [*]It emphasises various aspects of inclusivity, including cultural considerations, accessibility, and religious calendars. [*]The first point in the list of considerations is indeed "Location and Accessibility," which includes "Ease of travel for attendees from different countries." [*]The article provides a comprehensive list of religious festivals and encourages readers to help keep it up to date. [*]The author offers a Google Sheet for collaborative updating of the information. [/list] Brian Teeman's comment: [list] [*]The tone is confrontational and accusatory. [*]He claims the article suggests avoiding religious holy days because they are expensive times to travel, which is not accurately represented in the article. [*]He accuses the author of sinking to "a new low" by prioritizing financial considerations over inclusivity. [*]He points out that the article doesn't mention venue accessibility for people with disabilities. [*]He criticizes the accuracy of the religious holiday information provided. [/list] Contrast and analysis: [list] [*]Misinterpretation: Brian seems to have misinterpreted the article's intent. The article does not prioritise financial considerations over inclusivity but rather includes both as important factors. [*]Overlooking content: Brian's comment about accessibility for people with disabilities overlooks that the article does mention "Ease of travel for attendees" under the "Location and Accessibility" section. [*]Collaborative approach vs. confrontational tone: While the article encourages collaboration and updating of information, Brian's comment takes a more confrontational approach. [*]Accuracy concerns: Brian's point about the accuracy of religious holiday information is valid and aligns with the article's request for help in updating the list. [/list] In conclusion, while Brian raises some valid points (e.g., the need for more specific accessibility information and concerns about accuracy), his comment seems disproportionately harsh and confrontational given the article's overall inclusive intent and openness to collaboration. The comment appears somewhat provocative, possibly stemming from past frustrations with Joomla events, rather than being a fully justified response to the content of this particular article. I have to agree with Claude and hope that AI can be seen as a more impartial judge, especially by highlighting the facts and taking out some of the emotional responses. My nan’s often heard response, “more light, less heat” is still in my ears and next month we’ll have an article about just this, the way we can misinterpret others' tone and get into arguments that are us reading others with our own inner voices and not listening to what they are actually saying. Might be worth a revisit of that article for next month.
Brian Teeman on Tuesday, 23 July 2024 08:19
Please ignore everything that I wrote in the first comment.

Please ignore everything that I wrote in the first comment. The article I commented on is NOT the same article that you can see now. A crucial paragraph (How can they plan this on Christmas Day) has been added to the article that was not present when I commented but was present when claude was used. If it had been present then my comments about only thinking about the money and not about inclusivity would not have been made. I guess it was an oversight that is was not mentioned when you made the other edits to the article.

You might consider it obvious that an event should be wheelchair accessible and it should not even need to be stated. I happen to share that view as well. Sadly from experience everyone doesnt share that view/knowledge as we have had Joomla events where at least parts of the venue where in non-wheelchair accessible locations. I am referring to accessibility in the venue and not accessibility in travelling to the venue.

The reason for querying the source of the religious dates is that the data for judaism (the only religion I can speak on) is biased towards dates that are holidays as opposed to holy days. As a quick for example the 8 days of Hannukah are not a holy day but they have become a holiday (a jewish xmas in some countries). So while in some countries travel might be more expensive at that time, there is no Diversity & Inclusion reason to avoid those dates.

You might want to spend 30 minutes listening to the excellent talk by Crystal & Sigrid - they get it https://program.foss-backstage.de/fossback23/talk/UZAEDN/

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Please ignore everything that I wrote in the first comment. The article I commented on is NOT the same article that you can see now. A crucial paragraph (How can they plan this on Christmas Day) has been added to the article that was not present when I commented but was present when claude was used. If it had been present then my comments about only thinking about the money and not about inclusivity would not have been made. I guess it was an oversight that is was not mentioned when you made the other edits to the article. You might consider it obvious that an event should be wheelchair accessible and it should not even need to be stated. I happen to share that view as well. Sadly from experience everyone doesnt share that view/knowledge as we have had Joomla events where at least parts of the venue where in non-wheelchair accessible locations. I am referring to accessibility in the venue and not accessibility in travelling to the venue. The reason for querying the source of the religious dates is that the data for judaism (the only religion I can speak on) is biased towards dates that are holidays as opposed to holy days. As a quick for example the 8 days of Hannukah are not a holy day but they have become a holiday (a jewish xmas in some countries). So while in some countries travel might be more expensive at that time, there is no Diversity & Inclusion reason to avoid those dates. You might want to spend 30 minutes listening to the excellent talk by Crystal & Sigrid - they get it https://program.foss-backstage.de/fossback23/talk/UZAEDN/

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