The role and importance of a (PHP) user group

In our own experience we've discovered that a (PHP) user group is more then just a bunch of people coming together having drinks and talks. For PHPBelgium we've always given all we could. This results in a bi-monthly meeting with two highly appreciated presentations, a bunch of freebees to hand out and most importantly, a free ticket for a major PHP conference in the world. With this presentation we discuss our challenges, our solutions and how we turned a void into a successful and thriving user group for developers, business, governments and educational institutes.