+1 from me - the facetime Patrick will get from this for the hackathon and the rest of the conference will be very helpful in moving the project along.
Haven't you funded this in years past too? This seems like a no-brainer. Of course Patrick should be there, and if he needs help this seems like exactly what the Hague grant was designed for (to make development of Perl6 easier / faster).
I was very disappointed that Patrick was not at YAPC::NA in Asheville -- I've always found his talks to be very interesting, educational and inspiring. I won't be at YAPC::EU, but for what it's worth, I think it's a good idea to grant the request. He was missed in Asheville; surely his presence would be appreciated in Europe?
Deven
Isn't there a formal proposal written by the applicant?
Another +1 from me. I went to his talk at YAPC::NA last year and it was absolutely captivating. I left with a renewed desire to play with Perl 6 and learn more about Parrot. I am also impressed by his depth of knowledge and focus when talking to him in person - I've no doubt that he must bring that to face-to-face hacking - in spades.
Having attended the Perl 6 hackathon and brainstorming session at last year's YAPC::EU, I can attest at how productive it was.
So I'm all in favor of sending Patrick to YAPC::EU, it is money well spent.
As one of the other core developers of Rakudo, I can say that having the chance to meet up and work with Patrick face-to-face - something that hasn't happened since YAPC::EU last year - will be highly valuable.
Rakudo development has been very exciting recently, and it's important that we - along with other Rakudo developers - can set the goals and priorities for the months ahead. These things are always done far more easily and efficiently by having the key players in the same room.
+1 to Travel to YAPC::EU
+1 Bringing Perl 6 developers together is a good thing.