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- 25 November, 2024
DrupalCon Barcelona 2024: The Drupal Couple's Journey
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The Journey Begins
Anilu: The day before the conference, we took a train from Tarragona and gathered with friends for pizza and drinks. It's a busy week with so much to do and so many people to catch up with that it's hard to get away from the hallways or have enough time to finish a conversation. But it's not until we get to the reception when we find people from everywhere all excited to be there once more time.
The Conference Experience
Camoa: The European DrupalCon maintains its distinct character, thanks to the meticulous organization. The venue was well-chosen - spacious and conveniently located, with ample space for contribution activities. However, the exclusively vegetarian menu felt restrictive rather than inclusive. For future events, I'll put meat as my preference, as I personally cannot deal with vegetarian or vegan food.
Anilu: The spacious venue and its beachfront location had everything we needed for a productive week. There was enough space inside and outside to chat with friends, and the food court next to the conference center offered a good alternative to the vegetarian lunch. The expo hall and contribution room's convenient placement allowed contributors to move easily between company duties and working tables - though lunch did interrupt contribution time in the middle of the day. But hey! Eating is important when people are trying to come up with amazing ideas.
The Driesnote: Shaping Drupal's Future
Camoa: The Driesnote was undoubtedly the conference highlight, setting a clear direction for Drupal's future. I've taken to calling it "Drupal Wix" - this new direction is exactly what we needed in today's landscape. I love the idea of having small projects back in Drupal. More adoption means more pages growing on Drupal that we can serve as developers when their needs require it. Two aspects particularly stood out: the Experience Builder's potential to revolutionize UI-based site building, and the thoughtful integration of AI capabilities, with a crucial emphasis on keeping humans in the loop.
Anilu: Drupal CMS stole the spotlight at the Driesnote and throughout the entire conference. What struck me most was seeing how much progress had been made in just 4 months since the Starshot project announcement - the comprehensive demo during the Driesnote showcased this beautifully. While the online demo trial isn't perfect yet, it exceeded my expectations.
The initiative's boldness is inspiring. It's a challenging project management feat, but the progress is tangible and visible. What makes it special is the incredible collaboration - numerous people and organizations working from different angles toward a single goal: creating a new Drupal-based product focused on non-developers, breaking stereotypes, and powering a rebranding of the Drupal open source project. There's still much in development - recipes, AI integration, project browser completion, translations, and tours.
Standout Sessions and Community Initiatives
Camoa: While I'm selective about which talks I attend, two presentations made a lasting impression. The Core Initiatives Status keynote showcased the incredible energy of our initiative leaders and demonstrated our community's commitment to Drupal's evolution. Additionally, our BOF (Birds of a Feather) session about the IXP Initiative proved particularly meaningful. The strong attendance and engagement, coupled with multiple sessions addressing new developer onboarding, confirmed that we're addressing a critical community need.
Anilu: With limited time during conference week, choosing sessions becomes crucial. I always try to explore topics outside my expertise that spark my curiosity. This year, my favorite presentation was "Mastering the Art of the Agency Pitch" by Jam and Tiffany. Among all the important topics - from performance to accessibility to Drupal AI - I chose this business-focused presentation, and it didn't disappoint.
Watching my friends present together, sharing their experiences with such energy, was wonderful. Their fresh approach to tech marketing resonated deeply with me. As developers, we often fall into the trap of explaining the technology behind our solutions when clients really just want us to solve their problems. This insight feels particularly relevant for our community of small and large companies that frequently collaborate on client projects.
Additionally, we met new people, this time a group of Argentinians who joined the event for the first time and discovered the Drupal Latin American community. We were a small group of Latin Americans that gathered with the Spanish speakers in the hallways and also followed the after-hours reunions and walks to the city.
Contribution Day: Where Community Meets Code
Anilu: Last day of the conference we took part in the contribution day. Me in the first-time contributors room running from one table to the other looking for ways to help, and Carlos in the core contributors, more relaxed as he is in his primal element, doing what he knows best, just talking to his friends. I think this is the most important part of the week and the future of Drupal is in these two rooms.
I always admired how mentors freely give their last day in the city to make new people get familiar with the workflow, the dev tools, and mostly connecting people that at the end is what solves so many issues during these events. I think it was Leslie Glynn who said "...the biggest challenge is to break the wall between the two rooms."
Looking to the Future
Camoa: The energy at the event, from both the community and my professional network, left me optimistic about Drupal's direction. While we await Drupal CMS's initial release in January 2025, our community's collective efforts and enthusiasm suggest exciting developments ahead.
Anilu: At the end of the conference and during the next months, I feel very confident in the future of open source in general and Drupal. Sometimes the unknown can be scary, and the world seems unpredictable sometimes, but it gives me a good feeling to know that there are willing people who believe knowledge should be shared and not kept to themselves. The community continues being very self-critical and looking to move forward, watching how the industry is changing and learning from the competition what we should be doing better.
A Drupal Couple
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