2024-09-27
DrupalCon Barcelona 2024: the DrupalCon of hope
DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 had an incredible vibe of positivity. AI panels, French government AI reducing complaint processing from 19 to 3 days, a Catalan Christmas log that poops presents, and Barcelona itself.
"The DrupalCon of hope." That's how my colleague Stef De Waele described it. There was an incredible vibe of positivity, not only in the Driesnote, but in all sessions and initiatives. It all went by so fast.
Barcelona
It started with a great introduction by Cristina Chumillas, who explained that the sun shines 300 days a year in Barcelona and that the siesta is a myth. She also explained the Catalan Christmas tradition of the Tió de Nadal, the log that children beat with sticks until it produces presents.
Not only that intro was good. The entire conference was very well organised. Thanks DrupalCon Europe.
I fell a little bit in love with Barcelona. Coming from Belgian grey weather into sun by the sea just feels so good. I went running along the waterfront every morning.
Sessions
I was in the AI panel with James Abrahams and Marcus Johansson, in front of a serious crowd.
The session that stuck in my mind most was David Suissa's: they have a French AI running for 20,000 French government employees. It helped reduce the time to process complaints from 19 days to 3. Three.
Kudos to James Abrahams for the work he's doing on the AI module. What a contrast with the year before.
The conference
Contribution day
I was able to get some tickets merged, and that felt great. Seeing other people jumping in and helping is one of the best things about these events. Together we can do so much more.
Next year
The people from Austria will have to do their best to top this.
