2023-10-20

DrupalCon Lille 2023: waffles, hiking, AI in the DXP, and a silver medal

DrupalCon Lille 2023 highlights: 1300 participants, the Drupal hiking group, AI for marketeers and editors, a remote colleague finally met in person, and a son winning silver at sports.

Giant #DRUPALCON letters on stage at Lille Grand Palais with DrupalCon Lille 2023 17-20 October branding

DrupalCon Europe 2023 in Lille. Some personal highlights and thoughts.

Before the conference: hiking

WW2 German bunkers on a green hillside with sheep grazing in the foreground - Drupal hiking group day

The Drupal hiking group was active again. A day in nature, with some WW2 history, before a conference week really clears the mind. Worthwhile.

The conference

Aerial group photo of 1300 DrupalCon Lille attendees filling the Grand Palais atrium, someone holding up Lil Rooster in the centre

1,300 participants from all over the world. I loved connecting with people from India, UK, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia, France, and probably more I'm forgetting.

I heard about some exceptional sessions. Sarah Furness on leadership is one to watch. I didn't attend sessions myself apart from the Driesnote and the closing session: I was doing presentations and demos of my own.

What people came to see

There was a lot of interest in AI for marketeers (personalisation in the Dropsolid DXP), for content editors (OpenAI in Drupal), and for search (embeddings). I have a burning passion for this right now. Ping me for more.

Meeting a remote colleague in person

Since we work with remotes, it was great to finally meet a colleague we'd been working with for three years, in person for the first time. Three years, then a handshake in Lille.

The evenings

Two people in baseball caps at a Lille bar, smiling, one wearing a Development t-shirt

On the sidelines: a silver medal

Balancing private life with all these Drupal events is genuinely hard. But last Saturday I coached my son at a sports competition and watched him conquer his fears, conquer opponents, and win silver. I am so proud.

I think we as adults also set an example to our kids through exploring our passions and showing dedication. At his competition I was thinking about the uncertainty around AI and the future of content. Real life experiences like that moment are not replaceable by something generated. The managed content sources we build will be the breeding ground for AI content. Safekeeping the quality of our sources is of vital importance.

What's coming in 2024

Dev Days in Burgas (Bulgaria), contribution day in Helsinki (Finland), DrupalCon in Barcelona, Mountain Camp in Davos, DrupalCamp in Ghent.

Thanks

To the contributors, photographers, presenters, waffle bakers, hotel bookers, t-shirt fixers, and the visionaries: Dominique De Cooman, Dries Buytaert. And to Joris Vercammen, Bram Driesen, Els Knevels, Sara Fiems, Milou de Hoon, Steven Pepermans, Eva Colpaert, Glen Huygens, Kwinten Hardies, Arto Iijalainen, Mikko Hämäläinen, and more.