DrupalCon Prague is right around the corner! Here at the Drupal Association, we could not be more excited for the conference to be back in person for our European community for the first time in three years. DrupalCon Portland was a great success, and we're reminded that nothing matches the excitement and energy of seeing each other (safely) in person. DrupalCon is an essential opportunity for individuals and organizations in the Drupal ecosystem, a key way to support the programs of the Drupal Association as a non-profit, and the place where many friendships, connections, major Drupal contributions are made, and project milestones achieved. 

Dries shared this invitation for you to join us at DrupalCon Prague:

I'm excited that DrupalCon Europe is back in person and looking forward to meeting the global community in Prague. DrupalCon is the heartbeat of Drupal innovation, a place to grow your network and skills, and a community homecoming. I hope you join us in Prague!

-- Dries Buytaert, Drupal Founder, and Project Lead.

Why DrupalCon?

The DrupalCon events are the largest gathering of the Drupal community in the world. Each year, we meet at regional Drupal camps, meetups, and other events in more than 200 countries. But DrupalCons serve as the community’s primary major gathering.  There is nothing like DrupalCon.  Whether it be to find inspiration, business and networking opportunities, learning, contribution, job networking, or seeing old friends and making new ones from across the globe, DrupalCons offer something for everyone. 
 

With the next conference coming up in September, you may be wondering – what all goes into planning a DrupalCon? From logistics to the program schedule and everything in between, many decisions are made behind the scenes during the planning period. To get you ready and in the conference spirit, we thought it would be helpful to have a look behind the scenes!
 

Who's involved in creating DrupalCon?

DrupalCon is a program of the Drupal Association and is the original reason the Drupal Association was founded! There have been more than 40 DrupalCons, all over the world and online. The Drupal Association staff and board select the host locations for DrupalCon based on several factors: local community presence, venue availability, ease of travel, and strength of the business ecosystem. Every host city selection balances these factors and fundraising for Association programs to support the community. 

The Drupal Association works with key partners and vendors in the region of DrupalCon. In North America, the Drupal Association is the primary event organizer, with event production support from organizations like Social Enterprises and the local conference center staff.   The consultant-based relationship assists our small team with logistics such as venue contracts, event set-up, registration, sponsor support, and more.

In Europe, DrupalCon is licensed to Kuoni Congress, which first partnered with the Drupal Association to bring the event to the European community in 2019. We began this relationship because Kuoni's European staff and regional connections to venues in our host cities are invaluable. As a small organization, having their more local view and understanding of the region to supplement our team has been incredible. After 4+ years of working very closely with Drupal Association staff and local Drupal associations, Kuoni Congress is a firm part of the Drupal community. They’ve worked hard to keep the event alive, even during the last two years when revenue did not cover their cost to execute the event.  We are grateful to Kuoni and Social Enterprises for their continued support and dedication to DrupalCon and the Drupal community.
 

Finally, the other key part of putting together a DrupalCon is you!  No matter where DrupalCon is located, both the Drupal Association and Kuoni Congress rely on volunteers in the community to create programming, organize contribution events, and promote the event. Dozens of volunteers are involved in every event. We could not do it without you! 

Who determines the DrupalCon programming?

For every DrupalCon, we have consulted with passionate community members when selecting programming! For each DrupalCon, submissions are open during our Call for Speakers, where we welcome community members to submit their session ideas. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to accept all of the submissions that we receive – we wish that we could! Thus, we have a team of Drupal community volunteers that goes through and recommends the sessions submitted by the community members. This is a careful process that is done with much consideration and time. These community volunteers take on the difficult task of balancing new and returning voices, recommending a variety of topics, and keeping the programming on the pulse of the latest trends in Drupal. We're endlessly grateful for their input.

Any community member is welcome to submit a session during the Call for Speakers, with an emphasis on those who are underrepresented in technology, and we are proud to have our Drupal community members be the ones curating the content! By putting the programming in our community’s hands, we’ve facilitated so many incredible sessions, workshops, and contribution days. All of this is possible thanks to you!

During the planning phases of the conference, our teams and consultants work alongside a variety of committees; the DrupalCon Europe Advisory committee, Summit Committees, Speaker Recruitment committees, Contribution mentors, and scholarship mentors to ensure we are engaging the community, welcoming new people, and developing innovative events.

For the Drupal Association, our partners like Kuoni Congress, and the dedicated community volunteers who help make each event special, DrupalCon is a significant endeavor! With so many details needing attention, it’s a long process with many variables. It takes good organization skills to manage to put on a good event while balancing all these considerations! Truthfully, there will always be trade-offs. However, ensuring that the Drupal community can get together to share ideas and make new connections makes it all worth it!

The work of planning and leading an event is intense and can, at times, be grueling and difficult. For this reason, we want to celebrate our leaders like Von Eaton, who led an exceptional DrupalCon North America under complex pandemic circumstances (even as a fairly new Drupal Association employee!), as well as the team at Kuoni who have gone above and beyond to keep DrupalCon Europe engaging and alive throughout the pandemic.  Thank you for all you do.

And finally, to you, thanks for reading and for continuing to be a part of DrupalCon.  We’re looking forward to a fantastic DrupalCon in Prague!