When I attended DjangoConUS for the first time in 2023, I was uncertain whether I would be able to attend the next conference. However, as fate would have it, I managed to attend once again, this time with increased responsibilities. I took part in the behind-the-scenes activities that brought our beloved conference to life, and it was a wonderful experience to be part of the team. There was much happening, with numerous moving parts and deadlines to meet to ensure we all had a fantastic time. A big shout-out to the organisers of last year's conference! 🎊🎊
The day before the conference commenced, we held an inaugural Black Python Devs Summit where we discussed leadership and management, featured a panel with diverse leaders, and appreciated each other's company while sharing stories about mental health and technology. Watch and read more about the summit here.
We also had a social that tends to happen before the conference to ease everyone into the conference. I highly recommend you attend one. I got to meet Will again, and this time, I got the three books he authored signed! Thanks Will!
Earlier last year, I applied for the director position on the Django Events Foundation North America board. DEFNA is a non-profit organisation that runs DjangoConUS, and I had the privilege of being one of the directors, which entails various responsibilities along with a touch of fun, especially since we enjoyed dinner together at the conference whilst discussing the next steps for 2024 and 2025.
In addition to my director duties, I chaired the conference's Code of Conduct committee and volunteered to be a session chair. As a session chair, my responsibilities were:
- Arriving in the room 15 minutes before the session began,
- Checking the speaker's preferred pronouns,
- Confirming whether they would be taking questions,
- Introducing the speaker,
- Keeping track of time during the talk,
- Monitoring for any violations of the Code of Conduct.
It may not seem like much at first, but the number of sessions adds up if you participate in more than three. I got carried away and signed up for five excellent sessions. I also volunteered to be a session chair because I wanted to attend the sessions in person. Plus, it helped me get my steps in, so no complaints!
Everything is always better with friends. I dragged Afi along with me. She volunteered as both a session chair for some sessions and a session manager. Session managers are responsible for session chairs and are on hand to assist during that time. Afi and I are "the terrible twos", as Dru would have dubbed us if we were starring in Despicable Me. We should have a Despicable Me theme in DjangoCons with minions running around in costumes draped with conference colours!
If you missed the talks, they are all accessible on Youtube.
As the Code of Conduct chair, I ensured that the environment was welcome and respectful for all. I got the help of Peter and Doreen, who helped with the online and physical parts of the conference too to ensure everything was okay. Part of the role was ensuring that the conference report was published for transparency. You can read about it here
I also got to make the opening remarks for the second day of the conference, which had me over the moon. I introduced Mario, who was the keynote speaker of the day, such a nice person and a good keynote speaker. The hat demonstration was a 10/10.
After the second day of the conference, a couple of us went to the arcade, where I could not for the life of me make the claw machine pick up a plushie. But worry not—no plushies were harmed; they were just rescued from the claw machine, thanks to Marc.
I was fortunate to be a panellist at the end of the conference to discuss the role of mentorship, open source, and support systems in its success, as well as the impact of communities and programmes such as Django Girls, PyLadies, Djangonaut Space, and Black Python Devs. All these communities and programmes rely on donations, and any amount you can contribute will support the right cause.
Being part of the panel made me reflect on my journey in open source and my growth through the years, and more is still to come. Fun fact about the panel: it's filled with Djangonauts 🚀.
I want to invite you to join this year's conference. Come along, and let's have fun, chat, and contribute to open-source projects during the sprints.
This year's conference will be in Illinois Chicago from September 8th to 12th, 2025. Be part of the conference by buying a ticket or submitting your talk proposal. If you would like to sponsor the conference, reach out to us.
Feel free to donate to DEFNA and the Django Software Foundation, both of which support Django events and activities globally.
See you at the conference 🤗!
Top comments (4)
Great article! It was lovely to meet you last year and hopefully see you again this year, as well.
yes, definitely!
Great work and article on your experience 🚀
See you at this year's DjangoCon US.
Girl, you know it!