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DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 Highlights: What You Missed!
DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 was an amazing gathering of innovation, collaboration, and community spirit. Over the course of four days, participants came together to explore the latest in Drupal technology, share insights, and contribute to the future of the platform. Each day brought a wealth of insightful sessions and BoFs covering a wide range of topics. Whether you attended in person or couldn't make it, here’s a recap of the key highlights from each day.
Tuesday, 24 September:
The event kicked off with the Opening Ceremony, setting an enthusiastic tone for the week. Esmeralda Braad-Tijhoff, Pamela Barone and Alla Petrovska were honored in the Women in Drupal Awards. The highlight of the day was the Driesnote, where Drupal’s founder and project lead, Dries Buytaert, demonstrated the status of the Drupal Starshot Initiative. His keynote took a deep dive into the features being built for Drupal CMS, particularly its more user-friendly interface and packaged optional features. Attendees were especially excited by the site building AI agents, that make Drupal significantly easier to use. The evening concluded with the lively Opening Reception, offering a perfect chance for attendees to connect and celebrate the start of DrupalCon.
Wednesday, 25 September:
Wednesday brought two captivating keynote sessions that sparked visionary thinking among the attendees.
First, Mónica Rikić, a creative coder and electronic artist, wowed the audience with her insights on how creative practices and coding can be used to develop alternative technologies. She drew strong parallels between her work with robotics to assist people with disabilities and Drupal’s mission of creating an open, accessible web for all.
Later, Theódór Ragnar Gíslason, an ethical hacker and digital security advocate, shared his powerful journey of building safer digital communities. His keynote focused on Defend Iceland, a bug bounty platform revolutionizing the way digital threats are identified. Supported by the European Commission, his talk highlighted the strength of the Drupal community’s security practices and encouraged collaboration to safeguard the digital landscape.
Thursday, 26 September:
Thursday’s program featured the Drupal Initiative Leads Keynote, where leaders of various Drupal CMS teams showcased their research and development process. Attendees got a behind-the-scenes look at the hard work and innovation that goes into keeping Drupal on the cutting edge. Each leader shared their accomplishments and invited the community to get involved.
The day ended on a high note with the Wrap-Up Ceremony, where the achievements of the week were celebrated. DrupalCon's famous Trivia Night followed, bringing out the competitive spirit in a fun and lighthearted atmosphere.
Friday, 27 September:
The final day was dedicated to Contribution Day, where attendees gathered to collaborate, grow and give back to the Drupal community. Whether they were seasoned contributors or new to the process, participants worked together on marketing materials, events, curriculum, code, documentation, and other vital aspects of the platform. It was a fitting end to a week filled with learning, sharing, and collaboration.
A Special Thank You:
We want to take a moment to thank everyone who made DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 a success. From the 1,100 attendees from 67 countries to the incredible sponsors, volunteers, organizing committee, track teams, and speakers—your contributions and enthusiasm made this event unforgettable. The sponsors not only showcased their cutting-edge solutions but also enriched the event with valuable sessions and talks, playing a crucial role in the event's success.
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Wrap-Up:
DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 truly embodied the spirit of the Drupal community, offering more than 100 sessions, four inspiring keynotes, and countless networking opportunities. If you couldn’t make it this year, don’t worry—mark your calendars for DrupalCon Vienna 2025, October 14-17 2025! We can’t wait to see you there for another round of inspiring talks, exciting innovations, and meaningful community connections.
Thank you once again, and see you in Vienna!
*Photo credits Paul Johnson and Bram Driesen