Outreachy at EuroPython 2023
The EuroPython Society is in charge of organizing Europython, a world conference. This year's event occurred in Prague, the Czech Republic, and remotely.
The hybrid event started on the 17th of July with a two-day workshop, three conference days, and two days of sprints. It was the biggest Python event I've ever attended.
Without a doubt, the EuroPython team was big on diversity and inclusion, which includes having space for moms, giving privilege to folks from different backgrounds and cultures, and providing onsite support to everyone with the help of ready-to-help and engaging volunteers.
It was a privilege for me to participate in the workshops and experience the sessions run by the outstanding tutors.
There were a lot of exciting and educational sessions during the conference days. The conference days ended with lightning talks from different people. I call it a no-judge, talk-about-anything zone. I appreciate this initiative at the conference, as it allows folks to talk about their projects or any ideas. It's also an opportunity for first-time speakers to experience speaking; everyone was welcoming, listened, and encouraged all speakers by appreciating them.
I ably represented Outreachy and spoke on career building through open source and community participation. Beginners, intermediates, and experts attended the session. Interestingly, folks with projects were interested in knowing more and how they could participate in Outreachy as mentors. Here is the link to my session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=423gqlGBT0Y.
I was honored to host the session for the conference's first lightning talks. It's the fastest session I've hosted, as each speaker, a total of almost 15, had just 5 minutes to speak on their topics. It was such a good experience for me!
Talking about networking, EuroPython 2023 is an excellent space to meet with different people, from attendees to volunteers and sponsors in other career paths, interests, and cultures. In another article, I will share some of my new connections and experiences in Prague.
I shouldn't end this without acknowledging some fantastic folks who made my participation at the conference and experience in Prague worth it.
I met with Deb! This was an exciting moment as Karen, the Software Freedom Conservancy Director, mentioned that Deb would look out for me. This gave me the feeling that I was with someone from Outreachy.
