Outreach Report: November 2023
Zanzibar, an island in the Indian Ocean about 30 kilometers off the coast of Tanzania, was the site of the inaugural Django Africa conference I attended in November 2023.
I spoke at DjangoCon Africa 2023 on internships and mentorship as catalysts for career growth. I emphasized the need to start, effectively use, and grow even more by giving back to the ecosystem, drawing on multiple prior internships with Outreachy and other tech experiences.
DjangoCon Africa was an exceptional conference, and I’m glad I showed up and did it so well. I am grateful for my beautiful connection, the folks who connected to Outreachy via my session, and the post-session.
PS: There are typically three parts to my talks: getting ready, the actual presentation, and the Q&A session afterward, where I hear people out, answer their questions, and clarify anything they need.
As part of the Community Design for Inclusivity theme, I also spoke about community interaction at the Open Life Science program (Open Seed Cohort 8). Sharing what I have learned from Outreachy and other spaces, I discussed the importance of thinking about various forms of community engagement. The session replay can be watched here.
The rest of November was devoted to preparing for the internship with my team, starting in December 2023. At the same time, I manage the Outreachy social platforms, handling communication with contributions, assisting those having difficulty submitting final applications, following up with mentors, and working as a team to finalize and connect all the necessary dots.
We successfully announced the December 2023 interns, and I’m happy and looking forward to engaging with them during this three-month journey.
