You didn’t manage to take part in the biggest WordCamp in Berlin from June 20 to 22, 2019? Then I’d better tell you what you’ve missed out on.
The WordCamp is a congress that is about WordPress from start to finish. WordPress is currently the most used content management system on the Internet. According to Kinsta, 34% of all websites are built with WordPress. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get to know exciting topics and people around WordPress. Especially as co-organizer of the Düsseldorf WordPress Meetup I had to take part.
I would not recommend anything to you I’ve not been using enthusiastically myself. Bold links are affiliate links. I recommend what you’ll find there and If you make a purchase, I will get a commission without additional costs to you.
WordCamp Europe 2019 Day 1
Contributor Day & Elementor Meetup
I couldn’t attend the Contributor Day but I had to visit the Elementor Meetup in the evening. I know almost every page builder available for WordPress. Elementor is currently my first choice for projects where editors have design ambitions.
At the event, Ben Pines explained Elementor‘s vision and direction for the future. Own Your Future! We formed working groups to discuss various topics. I joined Siggi Becker‘s group. We talked about how important strong communities are for digital products. The community representative lady from Envato shared her point of view as well.
It was nice to meet the ladies and gentlemen of Elementor in person. I even met Ferdy Korpershoek and we talked shop about the future of WordPress in general and Page Builders in particular.
WordCamp Europe 2019 Day 2
Friday June 21
As relaxed as the Elementor Meetup was the evening before, the WordCamp program was as tight. I would have liked to take part in the Rest API Workshop. Unfortunately I would have had to register at 8:00 in the morning. By 9:00 a.m., all available places had long since been taken.
At 10 o’clock I had to decide between the 3 tracks, and WP Cafe also ran. I had to learn where everything took place. The decision and participation process became more fluid then. At the beginning this was not the case.
I was very impressed by how the catering was handled with over 2700 participants. Very smooth. The friendly staff even provided soy milk for my coffee during the coffee break upon asking.
At lunch there were separate tables with vegetarian and vegan food. Unfortunately it was not recognizable what was vegan and what was vegetarian. Even some kosher food was laid out on another table. The salads were unfortunately packed in plastic but something is always wrong, right? 😉
WordCamp Europe 2019 Day 3
Saturday June 22
Again there were three parallel tracks. Three workshops in the morning and three in the afternoon too. Later in the day it wdly downhill with my receptiveness. The permanent participation in talks and workshops was more exhausting than I had expected. Fortunately, there were frequent snack & coffee breaks to replenish the energy level.
The rations were frequent and plentiful. Many side events were organized. Child care, yoga and even guided meditation could have contributed to my “wellness”. Only in theory though. Unfortunately I was so busy with the tracks that I couldn’t find the time.
After Party & Show
At the After Show Party and also the After Party Show it became interesting. I’ll start with the usual. There was again a decent selection of dishes. Food for vegan / vegetarian / religiously motivated hungry participants. Maybe it’s because I like to cook vegan myself almost every day that I’m quite critical.
This was certainly not vegan star cuisine. If a conventional cook leaves out all ingredients of animal origin, then this is what happens. Dishes with too little taste missing the oomph. But good will counts.
Unfortunately, more people came to the party than expected. Thus there was neither enough space, nor enough beverage vouchers. Allegedly it was planned to issue one beverage voucher per person. In the eagerness of the battle two beverage vouchers per person were promised and handed out. The result: soon there were no more beverage vouchers left in stock. Water was served free of charge at some bars but not at others. In general, some people who wanted to celebrate had to be sent away between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. to follow fire regulations.
There were no seats anywhere in the party area. A disadvantage with regard to accessibility. Of course, this was not optimal for participants with limited mobility.
Three artists and their ensembles imitated Joe Cocker, Madonna and Tina Turner. Their performance also provided material for discussion. The sexualized and objectifying representations of women in the form of lightly dressed dancers did not please all participants. I probably wouldn’t have noticed the dance staff being inappropriate by myself. Political Correctness is apparently not one of my fortes.
The organizers wrote and published a comprehensive justification and apology to the incidents. Quick too.
Personal Conclusion
The whole WordCamp was extensive at information and worth seeing lectures. I will have to rework everything I could not watch on the spot. At least the tracks were filmed. I hope that the material will appear on WordPress TV sometime, edited to single talks. So far only the After Movie and Matt on WordPress can be found there. It would have been wise to take part in the workshops and the WP Cafe. Those will not be available afterwards via video documentation.
The best thing about my first and very intensive WordCamp was for me to get to meet many new people and old acquaintances again in person. In any case, the days in Berlin were worth it. At this point I would also like to express my thanks to the almost perfect organization. I can hardly imagine how much work and money must have gone into the project WordCamp Europe 2019 to create such a gigantic event.
WordCamp Europe 2020 is being held in Porto, by the way. Maybe I’ll see you there?
