DrupalCon Portland Day 3 Recap

Contribution Day has arrived!! There was lots of continued, valuable action on Day 3, the last day of session talks, of DrupalCon Portland 2024. As the engaging session talks and conference booth exhibitions draw to a close, we can take a quick look back on the whirlwind of insights, breakthroughs, and spirited discussions we've experienced today. 

Drupal Branding Panel

Over the previous 12 months, the Drupal Association Board's Marketing Working Group, in conjunction with Promote Drupal, has dedicated efforts to revitalize Drupal's branding. 

This session walked the audience through the freshly proposed Drupal branding developed by Promote Drupal's very own Shawn Perritt. Shawn provided a detailed overview of the branding's new trajectory and shared insights into the rationale behind each design decision, building upon the discussions from the Driesnote. 

Further, attendees saw the unveiling of a revamped DrupalCon logo, alongside new design elements that capture the essence of open source, all elevating Drupal and its sub-brands to a new zenith of design. You can grab all of these fresh, new design assets on the Drupal DAM.

Suzanne Dergacheva from the Marketing Working Group discussed the strides made by Promote Drupal. Nikhil Deshpande discussed the Marketing Strategy. The session allocated time for addressing questions from the audience about the fresh branding as well as the new Drupal Brand Narrative. The session was aimed at all Drupal enthusiasts with an interest in marketing who were eager to discover the latest chapter in Drupal's branding story.

For a detailed explanation of Drupal's refreshed brand, check out this video by Shawn Perritt: Drupal 2024 brand refresh explained.

Drupal Project Initiatives Keynote
Drupal's initiatives form dynamic teams that make great things happen. Some self-organize to introduce new enhancements to the core system, while others coordinate event organization, disseminate diversity best practices, collaborate on promotional materials, and much more.

The keynote today offered a prime opportunity for the Drupal community to meet the initiative leads for the contribution day right at the start of the day in an engaging presentation format.

Participants heard from key community leaders about the projects they were working on, the challenges they face, and how others can get involved: a perfect fit for contribution day.

First the audience was treated to some great success stories from the various Pittsburgh (“Pitch-burgh”) activities. Following this we heard updates on key Drupal initiatives.

Strategic initiatives are where some of the most important innovations in Drupal happen. These are often big picture ideas to add major new features to Drupal that range from improving major apis, to adding better page building, to improving the total cost of ownership by adding quality of life features, and much more. 

Participating in a strategic initiative can be challenging but also rewarding. It's a place to join if you have dedicated time to devote, are willing to listen and learn from the existing contributors and initiative leads before you jump in, and have a strong background in related areas.
Some current strategic initiatives are:

• Automatic Updates 
• Easy out of the box
• Gitlab Acceleration
• Next Generation Page Builder
• Project Browser
• Recipes, Starter Kits and Distributions

Find here more information about the current Strategic Initiatives.

Specifically today we heard success stories and updates from:

• Amber Himes Matz - Issue Queue Initiatives
• Janez Urevc - Gander, The New Drupal Core Performance Testing Framework
• Fran-Garcia Linares - GitLab CI Initiative
• Ted Bowman - Automatic Updates Initiative
• Jürgen Haas - ECA
• Cristina Chumillas - New, modern admin navigation
• Mateu Aguiló Bosch - Single Directory Components 

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First-time Contributor Workshop
It’s common for organizations and individuals to want to start to contribute but aren’t sure exactly how. At Drupalcon we had the First Time Contributor Pathway which is a list of recommended sessions at DrupalCon Portland to help you figure out how to use your particular skills to contribute to the Drupal project.

Those who are new to the process and tools of contributing to Drupal, are always invited to attend one of the First Time Contributor Workshops. Many people will be new to contributing and different opportunities arise based on experience level. If you weren’t able to attend, these are available at many Drupalcons where you can learn how to get up to speed with community tools: Drupal.org, issue queues, communication channels, and if needed, and installing the latest Drupal locally from seasoned mentors. 

Mentored Contributions - Your Drupal Involvement Amplified
Attendees rolled up their sleeves and dove into Drupal contributions with enthusiasm. For those acquainted with our core tools like the issue queue and local development setups, but who needed some direction on selecting issues or navigating the process, our "Mentored Contribution" session was an ideal match. It wasn’t just about learning; participants actively helped in improving Drupal. 

Our team of approachable mentors was on hand, providing the necessary support to get contributors started. Fresh contributors who had just completed the First-Time Contributor Workshop found this session to be a seamless and supportive leap into active Drupal community involvement. A rewarding experience for all, it truly exemplified the collaborative spirit of our community.

Marketing Contributions - The Non-Developer Side of Giving Back
In this year's event, we highlighted the importance of non-developer skill sets, particularly in marketing, by introducing a special marketing track. This emphasis continued into our contribution sessions. We welcomed marketers to step forward and lend their expertise. Contributions made by them were in various forms: crafting Drupal-branded marketing materials, assessing and strategizing content for Drupal.org, and even beyond. 

Writing content, brand evaluation, and other marketing-related tasks were on the agenda. Our community of marketers was indispensable, offering their unique perspective and skill in enhancing the outreach and image of Drupal.

General Contributions - Uniting Experience and Collaboration
During the event, experienced Drupal contributors gravitated towards the General Contribution sessions, each with a preferred team or topic in mind. Diverse groups were in session, ranging from Drupal 10, documentation, and migration to media, front-end, and the Promote Drupal initiative, among others. Participants kept an eye out for the comprehensive list of topics as we transitioned away from the traditional signup spreadsheet. 

While formal mentoring wasn't a component of these sessions, there was never a shortage of friendly, knowledgeable community members ready to assist or team up. True to our ethos, collaboration was at the heart of the action, making the sessions dynamic forums for collective progress.

Drupal Contributors Guide
For more information on getting more involved and contributing to the Drupal project check out the Drupal Contributors Guide.

Next Up
Thursday is DrupalCon industry summits and training sessions. Summits give attendees the opportunity to learn and collaborate with Drupal community members in similar fields or with similar interests. Summits are full day sessions scheduled when there are no general conference sessions happening, so you won’t miss anything from the main event, a perfect way to close out your Drupalcon. See you there.