Our team is on the way to Athens, Greece in anticipation of our WordCamp Europe 2023 recap post, where we’ll be dishing all the latest updates and industry news for all things WordPress.
Join us from June 8-10, 2023 and make sure to bookmark this page to keep up with all the latest happenings. We’ll be posting live recap notes from our team, including key takeaways from sessions and panel discussions. Plus, catch all the community excitement as we celebrate WordPress’s 20th Anniversary.
Need a refresher on what happened last year? Take a stroll through memory lane as we gathered together in Porto, Portugal for WordCamp Europe 2022.
Event highlights ahead of our WordCamp Europe 2023 recap
Each year, WordPress events are held in various cities across the globe, and everyone from content creators to Core software committers gather together to learn, network and contribute to the open source WordPress project — a software platform that powers 43% of all websites.
Additionally, WordCamp communities provide much of the power behind the software, offering support and knowledge to one another so that the platform continues to evolve. These capstone events occur in Asia, Europe and North America each year and hold a flagship continental space for all skill sets to join and contribute.
Quick stats at a glance
Location: Athens, Greece
Duration: June 8-10, 2023
Theme: Empowering the Web
Participants: 3,000+
Sessions: 64
Speakers: 90
Organizers: 112
Volunteers: 250
Sponsors: 64
Media Partners: 21
Attendees explore Athens, Greece for WCEU 2023
June in Athens is like stepping into a time machine filled with history, delicious food and positive energy. Attendees will experience a wonderful fusion of past and present cultures, with beautiful views of the Acropolis as a backdrop. The event will take place at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre, one of the largest venues in the capital, and is central to a variety of historical landmarks within the city.
Here, attendees can stroll through the crowded streets, watch street performers for entertainment and bask in enticing fragrances from local Greek cafés and food vendors. The Aegean Sea also makes an ideal setting for leisurely walks along the beach promenades.
Contributor Day brings in a new workshop for kids
This year, WordPress aims to provide a platform for individuals of all ages to express themselves. WordCamp Europe has included a special Workshop for Kids session during Contributor Day to introduce WordPress to the younger generation.
In this workshop, children will be given a chance to build their very own website using WordPress. Over three hours, volunteers will assist them in setting up a website, selecting a theme and acquiring the skills to generate various types of content.
Session topics focus on “Empowering the Web”
The theme for this year’s WCEU event will be centered on “Empowering the Web.” You’ll hear from industry experts and community leaders as they discuss subjects like:
Accessibility
Security
Content creation
Web development and more
Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, will also speak on theme variations and the platform’s 20-year anniversary during his presentation on the last day of the event.
WP Connect introduces a new discussion space
This year, WP Connect has added a dedicated space for attendees to meetup, connect and chat about a range of topics while enjoying a coffee. Be sure to stop by on Day 1 from 4:00-4:45 p.m. (EEST) to hear from the following speakers:
Hari Shanker
Afshana Diya
Emanuel Blagonic
Courtney Robertson
For this discussion, the speakers listed above will focus on Five for the Future: How can someone become a sponsored contributor, and how a company can donate an employee to the WP project.
Say hello to the team
As a proud supporter of the WordPress community, the GoDaddy team is eager to join in on the action with nearly 20 representatives from GoDaddy Pro, ManageWP, Pagely and Sucuri.
Adam Warner — Director of Field Marketing
Courtney Robertson — Open Source Web Designer & Developer Advocate
Mike Schroder – Core & Performance team contributor
George Mamadashvili — Gutenberg contributor
Maja Loncar — Field Marketing, EMEA
Marcus Burnette — WooCommerce Community for & Field Marketing Specialist
Justin Nealey — Media Director
Lilly Crick — Pagely Brand Experience Director
Allison Thieme — Pagely Director of Services
Ty Sprock — Pagely Partner Relationship Manager
Predrag Zdravkovic — ManageWP Associate Marketing Manager
Krystle Herbrandson — Sucuri Sr. Marketing Director
Victor Santoyo — Partners Sales Consultant
Evan Herman — Plugin Review Team & Engineer
Jelena Sobic — Advanced Tech Support
Who should attend WordCamp Europe?
WordCamp Europe draws the most diverse crowd of attendees and welcomes all skill sets and backgrounds to join in on the action — whether you’re attending in-person or remotely. It’s an opportunity to meet WordPresser enthusiasts from around the globe, as part of a community ecosystem that includes creators, developers, designers and more.
In-person attendees will also get a chance to meet many individuals in the extender community who create the plugins, themes and other services used across many websites.
What to expect
If you are a first time guest attending the in-person event, be sure to catch the replay of the GoDaddy Field Marketing Team sharing everything from networking professionally to handling first time jitters.
In addition to the phenomenal sessions and Contributor Day, be sure to check out the side events. These are highly anticipated events where familiar friends reconnect and new networking relationships form.
Tracks:
Traditional tracks consist of various speaker sessions spread out throughout the day. You can find discussions and presentations on topics ranging from marketing to web development and much, much more. There will also be a new Wellness Track added to the itinerary for attendees interested in mindful and beginner-level physical activities like hiking, yoga and tai chi.
Take a quick peek at the schedule listings below or check out the europe.wordcamp.org website for more details.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Wellness Track:
Contributor Day:
WordPress Contributor Days are not to be missed — whether at international flagship WordCamps or smaller city-level events (even online). Because WordPress is an open source software, anyone can see and modify the code. Individuals who create the software can:
Translate it
Prepare educational materials
Upload videos of WordPress events
Best part is, you have the ability to participate by joining a WP team on Contributor Day — no matter if you’re attending in-person or by remote access. Keep reading to see how to navigate Contributor Day live at the event or from wherever you are globally.
How to participate in-person:
Contributor Day is open for attendees who pre-registered for the event. The day will begin with a team representative sharing briefly what their team regularly does and what they will be working on that day. Teams break off to different tables and rooms as they get to know and onboard attendees.
By the afternoon, a recap of what transpired that day is shared with all attendees. This is an amazing opportunity to meet those that make WordPress possible for all to use and to give back in ways that match your skill sets.
Courtney Robertson, Mike Schroder, George Mamadashvili, Marcus Burnette, and Evan Herman will be very active at Contributor Day, with some of our staff representing teams as table leads.
Look at the turnout for Contributor Day at #WCEU! It is fantastic to see that so many people want to contribute to WordPress #WCEU2022 pic.twitter.com/evyZ0BU0MQ
— WordCamp Europe (@WCEurope) June 2, 2022
How to participate online:
WordPress community members can participate remotely on Contributor Day by following along on the Make WordPress Slack channel. You’ll need to ensure you have a WordPress account and a Slack account to get started, so make sure you read how to set that up ahead of time by visiting the guidelines here.
Once you’ve completed all the prep work above, follow these three steps on the day of:
Join the Slack channel #contributor-day at 9:30 a.m. (EEST)
Find the team(s) you’d like to partner with and join their coordinating channel
Follow along in the channels for additional guidance
Feel free to chat and ask questions from fellow team members along the way. And don’t forget that everyone is eager to connect, so don’t be afraid to share your thoughts and opinions in the chat. You might have insight that others can benefit from.
Workshops
Registering for a workshop is a great experience for in-person attendees to get their hands dirty by solving practical problems in a group environment. Typical workshop experiences range from: coding, design, marketing strategy, planning and more.
If you are planning on attending, make sure to register ahead of time (as spots are limited) and take note of the following guidelines:
Registration will take place on Contributor Day at 2 p.m. (EEST)
Workshops are based on a first-come, first-serve rollout (plan on arriving ahead)
Each attendee can only register for up to three workshop sessions
Check that you meet the prerequisites (ensure you have all the necessary tools and software loaded before you register)
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the new Workshop for Kids! This dedicated space will allow children to build their own WP website, with guidance from industry experts.
Stay tuned
Our team will be posting updates live from the event. You can follow GoDaddy Pro, ManageWP, Pagely, and Sucuri on Twitter for live coverage, and check back here for additional updates.
The post Everything you need to know ahead of our WordCamp Europe 2023 recap appeared first on GoDaddy Blog.
