Reflections on WordCamp Europe 2024: Gratitude, Challenges, and the Path Forward
Firstly, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to my travel fund crowdfunding campaign. Your generosity made it possible for me to attend WordCamp Europe and continue my advocacy for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIBDEIB DEIB stands for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.) within the WordPress community. Your support is invaluable, and I am deeply appreciative of your belief in my mission.
Sidenote: In some form inspired by my crowdfunding campaign, the WP Community Collective has now a dedicated stipend through the Incentivizing DEIB in WP program for folks who are publicly advocating for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Thank you, Courtney Robertson and Sé Reed for your incredible initiative.
International travel with mobility issues
Even if the hip replacement surgeries in 2021 and 2022 made a huge difference in my mobility, the overall mobility has not yet improved as I hoped for. Dealing with multi-systemic chronic health issues is an uphill battle on a daily basis. Traveling internationally needs a lot of preparation upfront. From environmental sustainability point of view, traveling via train would be the best option. But this would have put me in a lot of hassle. 13 to 15 hours with at least six train changes. By car, it would have been without breaks about 10 hours.
So I chose the next best sustainable option by flying out from Frankfurt, Germany – the nearest airport with a direct connection to Turin. Starting early in the morning, around 6am, to avoid traffic jams during the two-hour car ride from my door to the pre-booked parking spot near the terminal 1.
Thanks to the pre-booked mobility service at the airport, it is less stressful and painful for me to get to my departure gate. From the check-in counter to security, I got a lift by a caddy cart. After the security check, I got wheel chaired to the gate. I learned to embrace some of the perks of having mobility issues, like skipping the long lines at security and boarding.
Briefly after I’ve arrived at my gate, Bob Dunn (BobWP), the founder of DotheWoo Podcasts, texted me about where I am at the airport. His flight the day before got cancelled and he got booked on the same plane as mine. So we spent quite a time chatting, and eventually, we ran in other WordPress peeps as well.
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The flight was unspectacular, besides having a group of teenagers going back to Italy from a school trip. Thanks for carrying earplugs in every bag.
The weather in Turin was good, and I managed to film the landing with my iPhone.
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Around 3pm, I finally arrived at my booked apartment near the train station Porta Nuova. While planning my trip, I thought this would be a good spot to stay. The apartment itself and the surroundings were fine, but it ended in spending time and money to get to the venue and side events by Taxi. I was too cautious about my physical and mental energy levels, which would have been more depleted by using public transport.
On Wednesday evening, I was invited to the Codeable dinner and spent good quality time catching up with old friends and making new connections.
Contributor Day
The organizing team of WordCamp Europe 2024 invited me as a table lead for the dedicated table for the global WordPress DEIB working group. DEIB stands for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Even if the group is still in the early stages, we already accomplished a lot. Besides having a dedicated channel in the Make WordPress Slack workspace, we also have a GitHub repository and regular meetings.
Being a table lead at Contributor Day for a relatively young DEIB working group presented its own set of challenges. Without established workflows, we had to navigate the day’s activities with flexibility and creativity. The lack of a structured framework sometimes felt daunting, but it also provided an opportunity to shape the processes and set a foundation for future contributions. Read about the results of the “DEIB table”.
The Sword of Damocles: Uncertainty of the Future of a people and culture team
Despite the progress, there’s an underlying feeling of uncertainty about the future of our working group. There are some overlapping areas with projects and initiatives by the Sustainability Team, the “Five for the Future” working group, the Contributor Mentorship working group, the Community Team, the Contributor Dashboard working group. Angela Jin, Head of Programs & Contributor Experience, invited members of each group who were attending WordCamp Europe in person to discuss the matter with WordPress project executive Josepha Haden-Chomphosy.
The meeting was convened to address the overlapping initiatives among various WordPress contributor groups and explore ways to enhance collaboration and streamline efforts. The primary goal was to avoid duplication of work and ensure that all teams are aligned and working efficiently towards shared objectives.
The idea of creating a united People and Culture team, alongside the established Sustainability team, hangs over us like the Sword of Damocles. This period of transition is crucial, and the decisions made will significantly impact the trajectory of our work and its impact on the community.
During the Q&A after the WordPress summer update by project co-founder Matt Mullenweg, stepped up (again) to the mic to ask about him how he now stands about having a people and culture team. I raised the idea of establishing a formal DEIB team last year during the similar setting and published a formal proposal. See and listen to it on the recorded live stream clip on YouTube.
My Question: Hi my name is Birgit and I’m currently the spearhead of the DEIB working group. Last year at WordCamp Europe I proposed a formal DEIB team. Can we finally have a people and culture team to improve and be as a shared resource for all contributors I get us so often if we finally get some formal team that we can be more visible with our work?
Answer by Matt Mullenweg: Well I’m happy to check out the proposal um I would say you know one thing that comes to mind is that that should be embedded to every every single team right it’s part of our doing the mentorship programs it’s part of like literally everything we do and so um I want it to I don’t want it to be just one team and so I’d love to have some feedback on like where it’s doing well but I’ll have to read your proposal I don’t know if there’s enough things contained in that question where I could say yes or no.
Pacing myself through Conference Days and side events
During the conference days, I had the chance to meet with long-term friends and make connections with new friends to be. I am grateful for the recognition from many within the community regarding the value of the work I am doing in advocating for DEIB. It is encouraging to know that my efforts to be a voice for those who are often unheard or ignored are being acknowledged. This recognition fuels my passion and commitment to continue advocating for inclusivity and equity within WordPress.
But attending WordCamp Europe as a person with mobility issues presented significant challenges. Some side events were not suitable for my energy levels, and I had to make difficult decisions to prioritize my well-being.
For the social event for speakers, sponsors, volunteers, organizers I would have loved to go to, but I got invited to a get-together organized by Human Made and I skipped the Pride Party in favor of having a nice dinner with the Contributor Day Table leads, hosted by Hostinger. With more energy, I might have been able to attend more events in an evening, but having in mind to be active the next day, I needed to pace myself.
Not only deciding which side events, I wanted to attend to, but also choosing accessible restaurants, was challenging. Unfortunately, not every restaurant or café had a website or published opening hours and state of accessibility. On Sunday, after the conference days, I met with my good friend Michelle Frechette for lunch and dinner, who currently needs to travel on a motorized mobility scooter. Finding a good spot to meet with a group of people, but also making sure that there is enough room to navigate with the scooter and find a chair without armrests. Speaking of chairs … in my experience in Italy, there are not very comfortable chairs for persons like me with a bigger body.
Meaningful Conversations and Positive Experiences
Despite the challenges, my experience at WordCamp Europe was overwhelmingly positive. I had numerous meaningful and deep conversations with fellow contributors and attendees in the hallways or during impromptu brunch/lunch or dinner meetups.
As one of the co-hosts of the DotheWoo Podcast show “The WordPress Way”, I opted in to cover for some hours the sponsor booth. We had a lot of fun there. See the group photo of most of the co-hosts who were attending WCEU this year:
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However, there remains a frustration: the ongoing struggle to secure sponsors to fund my contribution hours as a non-code contributor. The work we do in DEIB is critical, yet it often goes unsupported financially. This lack of sponsorship not only impacts my ability to contribute but also reflects a broader issue of undervaluing non-code contributions within the community.
Moving Forward
As I reflect on these experiences, I am more committed than ever to pushing for greater inclusivity, support, and recognition for all contributors. The journey is challenging, but with your continued support and advocacy, we can create a more inclusive and equitable WordPress community.
Thank you once again for your support and for joining me on this journey. Let’s continue to work together to ensure that every voice is heard and valued.
