DjangoCon US 2023 Recap

Transcript

1. DjangoCon US 2023 Recap by Katherine “Kati” Michel
2. About Me • I am a Python/Django developer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. • Django is a web development framework based on Python • I do task orchestration and distributed systems engineering DEFNA (Django Events Foundation North America) About being a DEFNA Board Member • We oversee the high level details of DjangoCon US DEFNA Directors: Peter, Drew, Jeff, Adam, me, Nichole, Carol, Tim Not pictured: Jen
3. DjangoCon US Website Designs I’ve Been Part Of 2023 2019 2020 2022
4. Conference High Level Details • Held in October • At the Durham Marriott City Center • 1 day of talks, 3 days of tutorials, 2 days of sprints “Hallway Track”
5. Conference High Level Details • 276 in-person attendees • 167 online attendees Attendee photo in front of the Convention Center
6. Travel Serendipity! Sunday afternoon: Django Girls • Stumbled upon workshop • 23,000+ women have attended and been introduced to Django through a time-tested tutorial Django Girls Workshop at Caktus
7. More Travel Serendipity! Sunday night: Django Social • At Ponysaurus Brewery • Who is this woman who knows so much about open source? • New PSF (Python Software Foundation) Executive Director Me and Deb Nicholson, new PSF Executive Director
8. Favorite Authors Eric Matthes, William Vincent, Jeff Triplett, fellow DEFNA Board Members Books by William Vincent Book by Eric Matthes Newsletter by William Vincent and Jeff Triplett
9. Finding Purpose in Open Source Through Community Building- Abigail Mesrenyame Dogbe Key Takeaways • She has helped organize dozens of Django Girls, PyCon, and DjangoCon events across Ghana and Africa • She has gotten to know a number of community members and identified unrealized potential in them • She taught them how to do tasks, then left then alone to grow into leadership. She has “10x’d” her impact that way. Me and Abigail, longtime friends on social media, finally meeting in person
10. What Can the DSF Do For Me? What Can I Do for the DSF? - Chaim Kirby, DSF President Key Takeaways • Django membership will now go beyond code and documentation to recognize the myriad of ways that people support the mission • The DSF is re-distributing power from the DSF Board to working groups so that more people can get things done Django Co-lead Jacob Kaplan-Moss talking to attendees about the new DSF Working Groups initiative
11. Navigating Django’s Future: Djangonaut Space- Dawn Wages, PSF Chair, Rachell Calhoun, Django Girls Trustee Key Takeaways • Django needs more core devs and more diversity • That is how Djangonaut Space core dev mentorship program was born. It is a “roaring success.” • Djangonaut Space is not just for underrepresented people, but the goal is to make everyone comfortable. Djangonaut Space stats
12. An Active Approach to Inclusion is More Effective than a Passive One Common theme that works • Invite underrepresented people in, empower them • Encourage them to do things they might not think they are capable of doing • They break their own boundaries The Magic of Django Girls- Dawn and Rachell are alumnae
13. Don’t Buy the “AI” Hype- Tim Allen Key Takeaways • Fun fact: DjangoCon US 2022 Conference Chair was Logan Kilpatrick, the first OpenAI DevRel hire • Media hypes, then attacks AI which creates harmful polarization • We need to instead see AI as a tool in our toolbox Tim on stage
14. An Approach to Lightweight Tenancy Using Django Rest Framework- Eliana Rosselli Key Takeaway • Slack is multi-tenancy • Lightweight multi-tenancy can be created using nested API paths and checking a user tenant’s set for permission Nested API paths and permissions Multi-tenancy
15. Testing Modern Web Apps Like a Champion- Andrew Knight Key Takeaways • The Testing Pyramid is “bs”- all tests are unique and special • pytest and Django test client are excellent, but not enough • Gave an overview of white and black box testing tools Testing like a Champion Modern Testing Goals
16. Inside Out: My Journey of Understanding Inclusion- Natalia Bidart, DSF Fellow Key Takeaways • Natalia gave examples of prejudice she has faced as a woman • She explained unconscious bias. Her hope is that we will reflect to improve the Django community Double bind Double bind paradoxes
17. DjangoCon Africa Key Takeaways • Daniele Procida spoke • African PyCons and DjangoCon have special questions, including about safety • We should be asking them of all countries Daniele Procida, DjangoCon Africa Keynoter and Organizers
18. DjangoCon US 2023 Stats • ~10 Black speakers • Majority Black Django Girls participants • Dedicated activities for Black attendees through Black Python Devs organization Django Girls African friends… beautiful on the inside and out
19. Most fun DjangoCon US… Growing Diversity “I haven’t seen so many African and Black faces, non-white faces, as a proportion of an event outside of Africa.” - Daniele Procida, African Python/Django event organizer and Canonical Director of Engineering “I had to stand in line at the women’s bathroom. I’ve never had to do that before at a conference.” - Natalia Bidart, Django Fellow
20. Some of My Best Conference Tips • Take business cards • Sit with people you don’t know to “10x” your networking • Keep track of the people you meet and reconnect • Take advantage of the “hallway track”, you can watch replays later • Hang around “in the lobby” for serendipity Hanging around in the lobby led to dinner with Guido van Rossum at PyCascades in February 2020
21. Where Next? Another PyCon Africa is in the works Will it happen in 2024? April in Austin, Texas June in Viga, Spain 2024 location not yet determined May in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
22. Board Dinner at Parizade Parizade dining room Linguini and clams
23. Speaker and Organizer Dinner at The Pit The Pit dining room Another delicious, southern-style meal
24. In Closing • Hope you enjoyed my recap :) Resources • Talk replays: https://www.youtube.com/@DjangoConUS/videos • DjangoCon US website recap: https://2023.djangocon.us/ • My detailed DjangoCon US Recap blog post: https://katherinemichel.github.io/portfolio/djangocon-us-2023-recap.html • DEFNA website: https://www.defna.org/ • Talk Topic Ideas list: https://katherinemichel.github.io/portfolio/djangocon-us-2023-topics-inspiration-l ist.html • Black Python Devs Recap: https://blackpythondevs.com/2023-10-20-djangoconus/
25. Sarah P. Duke Gardens Glorious nature H.L. Blomquist Pavilion Pink flowers Fish pool, terraces, pergola Red Bridge
26. Dinner with Django Creators, Former DSF President, and Wharton School Friends It’s a Southern Thing: Crispy Catfish Chocolate core, bourbon dip, strawberry topping Simon Says Dip This counter Our table after an incredible meal
27. Duke Chapel Key Takeaway: More travel serendipity Duke Chapel Duke Chapel altar with elite child choir performing… magical!
28. The Museum of Life and Science Key Takeaway: Second chance to see a lemur! Lemur Exhibit Butterfly House and Insectarium