Volunteering at DrupalCon Vienna 2025: A developer’s perspective

The Drupal project is about so much more than just lines of code; it's defined by the incredible community that drives it and the opportunities that arise from that collaboration. 
As a globally influential, open-source platform, Drupal's resilience is rooted in its diverse and multifaceted community. Whether you're a frontend or backend developer, a dedicated site builder, a researcher, or focused solely on core security, there’s a place for you. 

Although my Drupal contributions are usually related to my role as a frontend developer, my week in the beautiful city of Vienna proved to be truly magical, allowing me to contribute to Drupal in one of the most fundamental ways: volunteering.

Why the community needs volunteers

To ensure a massive community event like DrupalCon can run successfully, it relies heavily on volunteers to provide that crucial, personal touch. We're the welcoming faces and the human infrastructure. 

Not only do we bring our energy and smiles, but we are also the primary point of contact to help with directions, problem-solve on the fly, step in to cover each other when things get busy, and pull together when the logistics get a bit hairy.
We volunteer not just to make the running of the conference possible, but to demonstrate a shared ownership and commitment to the future of the Drupal community. It’s a collective effort that underscores the spirit of open source.

Although the total number of individual volunteers who helped throughout the week of DrupalCon is 62, the majority of the work was done by a core group of 20 people. That’s not a lot of people, considering there were about 170 different sessions to cover. 

Getting hands-on

During the conference, I got to experience two completely different, but equally rewarding, sides of the event.

My first role was as a session monitor. This was more on the technical side, where I helped support the speakers with their equipment and presentation set-up. The definite perk here was that I got to listen to and learn from some fantastic talks along the way!

My second role was working in the cloakroom. This is where I truly became a smiling face on the front line! I greeted attendees who had trudged in through the Viennese rain, helped them with their bags and coats, made sure we didn’t knock over any paperclips or spill our morning coffee, and then sent them off to start their day. 

This turned into a genuinely rewarding chance to say hello, exchange a few laughs, forge new friendships and wish everyone a great day.

The unexpected gains

I came home from Vienna with much more than just technical insights from the sessions. By being an active part of the volunteering team, I significantly improved my soft skills, especially in communication and quick thinking.

More rewarding than any technical or professional gain was the deep feeling of satisfaction from actively contributing to such a large, successful event. This led directly to the absolute best reward: new friendships and deeper connections within the Drupal community. These are the bonds that truly make this open-source world special.

Personal highlights: a big thank you

One of my personal highlights was getting a brief chance to thank Randy Fay. While he was chatting with our very own Annertech tech lead, Bill Seremetis, about the amazing DDEV project, I suddenly recognised his voice! 

Bill introduced us, and I got to tell Randy how much his video tutorials on various modules had helped me over the years. 

I genuinely acknowledged that his contribution had saved me from getting stuck on numerous occasions. Thank you, Randy! It was a great moment of recognition and appreciation.

Conclusion: Come join the fun!

I’m fortunate enough to work alongside fellow Annertechie John Cook, who is instrumental in leading the volunteering team, so I know just how open the door is for anyone to get involved.

To all my fellow Drupallers, especially those of you at Annertech, I genuinely invite you to sign up for the next DrupalCon or local camp. Come join in the fun, discover the other, immensely rewarding side of this community, and forge your own lasting connections! You won’t regret it.