The true value of submitting a DrupalCon session proposal

Let me tell you a personal story. It was in 2013 in Prague, the Czech Republic. The venue: a great conference center located on a hill overlooking the ancient heart of this beautiful city. As the underground ascends the hill and the conference center comes into view, I recall noticing other Drupal developers and enthusiasts in the underground with me. Over the course of the next few days, I not only spend a wonderful evening networking with the other participants whom I already know from Drupal-Austria, but I get to know a few of the rock stars. I distinctly recall meeting Jeff Eaton (by accident) while standing in line to get a beer (I had listened to a few of his podcast episodes, but had never seen him), or of meeting Dries and being shocked at how tall he actually was, or of Gábor... and the list goes on. I am certain that I met many of the people back then who are now in the DrupalCon Europe Organisation Team, I just did not realize it. I have long forgotten the exact code examples that I saw at the conference (and had most likely used to make that Drupal 6/7 views formatter plugin in the weeks following the conference), but I vividly recall the faces of the people.

I saw at that conference how giving a presentation was more valuable than simply attending the event. Other interested people will actively come up to you and engage you in interesting discussions about your work. I decided at that time to submit my work as a presentation at DrupalCon and at other local events. It has paid off.

So why am I writing all this? 

I want to convince you to submit a session proposal to DrupalCon Vienna 2025. 

Being a presenter at DrupalCon Europe is an opportunity that can open new doors to you as a professional. It is not simply about the free DrupalCon ticket or having your name on the program, it goes farther than that. It becomes a means for you to research a subject in-depth and to get your message out to a larger audience. I certainly did not think that my talk for DrupalCon 2020 would introduce me to the program team, and then that led to me being a Track lead in 2023, which then led to being Track Co-Chair. 

I am a firm believer that you only truly learn a subject matter if you teach it to someone else, whether it be via a video, a blog or a presentation. Before you can pass your knowledge on to another, you must first be well aware of the subject matter, having read multiple sources and having informed yourself about the subject matter. For me, this is the true value of submitting a presentation proposal to DrupalCon - that, and the opportunity to see those people again. 

Submit a session proposal for DrupalCon Vienna before 28 April 2025, and help make the conference a success.

- Jeremy

P.S. if you submit your proposal and are not added to the program, do your presentation at a local event. Write a blog about it. By putting yourself out there and gaining experience, you will be in a better position for DrupalCon in the years to come.

[Group picture from DrupalCon Prague 2013. Copyright Drupal Associations, link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tHvys7xTRM ]