{"id":17374,"date":"2024-06-15T21:29:42","date_gmt":"2024-06-15T21:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/?p=17374"},"modified":"2024-07-02T11:22:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T11:22:09","slug":"highlights-from-wordcamp-europe-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/2024\/06\/highlights-from-wordcamp-europe-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights from WordCamp Europe 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2,584 attendees participated in the 12th annual WordPress event in Europe, held at the <\/em>Lingotto Conference and Exhibition Centre<\/em><\/a> in Torino, Italy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Mole Antonelliana<\/a> in Torino, illuminated to celebrate WordCamp Europe 2024. Photo by Chris Clarke.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From June 13-15, 2024, WordPress enthusiasts from across the globe gathered in Torino to explore and celebrate the world\u2019s most popular web platform. A dedicated team of 250 volunteers, led by WordCamp veterans Wendie Huis in \u2018t Veld, Juan Hernando, and Takis Bouyouris, organized and produced the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact in Action on Contributor Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contributor Day<\/a> brought together 726 contributors working across 25 teams to support the WordPress project. Their accomplishments included translating 79,059 \u201cstrings\u201d for the WordPress user interface across 29 languages, updating documentation for the forthcoming 6.6 release, onboarding new contributors for the support forums and testing teams, and identifying ways to improve plugin security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Contributors<\/a>
Contributors gathering during WCEU 2024 Contributor Day. Photo by Chris Clarke.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable open source is the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Keynote<\/a>
Keynote presenters, Joost de Valk and Juliette Reinders Folmer. Photo by Fede Padilla.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Joost de Valk and Juliette Reinders Folmer delivered the event’s opening keynote address on sustaining open source software projects<\/a>. Their keynote covered funding open source, contributing beyond code, and convincing buyers in commercial enterprises that open source is a viable alternative to proprietary platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days of engaging sessions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Friday and Saturday saw 60 presentations and workshops held across three tracks<\/a>. Topics included WordPress development, accessibility, design, business, community, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Three<\/a>
Speed Build Session. Photo by Roberto V\u00e1zquez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Four<\/a>
Connect Series. Photo by Fede Padilla.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A youth workshop gave younger attendees hands-on opportunities to build WordPress websites, explore new tech, and learn about internet safety. Meanwhile, a wellness-themed track included yoga lessons and walking tours of Torino, encouraging attendees to step away from their screens and explore the beauty of this year\u2019s host city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mid-year project update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg shared a mid-year project update on WordPress<\/a> and concluded by fielding questions from the audience on various topics, from Gutenberg Phases to the WordPress Playground, and acknowledging a request to escalate a bug fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt\u2019s presentation highlighted the success of the contributor mentorship program<\/a> and WCEU Contributor Day, demoed Translate Live, and shared an update on the Data Liberation<\/a> initiative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt also covered the latest innovations with WordPress Playground<\/a>, highlighted performance gains<\/a>, and previewed features anticipated in future releases, like rollbacks for auto-updates and zoomed-out view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress<\/a>
WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg. Photo by Chris Clarke.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledging an exciting new trend in the WordPress community, Mullenweg discussed \u201cspeed build challenges,\u201d where onlookers watch WordPress experts build websites in real-time, showcasing tips, shortcuts, and best practices. One such event took place during a WCEU session, and in the Q&A portion of Matt\u2019s presentation, he was invited to participate in one\u2013an invitation he accepted!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt reflected on WordPress reaching its 21st anniversary since he and Mike Little launched the first version in 2003. He shared 11 things<\/a> to ensure that WordPress remains sustainable for decades to come:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Simple things should be easy and intuitive, and complex things possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Blogs and dynamic sites are better.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Documentation should be wiki-easy to edit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Forums should be front and center.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Plugins and themes with community infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Great theme previews and diverse aesthetics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. We can\u2019t over-index for guidelines and requirements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Feedback loops are so important.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Core should be opinionated and quirky.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. If you make WordPress, use WordPress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Stay close to our end-users<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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