Drupalcon Portland 2022 was held from April 25-28, during this convention several talks and presentations were made, of which 4 can be highlighted.
1. Driesnote
During his keynote - aka Driesnote - Dries gave one of his most important keynotes on the state of the Drupal project. Belgian-born Drupal founder Dries Buytaert is a pioneer in open-source web publishing and digital experience platforms.
Dries commented that it is important to start the work by reflecting the purpose of Drupal. His purpose has evolved over the years. In the past the goal might have been to build the most powerful CMS in the world. But today, Drupal has become more than just a CMS.
Drupal allows everyone to participate in an Open Web. The web is one of the most important public sources. As a result, the shared goal of the Drupal community is to make those resources open, secure, and accessible to everyone. Dries commented “with 1 in 30 websites running on Drupal, we have a lot of influence in building the future of websites we want to see. “In fact we have an opportunity to help build a digital future that is better than the one we have today.”
To align with that purpose, and to provide more impact, our vision has also evolved. 5 years ago, Drupal was declared to be for ambitious digital experiences. We have achieved that vision by investing in Headless Drupal, Media, Layout Builder and additional features that help create digital experiences.
That's why our vision has evolved to “Drupal is for ambitious site builders.”
(https://dri.es/drupal-is-for-ambitious-site-builders)
2. How to combat global systems of oppression in the tech industry:
We know based on participation in events, our programs, and deep data collection around projects that Drupal follows the same trends around marginalized people. These people are defined as those who have experienced and continue to be harmed by global systems of oppression.
In this talk given by Daeltnn Moyer, Mala Kumar and Marcus Carter (thought leaders on issues of justice, equity, and technology) discussed profound issues within equity, the experience of marginalized people in the technology industry, and the tangible steps that we can take with us on a daily basis.
3. What is the role of open source in the common good of the Internet?
The internet is an omnipresent part of our lives, we are more connected than ever, and in recent times where we have been physically confined, we find ourselves immersed in the network thanks to work, education, health and entertainment.
At the same time, new technologies are emerging online that can transform the web as we know it, large internet businesses are under scrutiny for reasons of not building trust, and privacy and security come to the fore.
We have seen the lows of misinformation, fraud, and madness to obtain digital currency, but also the highs of a network that allowed us to connect and help others around the world.
(https://events.drupal.org/portland2022/sessions/keynote-what-open-sources-role-well-being-internet)
4. Open source on diversity, equity and inclusion
For advanced diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), stakeholders across the open source ecosystem must come together transparently and collaboratively as a community. In 2021, All In was launched, an open source community, whose mission is to advance DEI through community, equity and data.
In 2021, a DEI survey was conducted in partnership with the Linux Foundation, focus group sessions and individual interviews with people interested in advancing DEI in their communities. There is also a 12-month program which provides education, courses and experiences for some students to attend minority institutions.
(https://events.drupal.org/portland2022/sessions/keynote-fireside-chat-let%E2%80%99s-open-source-diversity-equity-and)