As a community organizer, I have had the privilege of being a part of the Python community for the past ten years. In that time, I have seen the community grow and evolve in countless ways. Python evolved from a top 10 language to the top 1 language. Many new people joined the community, new topics as data & AI became part of Python. I’m super proud the preferred language to learn is Python nowadays.

I have also learned a great deal about what it takes to be an effective organizer and how to build and sustain a healthy community. I also experience how not to do it and pulling through in hard times. I learned a lot about leadership. I learned a lot about myself, my strength and my weaknesses.
This helped me also to grow professionally and had a very positive impact on how I work and lead in my day-job.

In this talk I will address:

Experiences made organising community conferences small and large.

Leadership: sharing insights when teams worked well or not. What are the ingredients for a good community team.

Ideas, motivation and complexity: All are driving factors for building enjoyable community conferences. Is more always better? When to say YES or sorry, but no.

How to deal with the boring stuff, admin, tax and legal.

Outlook: What the European Python Community should work on for a sustainable future. The community has grown - individuals lack time. We need a strategy to keep up our excellent community work for beginners and experts while facing structural obstacles as admin, processes, reinventing the wheel. In this part I want to present why I did join the EuroPython board again. Helping to make the future mission of EuroPython Society evolving into more than being a conference to a European umbrella for the community.

My community service “CV”:


• 2013 local MongoDBB meetup
• 2014 joined EuroPython
• 2015-2020 core EuroPython organizer, 2 years board member
• 2017 -2018 PyCon DE organizer

• 2018 - today EuroSciPy organizer
• 2018 - today PyData Südwest meetup organizer
• 2019-2022 PyCon DE & PyData Berlin chair
• 2019 - today Python Software Verband chair (German Python association)

• 2023 PyCon DE & PyData Berlin organizer
• 2023 EuroPython board member

In this talk I will share the most valuable lessons I have learned and best practices over the past decade, with the goal of helping others who are interested in organizing and contributing to the Python community.

The first section

will focus on the importance of community organizing in the Python community. I will discuss the role that organizers play in building and sustaining a healthy community, and the benefits that organizers and community members alike can reap from effective organizing.

• Definition of how Python conf work
• Outside references
• Amazing magic
• What do organizers actually do?
• What is needed to be done
• Organizers are dedicated
• Organizations that provide platforms for Orga/conf - NumFocus and Pioneers Hub

The second section

will explore the challenges and opportunities of organizing in the Python community. I will discuss some of the unique challenges that organizers face in the Python community, such as the diversity of the ecosystem and the rapid pace of change, and the opportunities that organizers have to make a real impact and create lasting change.

• Decentral
• Workload
• Admin
• Processes
• Pop up company style
• Too many ideas
• Managing ppl
• Project management
• Very agile

The third section

will focus on the specific skills and practices that are necessary for effective organizing in the Python community. I will cover topics such as building and leading teams, community engagement, and creating and executing on a strategic plan.

• Ppl skills
• You can learn you just need to learn to listen to criticism
• Community is helpful but not necessarily reliable long term, it‘s voluntary
• Many levels of contribution
• Documentation and briefings structure

The final section

will look to the future, and discuss some of the directions that the Python community can take in the next ten years in terms of organizing. I will suggest some specific areas of focus, such as increasing diversity and inclusivity, and highlight some of the emerging trends and technologies that organizers should be aware of.

• Professionalizing
• Governance
• Platforms for organizers
• Chaos and non cordination drives ppl out
• Staff/Setup not worthwhile for individual conferences