The wake-up call
Staying at the same apartment with 5 men might have some difficulties, such as trying to wake up in the morning and get ready for Contributor Day of WordCamp Europe in Belgrade.
Having had an amazing time with friends all over the world for the past days, it was a bit tricky to get out of our beds. However, we checked for sure the schedule, we managed to be at the bus station on time and we really enjoyed the ride on a Serbian bus to Belexpo Centar.
At the registration desk, outside of Belexpo Centar, our good friend Aleksandar along with 4 more volunteers, since 08:30 in the morning, helped us and the rest of the contributors confirm our data and get our badges.
Let’s get inside
In the first section of the venue, breakfast, coffee, fruit, and juices were already set on tables to give us a boost for the day to come, and the waiters kindly serviced all of our needs, with the logo of WCEU hanging above our heads from the ceiling. At the same time, in the main room, round tables were set for all teams to contribute to WordPress. You could choose your spot at the table that better fitted what you had to offer to WordPress among Accessibility, BuddyPress, CLI, Coding standards, Community, Core, Core: Docs, Core: Editor (Gutenberg), Core: JavaScript, Core: Rest API, Core: Security, Design, Documentation, GDPR and privacy, Hosting, Marketing, Meta, Mobile, Polyglots, Support, Themes, Tide, Training and WordPress TV.
Everyone can contribute to WordPress, as you do not need to be an expert or a professional user. You are always welcome and your assistance is highly appreciated! Never forget that, as we always need someone to give a hand in any sector…
I love the community, as it is all about
“Bringing people together!“
After the opening remarks by Remkus, when we were also introduced to the team leads – one of them our greek community GDPR and privacy lead, Konstantinos Ksenos (also known as Xenooos!) – we found our spots and set up our notebooks, being organized by the team leads. However, unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, Wi-Fi was not accessible due to heavy load. But I think this was the best part… Since the lack of Wi-Fi connection – even if some of us attempted to provide as hotspot their data connections – people started blending, walking around the venue, talking to each other…
Is there any better way to contribute to WordPress than networking and making bonds between communities and people?
Seeing old friends, making new ones!
It was a blast, seeing beloved friends that haven’t been around for some time, as our Mauricio, hanging out with Rocio, our mentor for this year’s Greek WordCamp, and greeting Francesca our mentor for WordCamp Athens. And it was just the right time to make a lot of new friends…
I met sweet Sara Gooding with her camera, trying to capture the spirit of the day for WPtavern, to share it all around the globe. Met Leo, a young man with amazing energy and positivity, that introduced me also to Jen and Bridget from the Women Who WP meetup. They ladies shared with me the beautiful story of their meetup and all listened to my concerns, regarding hosting the deaf people of the Greek Community, during WordCamps and meetups. The ladies gave their best to assist us by showing us a path along with Andrea, who had been amazingly helpful and very careful with our needs.
And guess what? Yes, we did have some Mykonos talk (as well as about mousaka, tzatziki, and other specialties, cause it is already summer in greek islands) with the WordPress contributors, so when they pick the dates for their trip I might be the tour leader!
At 12:30 we had a break for lunch, and believe, in Serbia, they do know how to cook and eat tasty food, as well as how to make people feel welcomed!
I would say that after lunch, we continued networking, but the thing is… we never really stopped.
Volunteer orientation
However, we should run to Sava Centar, as the volunteer orientation will start at and we didn’t have much free time… As we got to the venue, overwhelmed by the big day to come, the rain started falling again. Taco explained every inch of our responsibilities and gave us tons of inspiration with his sense of humor.
And the time came… to walk around the venue for a guided tour with Taco leading. We checked the tracks and the registration desks, as well as the workshops and the volunteers HQ. So we knew exactly where we had to be next morning. The first time volunteering might be a little scary but the organizing team made it look like a game.
Volunteers’ social
No time for us to go back to our apartment and get ready for the volunteer social. So we headed at Top of the Hub Restaurant & Lounge for the dinner with sponsors, organizers, and other volunteers. And guess what… We got the wrong bus! And then another bus driving like “Speed” (the movie) on the roads of Belgrade. Finally there, watching the astonishing view, tasting amazing food, offered some rakija by our waiter, meeting great people.
Let’s head back home. Tomorrow and the first day of the main event of WordCamp Europe 2018, will come earlier than expected!
