Our team has just returned from WordCamp Europe 2023, June 8-10, 2023 in Athens, Greece. The event was attended by 2,545 people from 94 countries. This is proof of WordPress’ wide reach.
This is the second time Hostinger has sponsored WordCamp Europe and this year we are hosting the event super admin sponsor.
All talks and workshops have been recorded and will be available for viewing shortly. WordPress.tv. In the meantime, you can also watch the recorded live stream. WordCamp Europe Official YouTube Channel.
I took note of some of the highlights of the event. Read on for more fun at the event. WordCamp Europe 2023 And what will happen at the next WordCamp Europe?
See WordCamp 2023 Highlights
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20 Years of WordPress and Its Future
WordPress turns 20 years old The celebratory mood was still very pronounced at WordCamp Europe 2023 as the date was May 27, 2023. Some sessions reflected on how far content management systems have come.
One of them is Aaron Lymanof where do we come from, WordPress version 0.71 and search feature version 1.0 have improved some of the major features of WordPress over the years. Attendees were shown the step-by-step development of his CMS, and members of the WordPress community were able to see how their contributions helped along the way.
on the other hand, Theme Variations: 20 Years of WordPress The session was attended by WordPress co-founders and project leads Matt MullenwegWordPress Executive Director Joseph Harden ChomfosseProduct Architect at Automattic Matthias Ventura Gather together to reflect on the achievements and learnings of the year.
The session was followed by a live Q&A where Matt shared his thoughts on the innovation and disruption of open source over the last 20 years.
Instead of retrospectives, other sessions focused on WordPress’ future possibilities.
for example, Make WordPress and its community sustainable today We asked participants to imagine sustainable practices in the WordPress ecosystem.of WordPress women and non-binary people The panel discussion explored the involvement of underrepresented people in open source projects and included tips for getting involved in the initiative. This was especially important. Upcoming WordPress 6.4 Release Led by an all-female, non-binary liberation team.it will be Second release version of such a team formation.
As a member of the WordPress community, Hostinger also participated in the anniversary celebration.
![The Hostinger team with Matt Mullenweg and Josepha Hayden Chomfosse at Hostinger's booth at WCEU 2023](https://www.hostinger.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/hostinger-team-at-booth-with-matt-mullenweg-and-josepha-haden-chomphosy-wceu-2023-1024x684.webp)
Along with a commemorative blog post and a podcast by Tammie Lister, we also set up a WordCamp Europe booth showcasing the WordPress client. In this way, we were able to engage with WordCamp visitors on a more personal level.
The event ended on a high note. The WordPress 20th Anniversary Afterparty allowed everyone to relax and socialize after a hard and challenging job.
Artificial Intelligence in WordPress
It’s no surprise that WordCamp Europe saw a lot of traffic on artificial intelligence topics. Most sessions had at least one AI-related question during the Q&A. Many professionals across industries, especially IT, have been looking for ways to integrate AI into their workflows to facilitate smarter work.
No wonder there were several AI-themed sessions at WordCamp Europe 2023. They covered a wide range of fields, from very popular ones. AI-assisted content creation to lesser-known areas such as AI for accessibility.
Several sessions specifically talked about using AI in WordPress. AI translation. Another panel discussion explored active use cases. AI as an accelerator.
For those still unsure if AI is worth it, there was a session like this: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI Rulers We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of AI and predicted the near future.
As veteran WordPress contributor Birgit Pauli-Haack pointed out in an interview, “the only constant is change.” Questioning new technologies but being open seems to be the best decision.
Contributor team highlight: Polyglots team
At last year’s WCEU22, the WordPress community team emphasized: performance team. At the community booth this year, the attention was focused on polyglot team.
Booth visitors can learn more about the team. You can also meet members of various local communities and learn what they do and how to get involved. This is one of the ways the WordPress community appreciates the global network of teams and contributors that build the project.
the polyglot team Responsible for localizing core WordPress softwarethemes, plugins, supporting documentation and other components. Half a WordPress installation By using localized versions of the CMS, Polyglots reduces communication gaps by making WordPress more accessible to users around the world.
The team has translators who propose translations in the local language and translation editors who review the proposals and ensure quality. The team also works to set and maintain translation guidelines to ensure consistency.
WordPress currently supports 200+ locales, only about 70 have been fully translated. There is always room to make this platform more comprehensive. As such, multilingual contributors are always welcome. join the team.
Experience WordCamp Europe 2023
The event started with Contributor Day. Hosting Jourlians who attended contributed venue support and community tables, and one of us joined the training team online from Indonesia.
![WordCamp Europe 2023 Contributor Day Attendees](https://www.hostinger.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/wordcamp-europe-2023-contributor-day-1024x684.webp)
Researched contributors WordPress Playground – WordPress version It runs entirely on your browser. This is a useful sandbox for experimenting with themes, testing plugins, and even building sites.
Contributor Day also saw a lot of cross-team collaboration. Being able to meet other contributors face-to-face and immerse yourself in an all-hands-on decking experience is part of the perks of attending an offline WordPress event.
At the end of Contributor Day, an official announcement announced the addition of a new team to the WordPress ecosystem. Sustainability team. This team will focus on finding ways to make both WordCamp and WordPress more sustainable.
The second and third days of the event were conference days where attendees could participate in various sessions and workshops. Our Content Her lead, Emma Young, volunteered to be her MC for the event. She could be found mostly on Track 2 stages.
“I volunteered as an interviewer at WordCamp Asia 2023. It was fun, but I wanted to try something new. I wanted to try it,” said Emma. “If you’re interested in public speaking, do it at your local WordCamp!” she added.
Meanwhile, visitors to Hostinger’s booth were able to watch exclusive videos of clients using WordPress to build successful businesses. We also conducted a personality quiz to find out which WordPress theme you are.
![Hostinger booth at WordCamp Europe 2023](https://www.hostinger.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/hostinger-booth-wordcamp-europe-2023-1024x684.webp)
Connecting with fellow WordPress enthusiasts is what WordCamp is all about, so we took the opportunity to meet with our clients and customers. As always, we asked for your candid feedback to improve our products and services. We also featured the latest product updates such as his Hostinger blog theme in-house and his generator of AI content.
Our client, the digital business card company Doup, supported us during the event by providing us with an NFC card to activate our newly signed hosting plan.
![Hostinger's WordPress 20th Anniversary Merchandise](https://www.hostinger.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/hostinger-block-and-roll-merchandise-1024x684.webp)
However, the WordCamp is complete with just the signature goodies. That’s why we block and roll– themed merchandise – a tribute to WordPress’ own block editor celebrating its 20th anniversary. Within three and a half hours, we were able to distribute 500 T-shirts. I’m glad people thought it was cool.
what’s next
At the end of this three-day event, Turin, Italy was announced as the venue. WordCamp Europe 2024 host cities.
Until then, there are many local WordCamps you can attend. WordPress Community Summit and WordCamp US 2023 The event, held in National Harbor, Maryland, is the next flagship event.
Hostinger will also be sponsoring WCUS 2023, so I’m looking forward to meeting you there and chatting about WordPress together. Block & Roll!