Ever wondered what powers the platform that powers the web we know and what keeps open-source open for everyone? WordPress is not just about software, and indeed software doesn’t build and maintain itself. Discover how this is done, and learn about the community that maintains 43% of the web and is 100% at the heart of every line of code, post, and event.
The bigger, sometimes overseen role of community and people in WordPress
WordPress is written, developed, and maintained by people; and shaped by the decisions these contributors, agencies, and everyday users show up to make together on a daily basis. Those invisible (or behind the scenes) contributions are the real infrastructure of the open web.
To make sure these contributions get the spotlight they deserve, we present The “Community and People” sessions at WordCamp Europe 2026. From the corridors of CERN to local communities, these talks examine the human system behind WordPress with honesty and warmth.
These sessions will help you:
- Discover cross-industry collaboration strategies to defend the open web.
- Discover narratives about open-source freedom.
- Learn how to embed WordPress contribution into your agency’s culture.
- Learn to support open-source as a democratic infrastructure.
- Understand how to transform local communities into lasting opportunity ecosystems.
The Talks
WordPress for scientists: building engineering websites at CERN
Speaker: Akanksha Chatterjee
Where:
When: Friday 5 June at 09:00
Session page: WordPress for scientists: building engineering websites at CERN
How do you scale WordPress across multiple teams without losing consistency or control? This talk shares lessons from building and maintaining eight WordPress websites for a large scientific organisation, focusing on workflow, governance and long-term sustainability.
Akanksha is currently working at CERN, modelling a digital twin of the FCC. She has previously developed web platforms for governmental organizations and is currently involved in research using large language models (LLMs) for electoral studies.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @akankshachatterjee
Coordinating the fight: cross-industry collaboration
Speaker: David Snead
Where: Track 2
When: Friday 5 June at 11:45
Session page: Coordinating the fight: cross-industry collaboration
WordPress hosting threats cross company lines—when one provider falls victim, the entire ecosystem suffers. This session explores how the Internet Infrastructure Forum (IIF) enables hosting providers, registrars, and registries to coordinate abuse response through real-time intelligence sharing. Learn how operational collaboration helps responsible operators detect and stop attacks faster than adversaries can adapt, and why working together produces results no single provider could achieve alone.
David Snead is an attorney based in Santa Fe, NM. He is the director of the “Secure Hosting Alliance” and runs a law firm representing Internet infrastructure providers. He has provided advice and counsel to technology companies since 1995 beginning with a practice based on technology exports. Since 1999, his practice has focused exclusively on the Internet infrastructure industry.
In 2011 he co-founded the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (I2Coalition), an advocacy organization for the Internet infrastructure industry. David is chairman emeritus of the Board of Directors of CasaQ, a shelter in Albuquerque for LGBTQ+ youth at risk of homelessness. He received his J.D. in 1991 from Georgetown University Law Center, and his B.A. in 1987 in International Affairs from Trinity University in San Antonio, and is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and State of New Mexico.
Follow his work on WordPress.org as @wdavidsnead
Why WooCommerce loves its competitors
Speaker: Rodolfo Melogli
Where: Track 2
When: Friday 5 June at 12:30
Session page: Why WooCommerce loves its competitors
Every time a new WordPress e-commerce plugin launches, the rumour mill predicts doom for WooCommerce. But the truth is the opposite: WooCommerce thrives when the ecosystem grows.
This session reveals why internal competition is largely a myth and how collaboration is the real driver of success. We’ll look at examples of plugins coexisting and complementing one another, and explore how shared knowledge, integrations, and partnerships amplify the entire WP ecommerce ecosystem.
Attendees will also gain perspective on the bigger picture: Shopify isn’t going away, but a collaborative, open-source community has unique advantages that SaaS platforms can’t match.
By the end of this session, people will understand how embracing diversity and collaboration makes WooCommerce stronger and equips developers, store builders, and agencies to compete more effectively in the global e-commerce market.
Author, WooCommerce expert and WordCamp speaker, Rodolfo has worked as an independent WooCommerce freelancer since 2011. He is the founder of Business Bloomer, Checkout Summit, and WooWeekly. His goal is to help entrepreneurs and developers overcome their WooCommerce nightmares. Rodolfo loves travelling, chasing tennis & soccer balls and, of course, wood fired oven pizza.
Follow his work on WordPress.org as @businessbloomer
Open source is democratic infrastructure – support it!
Speaker: Marcel Bootsman
Where: Track 1
When: Friday 5 June at 14:40
Session page: Open source is democratic infrastructure – support it!
Open source is democratic infrastructure: built in public, improved by many, and trusted because it is transparent.
But infrastructure does not maintain itself. In this talk, Marcel Bootsman shares a practical playbook for how companies and individuals can support open source without taking control, reduce burnout risk, and turn good intentions into sustainable contribution.
Marcel is Partnerships & Community Manager EMEA at Kinsta. He has been active in the WordPress community since 2010 and ran his own WordPress agency until 2020. He is/has been a WordCamp organizer, forum moderator, and translation editor. When he’s not looking at a screen he enjoys walking, working out in the gym, riding a bike, and playing tennis.
Follow his work on WordPress.org as @mbootsman
How we made WP contribution part of our agency culture
Speaker: Karin Christen
Where: Track 1
When: Friday 5 June at 14:50
Session page: How we made WP contribution part of our agency culture
Many people in the WordPress community want to contribute, but don’t know where to start, don’t feel confident enough, or simply don’t have the time.
As an agency, we faced the same challenges. Client work was always prioritised, and contribution often felt like something you do *after hours* — or not at all.
At the same time, our daily work is built on WordPress as an open-source project. We benefit from it every day, and with that comes a responsibility to give something back. Five for the Future gave us a clear framework to turn that intention into action.
In this talk, I will share how we changed that mindset by making contribution a **shared team experience**. Through internal Contributor Days and our Five for the Future commitment, we created a safe space for learning, trying, failing, and growing together.
Co-Founder of a Swiss WordPress agency with a strong focus on UX, accessibility, and sustainable web platforms.
Working with WordPress for over 12 years and actively contributing through Five for the Future.
Believes that open source grows best when people feel safe, supported, and empowered to participate.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @karinchristen
Building bridges, not just events: turning communities into opportunity ecosystems
Speaker: Vanessa Martínez Hernández
Where: Track 1
When: Saturday 6 June at 14:00
Session page: Building bridges, not just events: turning communities into opportunity ecosystems
We often think about tech events as stages, speakers, and schedules. But the real impact happens between people.
Coming from Latin America to Europe, I joined the organising team behind South Impact, a community-driven initiative to strengthen the tech and innovation ecosystem in southern Spain. In its first edition in 2025, what started as small gatherings became a large-scale event with over 1,000 attendees — and an ecosystem where people connect, collaborate, and grow.
Leading communications, partnerships, and logistics, I saw how intentional community-building creates real opportunities: hiring, freelance work, startup visibility, speaker discovery, and cross-border teams.
In this talk, I’ll share practical lessons on designing events with a community-first mindset, inspired by WordPress values like learn by doing, collaboration, and openness.
You’ll leave with ideas for approaching WordCamps and meetups not only as learning spaces but also as opportunity spaces for networking, hiring, partnerships, and long-term collaboration.
Because great events don’t just happen. They are designed to build bridges.
A Communications and Marketing professional with over 9 years of experience fostering connections between brands and communities across Latin America and Spain. Drawing on nearly a decade of active involvement within the global WordPress community, she currently leads communications and logistics for South Impact in Spain. She has been part of the journey of growing the initiative from small local gatherings into a 1,000+ attendee innovation ecosystem. Guided by a “community-first” mindset, she focuses on designing events that go beyond schedules to build genuine bridges, creating spaces where networking naturally evolves into hiring, startup funding, and long-term collaboration.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @vmartinez008
Why WordPress feels overwhelming for beginners
Speaker: Priscilla Collado Ramirez
Where: Track 1
When: Saturday 6 June at 14:10
Session page: Why WordPress feels overwhelming for beginners
One of the most common questions beginners ask is: ‘What should I install?’
Themes.
Plugins.
Builders.
Security tools.
SEO tools.
And the most honest answer is often: “It depends.”
For experienced users, “it depends” feels normal.
For beginners, it feels paralyzing.
Because when everything is an option, every choice feels risky.
Choosing the wrong theme feels like wasting time.
Choosing the wrong plugin feels dangerous.
Choosing wrong feels permanent.
In this talk, I want to explore a simple idea: the same freedom that makes WordPress powerful can also make it overwhelming for people just starting out. And when choice becomes pressure, learning slows down.
Priscilla is a creative educator, advertising, fashion designer, and entrepreneur from Costa Rica, focused on making learning more human, accessible, and empowering. As the founder of a fashion design school, she supports women, especially entrepreneurs, in building their own brands while connecting creativity, personal identity, and well-being.
Through her work with WordPress, she helps beginners and non-technical users navigate the platform with more confidence and less overwhelm, encouraging them to see technology as a tool for expression and growth.
She also delivers talks and workshops on stress management and micro-breaks for people who work on computers, helping them create healthier and more balanced work habits.
Her approach combines design, education, and holistic practices, creating spaces where people can learn, connect, and develop their ideas in a more conscious and sustainable way. She is especially passionate about building bridges between communities, supporting women in tech, and helping entrepreneurs find new opportunities through collaboration and networking.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @nivrattibienestat
The fight for the open web is a lie
Speaker: Jonathan Desrosiers
Where: Track 1
When: Saturday 6 June at 15:30
Session page: The fight for the open web is a lie
For decades, open source advocates and Internet purists have rallied behind a righteous call: “we must fight to preserve the open web.”
That rallying cry is all wrong. The web itself remains as open as the day Tim Berners-Lee created it – built on patent-free standards, decentralized architecture, and universal access. Yet today, billions of users have been conditioned into believing the opposite is true, unknowingly abandoning and surrendering openness in favor of convenience in the form of walled gardens, proprietary apps, and centralized services.
In reality, we’re not losing the open web – we’re losing the battle against closed alternatives trying to replace it.
Open source projects like WordPress have long championed the technologies built on open web standards that have powered the web from the very beginning. The project and surrounding ecosystem exemplifies what the web is meant to be: open by default. Let’s explore how WordPress continues to embrace the true spirit of the Internet and identify the real enemy: the closed web that seeks to replace the web’s open foundation.
Jonathan Desrosiers is a WordPress Core committer, mentor, and open source leader. He works as a Principal Software Engineer at Bluehost, where he is sponsored to contribute directly to the WordPress project. His work includes writing and reviewing code, mentoring contributors, and helping guide the platform’s long-term direction.
Over the years, Jonathan has contributed to everything from ongoing maintenance tasks to major architectural decisions. His work consistently centres on the needs of the end user. He is a strong advocate for contributor workflows that help people of all experience levels grow through their involvement in WordPress.
Though a PHP developer at heart, Jonathan now focuses much of his time on mentoring others, improving community processes, and helping ensure that everyone in open source feels welcome, valued, and supported.
Follow his work on WordPress.org as @desrosj