DrupalCon Lille 2023: Discover The Path Ahead for Drupal and Your Opportunity to Shape It

DrupalCon Lille is just around the corner, with only two days remaining for the flag-off. Set to happen between 17 - 20 October 2023 in Lille Grand Palais Hotel, DrupalCon Lille expects thousands of in-person attendees and offers almost 100 sessions, 4-panel discussions, and 5 workshops! In short, this week, it's probable that the romantic and aesthetic allies of Lille will see fellow Drupalists gathering, interacting, and connecting with each other. For those who haven't registered, you still have a chance to witness this Drupal marvel by securing the tickets.

A highlight of every DrupalCon is its gathering of individuals leading significant initiatives that shape Drupal's future. Attendees have the unique opportunity to connect with those enhancing the Drupal core and drupal.org, and to learn how they can be part of this exciting journey.

Here are the 16 sessions centered on key Drupal initiatives, kicking off with the Driesnote.

Day 1: 17 Oct 2023

Day 2: 18 Oct 2023 

Day 3: 19 Oct 2023

Driesnote

17 Oct 2023, 13:30-14:45 (CEST) 
Location - Auditorium

The keynote, Driesnote by Dries Buytaert will include an update on the key initiatives as well as other exciting insights into where Drupal is headed. View session details.

Project Browser Initiative: Where We're At and How You Can Help

17 Oct 2023, 15.00-15.45 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.7 The Studio (2)

In this session, the current status of the Project Browser initiative, the specific challenges it aims to address, and the remaining tasks that need to be addressed to get this into Drupal Core are discussed by Leslie Glynn and Chris Wells. View session details.

So I logged in, now what? The Dashboard initiative welcomes you

17 Oct 2023, 16.15-17.00 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.7 The Studio (2)

The session by Christian López Espínola and Cristina Chumillas highlights the need for a new Drupal dashboard to replace the current minimalistic landing page and discusses ways to create a more engaging and user-friendly experience. View session details.

Maintainers - prepare your modules to shine in the Project Browser

17 Oct 2023, 16.15-17.00 (CEST) 
Location - Room 2.2 - BoF

This BoF session is for project maintainers to get the most out of their placement in Project Browser. The session is handled by Leslie Glynn. View session details.

Drupal 10 localization server upgrade initiative status

17 Oct 2023, 17:15-17:35 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.7 The Studio (2)

Felip Manyer Ballester and Nicolas Loye will focus on the migration of the Drupal community translation server from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 and upcoming enhancements to improve its functionality and user experience, encouraging volunteer contributions to these efforts. View session details.

Drupal.org Update: Accelerating contribution

18 Oct 2023, 11:30 -12:15 (CEST) 
Location - Room 2.4-BoF

Join to learn how major initiatives like the GitLab Acceleration project, single sign-on, and others will help reduce friction points when contributing to Drupal and make it easier for you to participate in the project. The session is maintained by Timothy Lehnen, Neil Drumm, Brendan Blaine and Fran Garcia-Linares. View session details.

api.drupal.org, A journey from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10

18 Oct 2023, 15:00-15:45 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.1 C & 3.2 C (6)

The api.drupal.org site has been rewritten in Drupal 10+. This session by Fran Garcia-Linares will go through some of the biggest technical decisions and their implementation. View session details.

Contribution credits for translation activity on localize.drupal.org

18 Oct 2023, 15:00-15:45 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.1 C & 3.2 C (6)

The BoF by Felip Manyer Ballester will focus on the ongoing porting of Drupal's Localize server to Drupal 10, with a particular emphasis on improving the crediting system and discussing potential feature enhancements. It invites anyone interested in these topics to join the discussion in person. View session details.

Single Directory Components in Core

19 Oct 2023, 09:15 -10:00 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.5 & 3.6 (3)

This session headed by Mike Herchel is about introducing Single Directory Components (SDC) to Drupal's front-end, addressing improvements and integration possibilities to enhance the developer experience. View session details.

One Theme To Rule Them All: Using StarterKits to accelerate theme development and reduce technical debt

19 Oct 2023, 15:00-15:45 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.1 C & 3.2 C (6)

Andy Blum explores the StarterKit Theme Generator Tool in Drupal, its features, and how it can transform theme development for agencies and product teams. View session details.

Next Drupal admin UI improvements

19 Oct 2023, 10:30 -11:15 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.7 The Studio (2)

Cristina Chumillas and Sascha Eggenberger provides an overview of various admin UI improvements in the making. View session details.

Making Drupal a Better Out-of-the-Box Product

19 Oct 2023, 11:30 -12:15 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.2 A & B (5)

Lauri Eskola in his presentation discusses the steps that can be taken to improve Drupal's usability and address the perception that it's difficult for beginners due to a steep learning curve. View session details.

Drupal Core Initiative Leads

19 Oct 2023, 13:30 -14:45 (CEST) 
Location - Auditorium

The keynote highlights key leaders in the Drupal community discussing their ongoing projects, challenges, and ways for the audience to participate. Presenters include; Chris Wells, Fran Garcia-Linares, Mike Herchel, Suzanne Dergacheva, Sascha Eggenberger, Felip Manyer Ballester, Gábor Hojtsy. View session details.

What's Next for Drupal Autoupdates

19 Oct 2023, 15:00 -15:45 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.1 A & B (4)

The development of a contribute module for automatic updates in Drupal 10, its potential inclusion in Drupal core, and the associated security considerations are discussed in detail by Peter Wolanin, Timothy Lehnen, Wim Leers, Jess and Neil Drumm. View session details.

Drupal's next leap: configuration validation

19 Oct 2023, 17:15 -17:35 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.2 A & B (5)

Wim Leers explores the evolution of configuration management in Drupal, including the introduction of validation constraints and the transition from form-based to constraint-based validation, highlighting the benefits and implications for the Drupal ecosystem. View session details.

Why we moved the database drivers to their own modules and what we want to do next?

19 Oct 2023, 17:40 -18:00 (CEST) 
Location - Room 3.1 A & B (4)

David Bekker deliberates the reasons for moving database drivers for MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and SQLite to their own modules in Drupal 9.4 addressing the challenges of the previous approach. Also, discusses the potential for creating new database drivers and improving database performance using document formats while fostering a group discussion on future directions. View session details.

Grab the opportunity to be a part of this productive and unique gathering. With a diverse lineup of sessions and an array of prominent speakers, DrupalCon Lille is your prime opportunity to remain at the forefront of Drupal development and shape its future. Numerous other engaging sessions await you at this event. Please review the full schedule to determine which ones you'd like to attend.

Note: We tried to make the list of sessions that talk about the key initiatives as comprehensive as possible. If we miss listing any events or you find any errors in this list, please let us know.