After a five-year hiatus, DrupalCamp England returns on March 1, 2025, tomorrow, at the Faculty of Law, Cambridge. This one-day event brings together Drupal enthusiasts for discussions, networking, and learning. With two session tracks and a strong lineup of speakers, it aims to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration.
The Road Back
Drupal events rely on community-driven efforts. Jenny Dumitrescu, Paul Johnson, and Rajeev Kumar, the organisers of the event, responded to The DropTimes. Jenny (Jennifer) Dumitrescu, Senior Software Developer (Drupal) at UIS, University of Cambridge, highlights the collaborative nature of planning:
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Jenny Dumitrescu
I think it's the sense of collaboration. It's great to sit down weekly with a group of people who are just as committed to making the event a success and putting input in on all parts of the event. I think this drives it forward, and the community is always the core focus—ensuring the schedule is balanced, people have access to adequate facilities, are fed and watered well, and get the most out of the day!
—Jenny (Jennifer) Dumitrescu, Senior Software Developer (Drupal) at UIS, University of Cambridge
Paul Johnson, Business Development Manager at 1xINTERNET, shares that organising a camp requires a multitude of skills, and no one has them all.
"You need to ensure that there’s a good mix of skills and personalities in your team. Everyone has something valuable to contribute. With a well-rounded team, no task is impossible."
shares Paul. They had less than 5 months to bring DrupalCamp England back to life, and the standards were set high, backed by a strong heritage.
"The can-do attitude of the team meant even when we were faced with bureaucratic brick walls, we solved problems together to manoeuvre around blockers."
says Paul. Lots of things go behind the scenes, like arranging speakers, sponsors, and volunteers, Rajeev Kumar, Co-founder and Principal Consultant at Shabd Digital, shares,
"It’s a mix of planning, problem-solving, and teamwork—lots of things to learn, and working with people who work with the same technology on a day-to-day basis, is rewarding."
Shaping of an Event
DrupalCamp England 2025 has grown into a key event for the Drupal community, but every big event starts small. The organisers shared their expertise in organising events. The primary effort is getting the conversation going. DrupalCamp England took shape through simple steps.
"Someone put together a private channel for DrupalCamp England and then shared it on the drupal-uk channel. From there, I noticed it and joined, wanting to be able to help support where I could. Those small steps to just seed the idea really do work."
shared Jenny. Rajeev also advises to start small and keep it simple.
"If there are few Drupal-related people, start organising meetups. The Drupal London Group meetup has been a kind of starting point for me to get into this."
Paul has more advice for beginners, starting with not being hesitant to ask for help.
"You are not the first to organise a camp, reach out to other organisers and tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience they have built up."
Paul continues.
Paul Johnson
Make sure you get the basics sorted out first. What’s your plan? Which types of people do you need to execute your plan? Agree how you will structure your organisation and how decisions will be made. Make sure you complete the necessary registration and get banking and insurance in place. Create a vision for your event and decide how you will deliver it. Key parts are the venue, date, and sponsors. These are the basics from which everything else can flow.
—Paul Johnson, Business Development Manager, 1xINTERNET
Paul emphasizes that understanding how to reach and inspire community action is essential when organizing an event. He highlights the advantage of using Drupal’s well-established networks, such as Slack, social media, and events, to engage with the community. Leveraging these platforms, he explains, is key to growing a team, recruiting volunteers, and attracting sponsors. He stresses the importance of having a well-formed concept and knowing how to draw people toward an idea. Once individuals are invested and willing to contribute, he notes, momentum naturally builds, driving the event’s success.
"X has fallen far from favour, and the audience has fragmented. LinkedIn has been our primary source of engagement."
shares Paul Johnson.
What Makes DrupalCamp England 2025 Special?
DrupalCamp London has been in place for a long time, and when it comes to DrupalCamp England, the organisers are hoping nothing less than to continue that successful legacy. Paul notes that the distinctive feature of the event is its touring format, which we will have to wait to learn more about.
"Our goal is to create an event that resonates with both Drupal enthusiasts and end users, regardless of their role. By ensuring broad appeal and accessibility, we aim to introduce Drupal to a new generation and inspire greater engagement across the Drupal and business community."
Jenny notes,
"For DrupalCamp England 2025, its most unique feature is that it's the last one to have been held in the last five years and the first in us wanting to take this around England. Personally, I really hope the attendees take away more of a sense of community."
Not everyone can attend local meetups or DrupalCons, making DrupalCamp England a valuable opportunity for individuals to connect and discover others in their region. Jenny highlights that Drupal's community remains its foundation, and events like this provide essential networking opportunities while fostering learning and contribution in various ways.
With the event hosted at Cambridge's Faculty of Law, Jenny hopes it will be remembered as
"a great first bang back for DrupalCamp England. We have such an amazing venue in Cambridge, which is perfect for events like this. It's going to be great to bring back the community for those who haven't been able to get to DrupalCon in the last few years."
Meanwhile, Rajeev shares high hopes:
Rajeev Kumar
I’d love for attendees to remember DrupalCamp England 2025 as a place where they felt inspired, welcomed, and part of something bigger. If people leave excited to apply what they learned and eager to return next year, we’ve done our job right!
—Rajeev Kumar Co-founder and Principal Consultant Shabd Digital
The Challenges
"Starting from nothing was the hardest part."
says Paul. He acknowledges that navigating the necessary bureaucracy before even considering sponsors, booking a venue, or promoting tickets can feel overwhelming. He advises starting early to complete these formalities, making the rest of the planning process much smoother. Paul highlights the importance of having a strong team and emphasizes that the enthusiasm from sponsors played a crucial role in ensuring a relatively stress-free planning experience.
Jenny and Rajeev pointed out that securing a venue that balances accessibility, cost, and capacity was a big challenge, especially after the pandemic when the cost of event venues has skyrocketed.
"We're delighted to be hosting at The Faculty of Law and appreciate their support in letting us use the venue for this event."
shares Jenny. Rajeev regards time to be an even bigger challenge.
"The biggest challenge, as always, was time—organizing a camp alongside our regular work and life commitments isn’t easy, but the passion of the community keeps us going!"
Takeaways
The DropTimes asked the organisers about one key takeaway from their experience in organising and engaging with the Drupal community that they wished more people knew and embraced.
Beyond logistics, Jenny emphasizes that contributions to the Drupal community extend beyond code.
"My one key takeaway from my experience is that you can just give what you can to the community—this is my way of being able to contribute back. It's not always the traditional ways people think, with code contribution or module maintenance, but ways like this that continue to forge the community and keep everyone going."
Jenny expresses her gratitude to the team for dedicating their time to volunteering for this effort, describing their contributions as outstanding. She extends a big thanks to everyone for their time and expertise, emphasizing that even just 15 minutes of their time on a call is greatly appreciated.
"Everyone can contribute! Don’t shy away from volunteering. We’ve had plenty of first-time volunteers join the team and they’ve truly made a difference."
shares Paul.
"The more you engage, the more you gain—whether it’s learning, networking, or finding new opportunities. Drupal is not just about code; it’s about people building something together and maintaining that at the highest level."
concludes Rajeev.
DrupalCamp England 2025 aims to reinvigorate local engagement and set the stage for future camps across the country. The DropTimes is proud to be the media sponsor of the event. For more information, visit DrupalCamp England 2025.
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