Future-Focused and Community-Driven: Dave Sparks Reflects on DrupalSouth Melbourne 2025

As the Drupal community gathered at ACMI for DrupalSouth Melbourne 2025, the event stood out not just for its scale and content but for its clear focus on innovation and global impact. For Dave Sparks, owner of Drupal development firm Sparks Interactive, the two-day conference was both a professional reset and a powerful signal of where Drupal is headed next.

"It is always good to connect and get a look at the state of Drupal, as everyone else sees it," Sparks said. "The clear message for me is just how aggressively future-focused Drupal as a product is now and the level of innovation is just accelerating."

The event brought together developers, agencies, and contributors from across Australia and New Zealand-regions with a long-standing Drupal presence and growing global influence. "Australia and New Zealand companies are driving a lot of innovation and product development," Sparks said, noting that local efforts are increasingly shaping the global future of Drupal. There were meaningful conversations on how commercial innovation from these regions can be brought into Drupal contribution and future iterations of the platform.

The conference opened with a Welcome to Country that Sparks, attending as a visitor to Australia, described as "very relevant, very welcoming and a down-to-earth reflection on community and people." That spirit of connection carried into the two keynotes, which he praised for their alignment and depth. 

Nicola Nye opened the event with a keynote exploring how to retain individuality and humanity in an increasingly systematic digital world, while Justin Warren followed on day two with a talk that examined systems, purpose, and who benefits from technology. 

"They both spoke directly to questions about the future of open source and Drupal as a product," Sparks said. "It was a beautiful bit of curation."

Among the most engaging aspects of the event for Sparks were the Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions. He found them "really well put together this year," offering valuable insights that inspired him to see core contribution as attainable, rethink how Drupal is marketed, and reimagine the conference experience itself. He emphasized the need to tell compelling stories about Drupal's value to people outside the traditional tech bubble-highlighting the accumulated expertise and benefit it brings.

Though Sparks stepped down as Committee Chair in 2024, he contributed to early planning efforts for the Melbourne event. "What I'm proud of most from that early preparation work is committing to the idea that this conference is big and important for our community," he said. The event's success was made possible by a new committee, sponsor support, and a strong collective belief in the value of bringing the community together.

Sparks Interactive had a strong presence at the event, with team members engaging in talks and reviewing content. "Conferences and community have been a big part of how we've built our business and expanded our professional experience over the last 20 years," Sparks said. The team is now focused on applying insights from the conference-including more deliberate efforts to contribute to Drupal Core. "That was one 'must-do' that we brought back with us from Melbourne."

He also shared that Sparks Interactive is kicking off its first structured contribution initiative in April, supporting core issues. "Super excited about that," Sparks said. He also plans to contribute personally in areas like marketing and product development, where his experience can add value to Drupal's evolution.

Looking ahead to DrupalSouth 2026 in New Zealand, Sparks is hopeful and inspired. "Melbourne will be a hard act to follow. We're up for it," he said. He's particularly interested in seeing Drupal events evolve to spotlight not only what can be built, but what those builds enable people to achieve.

For Sparks, the message from Melbourne is clear: Drupal is growing faster, smarter, and more community-driven than ever. "Telling those stories about what Drupal can do is exciting," he said. "And for those of us who make Drupal what it is, incredibly rewarding."