The 2022 AsyncAPI Conference was amazing, and I had a great time. I volunteered at this conference, not knowing what to expect, and I must say, I left with a new resolve. The organization was top-notch, from interesting sessions to an amazing community.
The challenges
Because AsycnAPI is a community-first organization, I was able to follow along with the whole process of planning the conference, and I could see some of the challenges the community faced when planning to organize the conference.
Here are a few of the challenges:
- Went from hybrid to online: The event was supposed to be an in-person and virtual event held in Barcelona, Spain. But because the foundation they partnered with couldn't find a venue within the provided date, they had to scrap the in-person idea.
- Fewer Sponsors: I believe the whole planning for the 2022 AsyncAPI Conference started quite late, which made it difficult to get a budget for the event in such a short time.
But despite these challenges, AsyncAPI still reached the top of the mountain by giving a blast conference with the power of the community.
How was it done
AsyncAPI proved how much you can do when you have an amazing and strong community behind you.
Despite AsyncAPI leveraging their experience hosting online events, they also created a conference support squad where so many amazing folks from the community volunteered, including me. This squad involves two categories of volunteers: on-stage and off-stage.
This approach worked like a charm, bringing over 15 members of the community to help coordinate the conference in a collaborative way which, in my opinion, was what made the conference a blast!
Was it worth it?
I wouldn't say it was amazing if it weren't worth it! The conference was amazing thanks to the contributions from the organization, community, speakers, and sponsors.
Look at the number of views we had on Youtube alone; don't forget numbers don't lie.
- Day 1: 584 views
- Day 2: 325 views
- Day 3: 247 views
But hold on, we celebrated too early because two weeks after the conference, the number of views doubled.
- Day 1 views grew to 1403
- Day 2 views grew to 1181
- Day 3 views grew to 400
AsyncAPI also had significant women speakers & stream hosts. Isn't this an important move in the right direction for true diversity?
A sneak peek
The AsyncAPI conference was so great that some of the sessions were not all technical; we had sessions where folks talked about their journey into Opensource and shared their experiences as a part of the AsyncAPI community.
We've carefully curated this type of session for you, and it can be found in this youtube playlist called Inspire & Aspire with AsyncAPI.
We also have all sessions from the conference recorded and available publicly. Feel free to check it out and share AsyncAPI Conf 2022.
Meet the heroes
With the help of these amazing organizations and individuals, AsyncAPI was able to host an incredible conference, and here's a special shoutout to each and every one of them.
Meet the Sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Media Support
Special thanks to Restream for supporting us with their amazing product for media coverage.
Meet the volunteers
Aishat Muibudeen
Alejandra Quetzalli
Azeez Elegbede
Barbanio González
Benjamin Granados
Dale Lane
Deepak Verma
Fran Méndez
Karuna Tata
Khuda Dad Nomani
Lukasz Gornicki
Maciej Urbańczyk
Missy Turco
Sergio Moya
Souvik
V Thulisile Sibanda
WeeProduccionesA glance at the budget
Thanks to the conference sponsors, we were able to get some money to fund the conference and here's an overview of how much we raised and spent.
Income
- Postman - $4,854.70 (Platinum Sponsor)
- Ably - $2,882.70 (Gold Sponsor)
- Leftovers from conference 2021 - $7,951.71
A total sum of $15,689.11 was raised for the 2022 AsyncAPI Conference.
Spendings
- Swags for speakers and people that helped run the event - $2,847.81
- Facebook ad - $114.40
- Linux Foundation services (registration and schedapp) - $10,000.00
- Descript licenses for speakers to provide high quality recordings - $696.79
- Headphones for Anisat - $21.74
A total sum of $13,680.74 was spent on the conference needs.
What's Next?
Because the AsyncAPI Conference happens yearly, it means there will be another one next year(2023). I can't wait for it to happen because the community happens to have learned from its mistake by deciding to kick off the planning as early as possible and I believe this is a big step in the right direction. So many lessons learned to put into play for next year!
Wrap up
I am truly honored that the community "came together." This was 100% done with the community in mind, and each party involved in the conference has been thoughtfully and intentionally positioned to ensure the project is successful! Cheers to that success!
We had a great time and learned a lot from this year's conference thanks to everyone who attended, was involved, and got behind AsyncAPI in putting this event on. We value and appreciate each and every one of you for making it a blast, and we can't wait to see you all next year.