Denmark, Codegarden and Umbraco MVP (!?)

I’ve been lucky enough to spend the past week in Denmark for Umbracos annual conference, Codegarden. This year was extra special because I celebrated becoming an MVP, something that as a non-technical person, I never thought was possible. This is an achievement I’m extremely proud of, and to be fair, a bit of a career moment.

Being part of the Sustainability community team over the past year has been such a treat. It’s amazing to look back at how far we’ve come and the things we have achieved within the space of a year (including releasing a best practice guide helping developers and content editors make greener choices for code and content, countless webinars and articles and a very fun sustainability competition). At last years CodeGarden we were very much in our initiation phase, talking about our plans, so returning this year and discussing our achievements has been a great reflection. I especially loved seeing the Umbraco bike that we designed being awarded to our Sustainability competition winner. ??

Theres so much more to be done though. I hosted the sustainability green table talk, where the team and I engaged with attendees to hear feedback and ideas for things they want to see. An overarching theme was “what does good look like” and behaviour change, both for developers and how we approach the conversation with content editors who are often our clients. We also discussed collaboration with other community teams (including the packages, team) to weave in sustainability best practice into more Umbraco packages and installations. The refreshing thing is, that doesn’t feel unachievable, people genuinely want to help and learn.

The Umbraco community is unique, it genuinely is one of the best tech communities that lives by its values of openness and friendliness. Codegarden is a gathering of friendly strangers, good people and those that are open to new ways of thinking. I thrive in spaces like that, which is also why I love working for Nexer. I feel really grateful that I’ve been pushed to persue my passion of sustainability not only by my bosses but also from the wider team. It’s really valuable that time is made to pursue curiosities and passions and that we are encouraged to bring these considerations to our work, both for internal and client projects.

I wrote a bit more about my favourite talks here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/nexer-digital_codegarden-2024-highlights-and-key-takeaways-activity-7208496760413896705-7_eL?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

But my experience was so much more than the talks this year:

• I took part in live episodes of UmbraCoffee with Callum and Marcin, and CandidContributions with Emma, Laura and Lottie. At one point, being pulled out of the crowd at random to join the hosts on stage, and be live streamed, would have put the fear of god in me. But I loved it #growth.
• Better representation and diversity, it really did feel like a more inclusive event this year. Every year, there is a picture of all the women of Codegarden on the stage. Last year I didn’t get up, for fear of tokenism mainly, but I really regretted that. So this year I stood on a very (delightfully) crowded stage and took part. I realised, that if this picture can make anyone feel more included in a male dominated industry, it’s a worthy picture to be taken. We can, and should, take up space.
• I embraced the fitness and wellbeing elements this year. After some recent lifestyle changes, I was interested to see how I’d find the conference sober, especially the social elements. In all honesty, it allowed me to soak up more of the atmosphere and have more authentic conversations with people. I joined the codegarden runners which was a great start to the day and way to socialise before everything started. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the intensity and learning, and at times events like this can feel overwhelming so I was delighted to see that mindfulness sessions were part of the schedules, this really allowed me to recalibrate during the day!

After an amazing week, I took the opportunity to soak up some Danish culture in Copenhagen over the weekend. I visited Designmuseum Danmark where the exhibitions offered some more creative takes on designing for a more sustainable society and future.

The ‘future is present’ exhibition was great. It focussed on how we can use our resources in a smarter way, change our patterns of consumption and rethink how we live. What is being designed right now, and the choices we all make today, will shape and create our future. From crocheted letters to MPs campaigning for better conditions for garment workers, contemplating the importance of community in remote teams, to futuristic takes on social care and end of life provocations, I left with some fresh inspiration that I’ll carry to shape my thinking and hopefully problem solving.

At the airport when they asked me if I’d been visiting Denmark for “business or pleasure”, I struggled to give them a straight answer, and whilst this probably confused the customs clerk, it made me feel really content. Weeks like this are important for learning, absorbing, being inspired and belonging to a community where collectively we can make a difference, not just to the projects we work on, but our society and future.