Making DrupalCon Diverse & Inclusive

The Drupal Association is committed to a safe and inclusive event for all, regardless of age, body size, caste, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, physical appearance, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

We strongly encourage submissions from speakers and facilitators who have been marginalized due to racism, misogyny, transphobia, ableism, and other forms of globalized oppression.

Submission Guidelines

• Sessions should share knowledge and enrich the community — not promote products or services
• Priority given to unique content not readily available online
• Experienced speakers are encouraged to collaborate with other community members, including cross-organization partnerships (e.g., service providers + clients) for panels and co-presentations
• Panels must include representation from underrepresented communities
• Speaker/facilitator count per session is limited — see Session Types
• Maximum 2 session proposals per speaker; maximum 2 sessions per speaker/facilitator, only 1 of which may be solo
• Rooms include LCD projector/screen, laptop dongle/adaptor kit, and podium mic
• All speakers and facilitators must read and follow the DrupalCon Code of Conduct
• Registration is complimentary for accepted main stage speakers/facilitators — max 2 comp tickets per session, non-transferable
• Submissions can be edited until the submission deadline
  
  First-Time Speaker Restriction
• First-time speakers, those without prior DrupalCon, DrupalCamp, or other Drupal event speaking experience, may only submit to the Poster Session & Lightning Stage pathway. Main program tracks require confirmed prior Drupal event speaking experience.

Session Types

50-minute sessions:

• Workshop: Workshops provide active and in-depth learning through hands-on activities. Participants should leave with a tangible skill or product. (1-2 Facilitators and speakers)
• Fireside chat: Fireside chats are casual conversations between a facilitator, an interviewee, and the audience, without the aid of slides. (1 facilitator and 1 interviewee)
  
• Lecture presentation: Your typical conference presentation. Q&A is highly encouraged. (1-2 speakers)
• Panel: Panels bring together diverse perspectives for spirited debate and discussion between panelists and participants without the aid of slides. Panels are not a series of short presentations. (1 facilitator and up to 3 panelists)

NOTE: Your submission may be considered for use in an Industry Summit or Industry Training.  

Poster Session & Lightning Stage:

A visual format for first-time DrupalCon speakers who have no previous experience speaking at a DrupalCamp or other Drupal events.

If accepted, the Drupal Association will provide a design template, print your poster (36"×24" on poster), and display it during the Monday evening welcome reception.

Accepted Poster Talks will be given a 10-minute time slot on the Lightning Stage during DrupalCon with your poster used as slides — just you and your ideas in a conversational setting. (1 speaker)

NOTE: Poster Session & Lightning Stage do not qualify for a complimentary speaker ticket. Selected Poster Authors will receive a 25% discount on Early Bird tickets.

Track Descriptions

Community Health:

This track focuses on promoting the happiness and health of open-source community members at work. Sessions may include ideas about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion, fostering productive teamwork, lessons from other communities and providing insights into improving mental and physical well-being.

Content and Marketing:

We’re looking for sessions about content strategy best practices, digital marketing techniques, and creative examples of achieving digital campaign goals. We’re open to sessions about working with third-party marketing tools, multichannel publishing, measuring content success, open-source technologies, as well as Drupal-specific solutions.

Development and Coding:

Content for front-end and back-end developers alike, including how to turn requirements into solutions, including key topics like security, migration, decoupling, and more. We’d love to hear about Drupal and adjacent technologies and how your team is innovating.

DevOps:

For the behind-the-scenes experts who focus on deploying high-quality code continuously. Topics include infrastructure, quality assurance, and testing, performance, and scaling.

Leadership, Management, and Business:

For agency leaders, executives, and people and project managers. Share your business strategy and development ideas, human resources, staff management, and project management best practices.

Next-Gen Drupal and the Open Web:

The launching pad for the future of the platform and its place in the modern digital ecosystem. Tailored for active and prospective Core, CMS, and Strategic Initiative contributors, this is where we map out big ideas, technical roadmaps, and the practical steps to achieve them. If your session focuses on pushing the boundaries of Drupal Core, shaping the new Drupal CMS, or driving groundbreaking strategic initiatives—such as Drupal AI, Drupal Canvas, or ECA—this is your track. Join us to debate where the open web is heading and engineer how Drupal will lead the way.

Site Building:

For those who build and manage websites. We welcome submissions on best practices and techniques for site builders, everything from how to select and configure Drupal modules, low code/no code solutions, and adjacent technologies that can empower site builders. 

Success Stories and Innovation:

Inspire your peers and shine a spotlight on your recent work! We’re seeking case studies that delve into project intricacies, team involvement, processes and methodologies, and challenges or opportunities addressed. We’d love to hear what role Drupal played or what the Drupal community can learn from your project. Please note that this track is about showcasing, not selling.

User Experience, Accessibility, and Design:

Let's make digital experiences more user-friendly and accessible. We are looking for talks about building better design processes, techniques to improve usability and accessibility, and creating design systems that work across digital channels and technologies.

Additional Guidance:

If you have questions on how to rank the difficulty of your session, or on how your session will be evaluated, please see the following resources:

🔗 Difficulty Criteria

🔗 Evaluation Criteria

*NOTE: each session has a max of 2 complimentary speaker registrations tickets. Tickets are non-transferable. | Poster sessions do not qualify for a complimentary speaker ticket. Selected Poster Authors will receive a 25% discount on Early Bird tickets.