Orientation with Kojo Idrissa

Good morning, everyone. I need a little bit more than that. Good morning, everyone. That was better. I I know everyone's not here yet, but uh we wanted to uh welcome you to DjangoCon US 2024. Uh thank you for coming to the orientation session. Uh I say there we go. You can see. Yeah, all right. I've only had to adjust my slides a little bit. The corners were cutting off at some point, so but Again, thank you for coming to Django Khan US 2024. This is the orientation session. It is designed for first-time attendees or for people who are at their first tech conference or first Django Khan US, but even if you're not a first-time attendee, it's fine to be here Who am I? My name is Kojo. I am a software engineer at a company called RevSys.

We work mostly in Python and Django. You'll hear a little bit more about them later. I'm also a Django Client US organizer. Thankfully, that's why I'm here. Uh I am also the DEFNA North American Ambassador. DEFNA is the Django Advents Foundation in North America. That's the nonprofit that puts on DjangoCon US. So uh That is that. I also used to be an accountant and got an MBA, so I'm one of those people who works in software development now, but switched careers from something else earlier, which is becoming more and more common. Back in the old days, it used to be just people who got computer science degrees, but that is no longer a thing. But I mentioned those things to point out that I do a lot of community organizing work. Those are just some sort of details about me that aren't super important. We're mostly here to talk about you. I'm here to talk to you

about you and how you can get the most out of your experience here at DjangoCon US. Um again these are I am the orientation chair which is why I'm here in front of you speaking, but I also do to do some other things. So you might know me from prior years of of uh doing lightning talks and contribution sprints, but I'm also going to talk about some of those activities a little bit in the orientation to help you get a feel for what's going on and what activities will be available while you're here this week. So Repsys is a company that I work for. And I mentioned Repsys uh partially because it's uh the Django Clan US is something that's very important to us as a company and and one of the reasons that I work at Repsys is because I met most of that team while attending. Um and helping to organize DjangoCon US. Seven-eighths of the company are here now, and so you'll see some of us wandering around.

We're also a sponsor um multiple prior organizers and deaf pres I'm sorry, DSF presidents uh and former DEFNA president. Uh also you were probably seeing Catherine at the registration desk. Uh and Catherine is part of our team and is a big part of the magic that makes things work. So that is Repsis. I also wanted to say hello to our online attendees. And so I can't recall if this is being streamed for them now or not. It is. And so even though I can't see you, hopefully you can see me. And I hope to see you all online and in the Slack channel. And we are glad that you're here. We are still working on improving the way that we run a hybrid event, and so please give us some grades if things don't go as smoothly as we would like.

But we are definitely trying to make sure that you have the best experience possible. So first timer. So how many people do we have at the f who are here for their first DjangoCon US ever? Okay, so most of you, most of you who are here. How many people are at their first ever tech conference? Okay, well spawned the number, but still definitely is some folks. Okay, that's good So , what do we want to do here the the orientation? The best case scenario here is to help folks be a little more comfortable by being in a strange space. We started this in 2016, the orientation to help people who might be a little more introverted, which truthfully is a lot of software developers. Help introverts sort of be more comfortable in a strange space

surrounded by strange people. Because that's often what a conference can be, especially on your first time attending a conference. You'll find as you attend more conferences it ends up being a strange space with people you know, which is much more comfortable. So that's good. Now we can't eliminate all of those weird feelings, all that sort of, you know, your discomfort with being around people when you're an introvert, or the discomfort uh with being around strangers, but we can try to smooth out some of those things. So how do we do that? How do we try to do that? Step one is an emphatic welcome. So instead of just having you show up and be like, okay, just go do conference stuff. You know, we want to we want to let you know that we are excited that you are here. But then also we want to to acknowledge certain realities. One of those is that being surrounded by strangers can be strange and weird

and and make you feel uncomfortable. And that's just, you know, the the term stranger danger exists for a reason. And you are not wronged if you feel uncomfortable because you're surrounded by a bunch of people you don't know. It's it's a it's a natural response and it's fine. Um now take that discomfort and multiply it by the fact that maybe you you are not part of the dominant demographic. You look around and you're like, okay, there aren't a lot of people who seem to look like me or to be like me, and you might feel even more out of place. Surprise, you're not. You're not in the wrong, you're not at a place, you're in the exact right place. And we are very, very thrilled that you're here. So uh let me We want to make that clear. No matter how you might feel sort of internally, if you may feel sort of out of place or or or what have you, or

maybe uncomfortable by being surrounded by strangers, we're very, very thrilled that you're here. And got a couple stories to sort of bring that point home. I was having a conversation a few months ago with a friend from uh I live in Houston, a friend who is uh from that area He attends a conference called DEF CON, and if you're not familiar with that, it's a conference sort of focused on security, things of that nature. He's an interesting person. He looks like uh if you're familiar with the American band ZZ Top, uh he looks like he's their son. He's like someone from ZZ Top. you know, married uh someone from a biker gang and and that's him. Um he's a very nice guy, but you know, very sort of shy and

introverted, so he is not super comfortable around strangers. Uh but we were talking and He made this comment about having these same feelings at DEF CON. The idea is that you know you're around, you're uncomfortable around strangers or approaching new groups of people. But remember it's something like DEF CON, very much like DjangoCon Everyone is there for the same reason. So you're at a place where you're surrounded by strangers, yes, but they're really just friends you haven't met yet because they're all there for the same reasons. They all have similar interests. They're all your people. It's the same thing here at Django Khan. If you're attending Django Khan US, you're surrounded by other people who have attended Django Khan US. And so they have, if not the same interests as you, they have very similar interests as you. And so there's definitely a lot to talk about because you are amongst your people So

uh so keep that in mind. Uh it's also important to to keep in mind that uh so by show of hands, how many of you think of yourselves as sort of like sort of kind of beginners at Django? Okay, I I'm laughing at somebody because yeah, they the hands went up like this. You know, people were like like yeah yes I'm a beginner but I don't want to say I'm a beginner. And again that that's that's fine and that's natural. Lots of people feel that way. Uh I would point out, one, you might not be as beginner as you think, uh, but then two, even if you are literally as be as much of a beginner as you think. you still have quite a bit to offer because that beginner perspective, that that newer, fresher eyed perspective is valuable to people who have been working in this, uh working with a certain

software or certain things for a much longer time because as you've worked with something longer and longer over longer periods of time, there are certain things that you just overlook. You have a different perspective that uh as an experienced person that newer people don't have and so only newer people can bring that perspective and it is very valuable. I actually Um I'm I'm sort of always updating this talk. I actually ran into this last night uh talking to a friend. Um I in my sort of free time. I play a game called Pathfinder. I was uh trying to explain it to a friend uh who had never played it before and based on that conversation I got an entirely new perspective on a game or a style of game that I've been playing for billions and billions of years, because I'm very, very old. So um

but I point that out to say that it be even if you are as beginner as you think you are That new fresh eye perspective is very valuable to people who are more experienced. So please don't discount yourself. So again, we are very glad that you're here. One more story. Uh this is i this literally says kojo a bushe jonghar, which is kojo is not Chinese. Um and so if you are Chinese and or you had met other Chinese people, you would Recognize that no, Kojo is in fact not Chinese. As handsome as I am, I am in fact not Chinese. And so I point this out because I spent two and a half years living in China. And while while doing that, uh, it was a great experience, um, but I spent most of that time sort of being the only person who looked like me.

or who thought like me or who behaved like me. And so but I was still very welcome and had a great time and had great interactions with people. And I point that out to say that If you look around Django Khan US and you re- you start to think, okay, well, you know, lots of other people here don't look like me, or maybe don't think the way I do, or or feel the way I do. You're still welcome, just like I was welcome in China. You are welcome here in Jiangokan, US. If no one else has said that to you, let me again just very clearly and emphatically state Whatever misgivings or concerns you might have about whether you should be here or whether whether or not you belong here, you do, and we are thrilled that you are here. So That is the end of story time. I'm gonna make a a couple more sort of very explicit, very pointed welcomes, because that's how I am

and I often lack subtlety. Um if you remember the LGBTQ community You are very welcome here. I asked earlier how many people were here at their first Django Kanye , the first tech conference. My first tech conference that I ever attended was organized by a transgender woman. Um if you were here from the outside from outside of the United States, you're very welcome here. Please try to give us here in the US a little bit of grace because we often tend to think sort of about ourselves as kind of the center of the universe and and forget other perspectives. It is something that you know that we don't do intentionally, it's just kind of how things are. Again, I ran into this last night. I was talking to a friend Daniele about uh the WNBA, the WNBA playoffs.

Uh started last night for those unaware WNBA is the women's NBA, it's our National Basketball Association. And Danielle , not a follower of sports, but also It's the WNBA, the National Basketball Association. It's literally for my country. Like why would other people know about a thing for my country? I know like two or three other sports leagues from other countries. So again, if you're visiting from outside of the US, I see some of my some of my cousins here from Africa, and so it's good to see them and some other friends from other parts of the world. See you, Carte. Um we are we are thrilled that you are here. We have some different customs in our country than you might be accustomed to, but again You are still welcome. Also, if you are if you have different mobility issues, we are very thrilled that you were here. There's lots of you know

lots of situations where people are just gonna walk around, oh, this is just a short walk here, a short walk there. If that's going to be an issue for you, that's fine. Um, you know, just sort of let the folks that that you're with know that you know you're gonna be taking a a different uh mode of transportation or something. But again, even if things might not seem like they're initially exactly for you. Everyone here wants you to be as involved as possible. So and this, I'm going to say this now, this will come up again, this idea of a self-care sprint. We talked before about being surrounded by strangers and maybe being overwhelmed by that, either by being in a strange space with strangers or the fact that a lot of information will be coming at you The nature of Django Khan US is that there is a lot of information

and that's sort of the idea, but it can be overwhelming. If you reach a point where you feel like you need to take some time away from activities, to give yourself some sort of a mental break, that's fine. And while it might it might sound a bit sort of new agey or woo-woo or whatever, I'm going to point out I point it out because it's important. To help you get the most from DjangoCon US. Whether it is in person or online, you can't get the most from the conference if you're fighting with being overwhelmed, if you're trying to sort of, you know, deal with the stress of all that. So just, you know. Take a moment to breathe. If you need to step back from things to better absorb the information to improve your experience and to help you become better with Django or with whatever aspect of the Django ecosystem

that you wanted to learn. So this ends the feelings portion of the the program. Maybe. And so let's take a look in a little more detail as to why you're actually here. So step two is you want to set your priorities. And this is sort of Where you decide how and where you're gonna spend your time and energy. Time and energy are both limited resources, and so you want to direct those properly to make the most of the conference for you, to get the most benefit for you specifically. This also applies to our virtual attendees. And so you might think, oh, well, I'm just, you know, at home and everything's fine. Well, there's still a lot going on, a lot of information. Lots of opportunities to interact with people in Slack, things of that nature. So you have to direct that time and energy. So

why are you here or what made you decide to attend DjangoCon US? As you decide to get how to get the most You know, you want to think, okay, but what do you really mostly want to hear talks about new features in Django or in other packages or new software techniques? Are you looking to hire people? Are you looking to get hired? Did you want to get more involved in the communities actively? Did you want to learn more about how to enhance your local Python or Django communities? So that's sort of the the homework portion. Give yourself a few minutes to to think about that. Okay, like what was I really hoping to get from Django Khan US? And then you can use the answers to that to help you guide where you spend your time and your energy while you're attending the conference. This is important

because there are lots of things that you can do here and there are lots of ways to interact with different people. But and there's often because of that there's a temptation to try to do all the things, to try to attend every talk, to try to go to every activity. But often Less is more by again focusing on why you're really here and what you were hoping to get out of the conference. That can help you focus your energy in fewer areas and go more deeply into those areas and benefit more from those activities by limiting yourself. I'll also point out the the hallway track, which happens in person and also uh in the the online conference. So What we call the hallway track, if you haven't heard this term, is what is happening on the hallways between talks. And so we have a wonderful schedule that shows you when all the different talks are happening and what rooms they're happening in.

But while those talks are happening We have this lovely hallway. Now here in this venue, it is it's it's it is a very convenient literal single hallway that makes it fairly straightforward. But the hallway tracks are very valuable because this is where you can meet people, have conversations that you couldn't have in other places. The talks are all going to be recorded. Um and you can watch those recordings later, but the conversations you might have with people on the hallway track cannot be recorded. The people that you might meet, the friends that you might make, the friends you might make along the way are the valuable part of the hallway track Um and now if you're one of our online attendees, this is also important because there's a lot of interaction that will happen in Slack, and so conversations you can have with people in the Slack channel, interactions, things of that nature, uh those are also very valuable. So please don't overlook those.

All right, so now we move on to the sort of the the logistics portion. Um where are things and and how do you better enjoy the conference? So we talked about being in a strange space. This is, you know, uh did how many people show of hands? How many people are from Durham? Okay, ooh wow, there's like like okay. One person put his hands up twice, that's that's cheating. You're just you're still just one person. Um now of those of those few people who live in Durham, how many people live here at the convention center? Uh see nobody. I did I thought so. Um so we want to you know point out sort of where things are going to be while you're here so you can take a look at this. So meals for actually lunch and then snacks are going to be in grand ballrooms one and two, which is to my left,

at this end of the hall, or to your right, uh, we have a quiet room. Uh I talked before about if you need space to sort of Breathe and sort of get away from things. If you're feeling overwhelmed, there's a quiet room here. That is going to be meeting room two, which is almost directly behind this room And then there's a lactation room, a lactation and wellness room if you need that. And that is going to be in meeting room one, which is going to be almost right next to the quiet room. And So fresh air and sunshine, this is important, it's valuable. If you need it, you can go outdoors for that. Unfortunately, like as I'm saying this, like this morning, it's kind of cloudy and not the best moment to mention fresh air and sunshine. Fresh air still, yes, but the sunshine not so much.

Um but if you go to the right end of this hallway from where I am to the left uh towards the hotel lobby and then make another left There's a lovely outdoor area. So if you decide okay, I just need to sort of be away from the conference and you don't want to go into the choir room, you can go outside and get some fresh air, some sunshine, some lovely trees. And so those are things that are all available to you And the restrooms in this venue are sort of conveniently located kind of in the middle of the hallway. So from either end, no matter where you're coming from. That's where those are going to be. And we are now in the junior ballroom. Most of the talks will be happening here in the junior ballroom or in grand ballrooms three and four, which are at the far end of the of this hallway, just beyond where we will have food.

So lightning talks. I'm gonna speak briefly about these, but be if if you wanna take your phones out, you'd be prepared to take a picture of this next slide. So I'm gonna stall here just for a bit while people get their phones out and open the phone app because that always that that that's always a thing that takes much longer than it seems like it should, uh despite the fact that these days our smartphones are really just really just cameras that They're really just cameras that let you text people so you can avoid talking to them because no one wants to talk to humans with our voices. We would much rather send them asynchronous text messages because We're civilized. This is how things should be. So lightning talks, if you're not familiar with them, are short talks with a five-minute

maximum. I'm not going to go into it in a whole lot of detail, but that's the idea. It's a five-minute maximum, a number of short talks. This link will let you take you to sheets where you can sign up for the Lightning Talks. And then our Lightning Talk chair and that committee, they will decide which talks are going to be selected and then presented. Sadly, our online friends won't be able to be involved in the Lightning Talk process. That may be something that we can do in future years. I'll leave that up for a few more seconds. Okay. Anyone else? I'm looking around for people furiously trying to use their phones. No, everyone's fine. Going once? Okay Toyus would come back again.

So you might think to yourself, oh no, the feelings portion has returned. Koja said the feelings portion was done, but he tricked us. No, no. This is now the science portion. Um and so I talk about the self-care sprint again because a few times, this the self-care sprint, uh and and for those who might not be familiar, I'll I'll sort of give a little explanation. This term sprint comes from agile software methodology, the idea of a software development sprint, which is a short period of time where you're focusing on a s a particular Uh building hust a certain specific feature or trying to get a certain specific thing done. I coined this term self-care sprint because You also need to budget a certain amount of time to take care of yourself.

And so of all these different sprints that you might do, the self-care sprint is the only sprint that makes every other sprint sustainable. I'm gonna say that one more time. The self-care sprint is the only sprint that makes every other sprint sustainable. So it gives you the capacity to continue those other sprints. As such, it needs to be factored into your time and your energy budget. And so we talked before about Deciding when and where you're going to spend your time and energy and how you're going to spend it, it is important to include self-care in that. Now, just like I said before, You have to decide why you're attending Django Khan US and what you hope to get from the conference. And you can make your specific decisions based on that.

You yourself have to decide what your self-care sprint budget needs to be and how much time and energy you need to spend on that. But please don't overlook it because we want you to take Take the best care of yourself so that you can get the most from the conference. Because as I said before, if you're just like overwhelmed and freaking out and like, oh my god, there are all these people and so much happiness, so strange, I don't know what to do. you're not going to be able to get the most from the conference. So again, when in doubt I was trying to decide if I was going to say this sort of goofy mnemonically that came to mind, but I'm going to say it because it's the truth. If you find yourself sort of overwhelmed or starting to panic, you know, when in doubt, breathe in, breathe out. Doesn't just rhyme, it's actually helpful. I was gonna say that.

So contribution sprints. Hopefully some of you are planning to stay for the by show of hands, how many people are planning to stay for the contribution sprints? All right, good show of hands. So uh someone maybe not someone seems indecisive. So the contribution sprints are going to be happening Thursday and Friday. Uh those are an opportunity to contribute to open source projects Uh I'm not going to go into into into a huge amount of detail about those, but those are happening Thursday and Friday. If you look in our Slack channel, I uh is something new that I learned about literally just like Friday, Friday as I was packing. There is a sort of a new initiative called open source design. So if you are someone who has uh like a design, like a visual design UI UX background. There are folks who are working on ways to help

get more engagement from designers in the open source process. I put something about that in the Sprints channel in uh in the conference Slack. So, but those will be happening Thursday and Friday. If you want to make code contributions, documentation contributions, or governance contributions to open source projects that you work with, that is what happens at the contribution sprints. But again , you all should have access to the conference Slack channel. And if there are different things that you're trying to do or that you want to get done, you can organize those things in the Slack channel Here's a link to our code of conduct. Some people might view a code of conduct as something that is restrictive, but in reality, the code of conduct is here to really help us all focus on why we came to Django

Khan US, as I pointed out earlier. and to help us get the most from the experience. And so by following the code of conduct, we don't have to worry so much about our interactions with other people. We can just focus on the task at hand on why we actually came. So if you have uh Questions or more concerns about the code of conduct, the link is here so you can take a look at that in more detail. And I think about a few minutes left if anyone has any questions or concerns. You can ping me on Slack or on Twitter or you can ask an organizer to ask me, or you can probably ask that organizer. They can ask answer your questions. I'm also pretty large and easy to see here at the conference, so that is an important thing. So we've got a couple minutes left. Does anyone have any questions or concerns? Yeah, i

when you if you're in the bathroom, just sort of i and i it it is kind of weird that this needs to be said, but yeah, you should probably leave other people alone when you're in the bathroom because you know, they're there to do the things they need to do just as you are. Um so well true but if you're in a bathroom and you feel like, oh well i should this person be in my bathroom? Well yes Um I'm sorry, is there another nope another question? So yes, leave people alone in the bathrooms. That's fairly straightforward. I I I hope. And if there are questions or concerns, then feel free to ask one of us. Any other questions, concerns? No? I and if with that being the case, I will step aside and

make way for the rest of our presenters. So thank you very much for your time and uh look forward to seeing you all here at DjangoCon US. Welcome.