This is a guest post from the incredible team at DevBranch, a Drupal development team based in Lutsk, Ukraine.

Drupal Café Lutsk and Drupal Global Contribution Weekend (DGCW) have become regular opportunities to strengthen the Drupal community in Lutsk, Ukraine. Organized by the DevBranch development team, they connect developers and grow an active community both locally and within the global Drupal ecosystem.

Is Drupal Café Lutsk the biggest systematic free Drupal meetup?

Drupal Café Lutsk became one of the largest events of this kind and one of the world’s leading Drupal meetups. It all started with the desire to promote this CMF to local programmers.

This idea took shape as free and offline meetups. Their format included two speakers giving sessions on technical Drupal topics in an informal setting. Recordings of the sessions were streamed on Facebook, but the main emphasis remained on live interaction among participants.

The first Café, held on February 18, 2016, attracted nearly 40 attendees. Such a strong start inspired the organizers to continue their mission of introducing more people to Drupal. Their creative peak was to put Drupal’s founder, Dries Buytaert’s, portrait on the logo. To everyone's sheer surprise, Dries himself replied to the email with a confirmation! As a result, the announcement of the next Café had the aforementioned logo.

Drupal Café Lutsk (18.02.2016)

One of the key challenges in organizing the event was finding the right venue. Since the primary goal was to create informal communication in a comfort zone with no recruitment or headhunting, the choice fell on open-space venues to rent.

Drupal Café Lutsk (05.08.2021)

This, however, was only at the beginning. As the company grew, DevBranch built its own office in late 2021. One of its rooms was a conference hall, which became the permanent venue not only for Drupal Café Lutsk, but also for other similar events.

Drupal Café Lutsk (23.10.2025)

Now, Drupal Café Lutsk is held four times a year. To attract more attendees and broaden the audience, a third session (non-technical IT-related) was added. From that point on, the number of attendees steadily grew and eventually exceeded 100 per event. Thanks to this, has Drupal Café Lutsk become the largest free recurring Drupal meetup in the world?

The initiative also received support from software agencies like AnyforSoft and YozmaTech. Their contributions helped provide dinners/afterparties and photos.

Drupal Global Contribution Weekend (DGCW) in Lutsk - 100+ successfully closed issues every event annually!

Another important contribution to the community’s development is the Drupal Code Sprint, based on the Drupal Association initiative — the Drupal Global Contribution Weekend. The association’s goal was to convene Drupal developers worldwide annually to collaborate on core, modules, themes, and documentation.

Drupal Global Contribution Weekend in Lutsk (25.01.2020)

The DevBranch’s idea was to join this initiative by arranging a local event. Their partners and friends — Drupal companies from different parts of Ukraine — were invited to join the Drupal Code Sprint as sponsors, mentors, and participants. Organizers provide an office location and all the necessary equipment, along with overall event administration. Sponsors — AnyforSoft, ImageX, Lemberg Solutions, Five Jars, UniOne, Sigma Software, and Mint Innovations — cover direct expenses such as lunch, mentors’ presents, and participants’ souvenirs.

Following the tradition established by the Drupal Association, the day for Drupal Code Sprints was set for the last Saturday of January. Those interested in participating choose the role of developer or mentor, depending on their expertise and availability of drupal.org issues. At the end of an all-day marathon, both contributors and mentors receive pleasant bonuses: souvenirs and gifts.

Drupal Global Contribution Weekend in Lutsk (25.01.2025)

As a result, Code Sprints became an accessible way for Ukrainian developers to contribute to community issues as part of a broader global movement. Beginners can make their first open-source contributions under the guidance of more experienced developers, who, in turn, finally have the time to contribute themselves :)

The outcomes spoke for themselves: 100+ successfully closed issues every event annually!

Drupal Ukraine Community banner at Drupal events

With the start of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, all those initiatives were put on hold. Many Ukrainians were stripped of the opportunity to attend global Drupal events in person. To highlight the impact of the war, DevBranch cooperated with AnyforSoft to create a banner with a simple message:

"Ukrainian Drupal Community: Absent from In-Person Events since 2022".

It has already traveled to DrupalCon Barcelona, DrupalCamp Ottawa, Drupal GovCon, DrupalCamp Finland+Baltics, DrupalCamp Ghent, DrupalCon Portland, Drupal Dev Days Belgium, Drupaljam, and DrupalSouth Melbourne, adding Ukrainian context to the global Drupal community.

Behind this journey stands the support of the community and those who helped make it happen. Props to all the event organizers and Lenny Moskalyk for her enormous assistance with logistics and for making sure the banners were in place!

If you are an event organizer and want to support Ukraine in such a way, just drop an email to merge@dev-branch.com! They can help from providing design assets, to printing a banner, and handling delivery to your venue.

Drupal Ukraine Community banner at Drupal events

Summary

When organizing all of these events, one of the key priorities was to create lively and in-person communication and urge a local IT community to grow. For this reason, all events were held on-site. Accordingly, with the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers deliberately suspended all such initiatives. Once regulations allowed gatherings in public spaces again, DevBranch brought back on-site events, taking care to provide attendees with masks and sanitizers.

However, this return to the in-person format took place shortly before the start of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. And only thanks to the Defence Forces of Ukraine, it eventually became possible to organize on-site events again. No event now takes place without the company’s traditional fundraising for the needs of the Ukrainian military.

Drupal Global Contribution Weekend in Lutsk (25.01.2025)

Thus, despite all obstacles and the challenging conditions dictated by today’s Ukrainian realities, Drupal Café Lutsk meetups and DGCW code sprints continue to bring developers together, promoting this CMF in Ukraine, attracting new participants, and helping experienced specialists continue to grow.

Over the course of 10 years, a proud number of events have been organized: 

• 30 Drupal Café Lutsk meetups;
• 10 Сode Sprints;
• 2 Drupal TriviaNights (inspired by the same venues at DrupalCons, Thursday evenings);
• numerous Upwork Freelance huddles.

All the local events highlighted Lutsk town as the Drupal capital of Ukraine! 

You can see photos from every event here: https://devbranch.ua/events

One day, DevBranch was asked, ‘Are you a Drupal development team, or an events agency?’
The reply was ‘Yes :)’

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Are you a Drupal enthusiast who’s ever thought, “I’m not expert enough to speak at DrupalCon”? You’re not alone. Imposter syndrome can affect even the most experienced developers, designers, and site builders. But here’s the truth: real-world experience matters far more than textbook expertise. Your lessons learned, project insights, and practical workflows are exactly what the community wants to hear.

Speaking at DrupalCon isn’t just about sharing knowledge. It’s a chance to grow personally and professionally. You’ll gain visibility in the Drupal community, advance your career through skill development and recognition, and connect with peers, mentors, and potential collaborators.

Don’t let self-doubt hold you back. If you’ve tackled real Drupal challenges, you already have a story worth sharing.
 

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                               Photo by PdJohnson

What Makes a Great DrupalCon Talk Proposal

When reviewers look at submissions, they’re seeking talks that are educational, clear, and actionable, not sales pitches. Here’s what makes a proposal stand out:

• Clear takeaway: What will attendees actually learn?
• Specific audience: Who benefits most from your talk?
• Drupal relevance: Make it explicit why this matters to the community.

Tips for a strong proposal:

• Avoid vague titles like “Drupal Tips & Tricks”
• Focus on outcomes rather than just features
• Be specific about your context, challenges, and solutions

Top Ideas for DrupalCon Rotterdam 2026 Talks

Need inspiration? Here are some trending topics that resonate with the community and demonstrate thought leadership:

• AI and Drupal: How AI tools can enhance content creation and user experiences
• Decoupled & composable architectures: Building flexible, modern sites
• Accessibility & inclusive design: Making Drupal sites usable for everyone
• Performance at scale: Lessons from high-traffic projects
• Real client success stories: Challenges, solutions, and wins
• Content workflows & editorial UX: Improving efficiency and satisfaction

Your unique experience in these areas could spark the next great DrupalCon session.

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                               Photo by PdJohnson

From Submission to Stage: How to Get Selected

Wondering how your proposal moves from idea to spotlight? Here’s a peek behind the curtain:

1. Choose the right track and format: DrupalCon has multiple tracks: technical, design, strategy, and more. Pick the one your talk aligns with.
2. Craft a compelling description: Clearly state the problem, your approach, and what attendees will take away.
3. Match difficulty level to audience: Beginners, intermediate, or advanced. Be honest to set expectations.
4. Focus on practical value: Share actionable insights, not theory alone.

Remember, clarity and relevance are key. The more concrete your examples and lessons, the stronger your submission.

Call for Papers: Key Dates & How to Submit

Don’t miss your chance to speak at DrupalCon Rotterdam 2026!

Deadline: 13 April 2026

Tracks: 

• Community Health
• Digital Sovereignty & Open Web
• Drupal CMS
• Development AI and Agentic Architecture
• Agency, Business & Marketing
• Success Stories and Innovation
• User Experience, Accessibility, and Design

Formats: Sessions (45 or 20 minutes), workshops (45 or 2x45 minutes), panels (45 minutes)

How to submit:

1. Visit the DrupalCon CFP page
2. Choose your track and format
3. Write your title and description with clear takeaways
4. Submit before the deadline!

Whether you’re a first-time speaker or a seasoned presenter, DrupalCon is the perfect platform to share your story, contribute to the community, and grow your career. Your insights matter, so step up to the mic and make your mark!

SUBMIT YOUR SESSION
 

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