After several long years of virtual-only or very few Joomla! Events, our community has come back strong! Our Joomla User Groups are getting back together both virtually and in person. Event committees have been collaborating to start again with Joomla Day events, Joomla Camp events, and other creative events. Some events are in person, others are virtual. We are in a new world where we can give each other hugs and collaborate from across the ponds! Let’s highlight three great events: one ongoing, two coming up.

Web Design Company Owners JUG

(By Robin Clapp)

The Web Design Company Owner JUG started in June of 2022 after a great discussion at JDayUSA last spring. I had wanted to join a JUG to share ideas with other Joomla folks. It is easy to feel isolated in an area where JUG meetings don't exist. So starting a virtual group made great sense to me.

After having built Joomla websites for businesses, companies, and organizations for years, I wanted to share ideas with others that make a living doing the same thing. Jumping on Zoom once a month meant we were not limited by geography. The Web Design Company Owners JUG became a specialty JUG rather than location-based. 

The JUG has a monthly meeting (third Thursday at 11AM ET) on Zoom where we follow a simple agenda. We have a 10-minute member spotlight followed by a 30-minute presentation. Everyone gets a chance to introduce themselves at the start of the meeting, and afterward, we have open discussion time. I am no longer an island; I am part of a community thanks to this virtual JUG. 

Do you have your own web design company? Feel free to join this virtual JUG!

JoomlaCamp, Essen, Germany

(By David Jardin)

The German community will have a two-day unconference from February 24 - February 25 in Essen, Germany. The event will be a BarCamp-style in-person event, where the program schedule is created in a kickoff session at the start of the event. Everyone can suggest a topic, creating a program that matches the needs of the attendees. Friday is a business-focused day called AgencyDay, whereas Saturday is a community-focused day, the JoomlaCamp. 

JDayUSA, Austin, Texas (and online)

(By Laura Gordon)

JDayUSA will be a hybrid event April 21 - April 23. For the first time we will have a JoomlaDayUSA event in person. We look forward to welcoming speakers from all over the world to meet with us in Austin, Texas, USA. Our event will span a few days, starting on Friday with speakers and bug-squashing sessions. Interested in multiple-person panels? We will have those on both Friday and Saturday. A panel allows us to learn from multiple Joomla experts simultaneously, then fire questions at them. On Friday we will also host an Introduction to Joomla session for the full day. This will be an excellent opportunity for those new to Joomla (or just new to Joomla4) to learn from the ground up. Saturday, we will have 2 tracks on various topics. We are encouraging participants to come down to Texas in person, experience a real BBQ, and the fun that you can have in only Texas! Since we are aware that not everyone can attend in person, we will be offering for all attendees at least one track on both days that will be live-streamed. The other track will be available via recording after the event is complete. These recordings will be available to registered participants only. Ready to register? Visit: https://jdayusa.com!

Be there… or create your own event!

Which event will you choose? Or even better, how about discussing with your Joomla User Group the thought of creating an event, hybrid, or in-person! If you need assistance or resources, please reach out to the Joomla User Group team, and we can give you ideas of different events that you can have. 

Get your event(s) listed

Most importantly, get your events on the Joomla.org calendar as soon as possible! Even just a ‘regular Joomla User Group meeting’, should be listed in our calendar (https://community.joomla.org/events.html). The more times we can get our community together and collaborate the better Joomla will become.