WordCamp Zaragoza 2024: Snow and children’s playground

The fifth edition of WordCamp Zaragoza 2024 was held on January 19-20, it started the WordCamp season in Spain, where there is an average of 11 events per year, approximately one per month. The organizing team alerted us from the WordCamp website: Get ready to live an unforgettable experience! So, with great enthusiasm, I went to Zaragoza to collaborate with the WordPress community, this time, as a speaker.

The first surprise was the beautiful snowfall not seen there since January 9, 2021, with the storm Filomena. I was told that it would be cold and, that there was a wind called cierzo, but I was not expecting snow. Already from the bus, I began to see the tiny flakes that were getting bigger as we approached the end of the trip. Fortunately, the snowfall intensified just as I was at my destination. However, it was a bit more complicated for those who arrived later as they stood on the train track for about half an hour, waiting for the weather to improve. 

Once in the parking lot of the “Delicias” Train and Bus Station, the GPS indicated that my hotel was there. Was it a mistake? No, the hotels suggested by the WordCamp organizers were in an excellent location. Mine was right on the top floor, all I had to do was walk up a ramp. Incredibly convenient: from the train or bus to the room and from the room to the train or bus. And, from the hotel to Etopia Centro de Arte y Tecnología de Zaragoza, the venue of the WordCamp Zaragoza 2024, was very close, in about five minutes I made the trip under the snow, to attend the Contributor Day. 

Etopia is an emblematic building in Zaragoza and is the centerpiece of the so-called Digital Mile Campus. Its four facades are covered with screens projecting videos and graphics created in the center by artists. To access Etopia we walked through an elegant walkway that starts right in front of the station and from which there is an interesting view of the city. The WordCamp took advantage of the open and diaphanous spaces of the building. The accreditation desk was on the first floor, as well as the space for the sponsor’s stand, the food area, and track 1 in the main auditorium. Track 2 and The Contributor Day were on the second floor. Track 3 was on the fourth floor, and on the minus one floor, the children’s playground. 

The facilities take advantage of geothermal energy with individualized domotic control of all areas but due to a major breakdown, it was not available. On Friday they were supposed to change the boiler, but the snowfall made it impossible. The organizer team informed us about the situation and recommended keeping warm with thick socks, scarves, gloves, and any other useful warm garment. The truth is that between all of us, we generated the necessary heat to enjoy the event until the last minute. And when it was over we stayed at the door of Etopia trying to extend the post-WordCamp. This is the story of why we were all wearing coats, well except for one (you can see him in the pictures).

Contributor Day or Community Day had a great turnout of WordPressers despite the snow. WordCamp Zaragoza 2024 was the time for some regular community participants to meet again in the new year. After Chabi Angulo’s presentation, we started working on some projects planned by the team-leaders. During the day we also introduced new collaborators to the community’s work process. And for those for whom the time was not enough, we went home with homework.

The working teams were the following:

Marketing led by Álvaro Torres, a regular collaborator of the team; and Erika Orlando in Documentation, co-organizer of the WordCamp in Valencia. 

Design Team: led by Ana Cirujano team leader of the Torredolones 2024 WordCamp.

WordPress TV and Photos Team: led by Pablo Moratinos, co-organizer of the Irun MeetUps and WordCamps.

Translations Team: led by Nilo Vélez, regular collaborator of the team, and co-organizer of the Seville WordCamp.

Accessibility Team: led by Vicent Sanchis, a regular collaborator of the team.

Plugins Team: led by Fran Torres, a regular collaborator of the team. 

Community Team: led by Luis Miguel Climent, a regular collaborator of the team.

Contributor Day always creates a recurring debate in many WordCamps: when is it better to celebrate it? before the talks or after? Opinions are divided, many times it depends on the building’s contracting conditions. Regardless of the day chosen, the main objective is the exchange of knowledge. What day do you prefer?

And then, the day of the lectures arrived, a Saturday that dawned with the streets partially frozen. For those of us who are not used to similar weather, warnings such as: “be careful when stepping, don’t fall,” are never enough. In the end, I slipped twice, but I didn’t hit the ground, now I’m already trained for the next snowfall. 

The presentations, divided into talks and workshops, were of high quality. The organizers had the complicated task of choosing twenty papers from among the 87 received. The selection of content was meticulous and was organized into three categories. The first one, “Editing”, included topics such as copywriting, content management, blogging, layout, business, and marketing. The second one, “Administration,” included HTML, CSS, PHP or jQuery programming, servers, and technical topics. The third category was, “Collaboration”, with practical guides on how to get involved with the community. Each with three levels of understanding: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The speakers used language accessible to everyone and covered topics ranging from WordPress training to more current topics such as AI. The audience was satisfied and engaged with the speakers through questions, laughter, and applause. It is also important to note that sign language translation was provided at the request of one attendee.

Auditorium Track A was temporarily dedicated to José Luis Losada, who before being a wordpresser was a Galician electrician. He participated as a volunteer in all Spanish WordCamps for many years. He was an active contributor to the WordPress support forum, responding quickly and accurately. Surely if you have had any doubts and have gone to the forum you will have found an answer from him. He passed away last year and was a beloved figure in the community, almost like a legend, many signs of affection and respect helped to give him a well-deserved goodbye. I met him during WordCamp Valencia 2022. In this sense, WordCamp Zaragoza 2024 pays tribute to him again by naming the Auditorium after him, but this time, to place him as a representative figure of all volunteers. Chabi Ángulo explained this during the opening of the WordCamp and to define José Luis Losada and all the volunteers he used a very illustrative phrase from James Harold Doolittle: “The happiest people are not those who receive the most, but those who give the most.” 

The talks were distributed in Track A | Auditorium José Luis Losada, Track B | Urban Lab, and Track C | Classroom 1 | Workshops. The speakers were:

Another big surprise was the children’s playground. An excellent bet that allowed families to enjoy the WordCamp. During the breaks, we could see the kids among us. This initiative has been adopted by several WordCamps and is very valuable because the event becomes accessible to families and especially to mothers. Let’s remember that, unfortunately, motherhood often has a negative impact on women’s careers. One of the speakers, Lidia Malbán, a web designer, digital marketing, and eCommerce consultant, was able to give her talk thanks to the children’s playground service where her son was cared for while she shared her experiences from the stage of the Auditorium. 

Almost to finish it is important to mention the catering that is always very well taken care of. The attendees thoroughly enjoyed the snacks, churros, chocolate, and meals. I remember a comment from two guys in front of the food: “All this for only 25 euros!”. Now take a look at some photos with more details. 

One of the courtesies for those who make the WordCamp is the dinner for speakers and volunteers. This was held at the Aura, a restaurant overlooking the Ebro and the Basilica del Pilar where we were offered a varied menu that had a clear winner: the boletus croquette. Not all the guests were able to arrive, due to the snowfall the cab service was suspended, but they still enjoyed the local gastronomy. The organizers were also kind enough to offer us a post-WordCamp guided tour of the Mobility Museum located on the bridge designed by Zada Hadid for the 2008 Zaragoza International Fair. A deconstructionist building that represents a milestone in the history of world architecture. 

The photographers, who participated as volunteers, left us some excellent photos documenting many of the details experienced during the event. They were Anabel Perez Hidalgo, Nilo Velez, Hector Izquierdo and Selena Salustri. Now you can put a face to them in the following pictures, as you can see they always have their camera with them.

And we have reached the end. WordCamp Zaragoza 2024 closed its doors on Saturday night. Finally, as Chabi Angulo (team leader), César Frisa Pérez, Edubris Mora, Héctor Izquierdo, Israel Escuer, Laura Cebollada, Laura Santabarbara, Merche Salas, and Susana Ibáñez promised on the website, it was an unforgettable experience. They fulfilled their desire to “offer presentations and workshops with the aim of learning, connecting with new friends, meeting old acquaintances, and immersing themselves in two days full of technology and innovation”. We enjoyed the event thanks to the work of the organizers, volunteers, speakers, and the enthusiastic participation of the community. As Chabi commented at the opening of the WordCamp: “We are volunteering here for you so that you can learn and bring culture to your home or company.”

Who knows, maybe next time we can do the snow Wapu.

WordCamp Zaragoza 2024 website

Episode 247: Reviú de WCZGZ24. Podcast Un Billete a Chattanooga con Pablo Moratinos y Ana Cirujano

WordCamp Zaragoza 2024: Gorro, Churros y WordPress. Autora: Pilar García

Pictures from WordCamp Zaragoza 2024 en Flickr

WordCamp Zaragoza 2024. Design table in Contributor day

Anabel Perez Hidalgo, Nilo Vélez, Héctor Izquierdo y Selena Salustri

Now you know a little about the first WordCamp in Spain in 2024, do you want to know a little about the last WordCamp in 2023? Read about WordCamp Valencia 2023 here.