The third Drupal Summit Latino, held from March 13th to 15th, 2013, in Loja, Ecuador, followed the successes of the first two Summits in Lima, Peru, and Guadalajara, Mexico. This event once again united the Drupal community from all over Latin America to share knowledge, foster connections, plan future activities, and enjoy the camaraderie. Hosted by the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja, the event provided a perfect setting with ample facilities for BoFs, speakers, and five tracks of simultaneous sessions.
The local turnout was impressive for a city of Loja’s size, with around 150 local attendees and approximately 30 international Drupaler@s from across Latin America, the USA, and France. Notably, the event had a high percentage of female participation (26.32% according to the organizers), indicating healthy growth in the Latin American community.
A standout session was “Building Drupal Sites with the Semantic Web Modules” by keynote speaker Stéphane Corlosquet, which delved into RDFa and WebID. My subsequent conversation with Stéphane about WebID, OpenID, and single-sign-on solutions provided insightful reflections on user authentication technologies and security processes.
While it was fulfilling to share knowledge with Drupal newcomers through 54 talks and 16 workshops, I wished for more opportunities for higher-level exchanges and code sprints with the talented Drupal experts present in Latin America. My initiated BoF session, the only one at the event, focused on getting more people involved in organizing Drupal Picchu. This session saw enthusiastic participation and a strong commitment to organizing a significant Drupal event in Latin America next year.
I extend my gratitude to erdfisch for sponsoring my trip, making it possible for me to be a part of this inspiring event. A special thanks to the organizers (Darwin Betancourt C., Marlon Maldonado, Fernando P. Garcia, Nancy Contreras) and all the volunteers for their excellent work!
To cap off the event, the Drupal Harlem Shake by the speakers at the Drupal Summit Latino was a memorable and fun highlight.
