WordCamp Europe is always a highlight on the Human Made calendar. It’s a chance for us to connect as a fully remote team, to learn the latest and greatest in WordPress innovations, and to hear from the community about the inspiring ways in which they’re bringing WordPress to life.
We had no fewer than fifteen humans on the ground at WCEU this year, with some of them attending for the very first time! Let’s hear from them about what made their WordCamp Europe experience once to remember.
Wisdom’s first WordCamp
“Having worked with WordPress for a good number of years but never attended a WordCamp event, I was truly amazed by the vibrant community behind the project. What stood out most was the family-like relationships among community members; it was a powerful display of unity and shared purpose.
I enjoyed the diverse talks that showcased the real-world impact of WordPress. Noel’s talk, along with the session by Tom and Jon, particularly stood out in this regard. The workshops “Building Automated Tests with WordPress Playground” by Berislav and “WordPress Gems for Devs: Interactivity API” by Milana were especially engaging, introducing me to new and exciting areas of WordPress I hadn’t explored before.
Check out Noel, Jon and Tom’s talks here.
Overall, I left feeling more connected to the WordPress community than ever and inspired to engage at a deeper level.”
Vladi’s first flagship WordCamp
“WordCamp EU was a very intense experience for me – it was the first WordPress event of such magnitude that I’ve attended.
Apart from the interesting content, I was really impressed and humbled by the vibrant and diverse community of people from all over the world, all gathered together by their common purpose and love for WordPress and open source.
People were so inspired and devoted to an idea, contributing their time and energy, knowledge and experience, to build something for others, for the greater good. I also found HM’s CGO Noel and Ops Director Petya’s talks right on spot, to illustrate how impactful and transformative that common effort actually was for the lives of so many people around the globe!”
Check out Noel and Petya’s talks here.
– Vladislav Denishev, Senior Cloud Engineer
Rob’s first WCEU talk in a decade
“This year was the first time I’d spoken at a WordCamp in over a decade, so I was pretty preoccupied at first, but the organising team put on such a slick and professional event these days that quickly subsided.
I went to a couple of talks, including Oliver from PatchStack’s about CRAs, but my favourite part is always the hallway track. Catching up with old friends and colleagues, meeting new people and getting into techy conversations about accessibility and real time collaborative editing at 2am doesn’t happen anywhere else!
I got a lot out of it this year, rekindling my enthusiasm for speaking and teaching which I’m really grateful for. Looking forward to the next one!”
– Rob O’Rourke, Product Engineer
Hannah’s WCEU community spirit
“It’s pretty daunting showing up to your first WordCamp—everyone seems to know each other so well. But it turns out, the WordPress community is incredibly welcoming.
Basel was the perfect backdrop for a packed few days of meeting remote colleagues for the first time, networking with peers from around the community , and getting a real sense of how much goes on behind the scenes in WordPress.
For me, it was particularly great to see diversity initiatives taking place around WCEU, from Kirsty’s talk about LGBTQIA+ inclusivity and the Pride party, to joining my first WP Includes meeting, to talk about how we can make WordPress a more inclusive place for women.
I left feeling more connected, more informed and with a number of takeaways when it comes to how we can drive operations within the community —along with way too much Swiss chocolate and cheese in my suitcase. A Solid first WordCamp!”
– Hannah Terrill, Senior People Manager
Rufaro’s WCEU learnings and reflections
“WordCamp Europe this year was a bit of a tough one. And no, it’s not because of the large crowds: I’d experienced 2024’s edition knew what to expect! This year was particularly challenging for me because of my travels not going smoothly, which ended up impacting the time I had to attend contributor day. However, every cloud has a silver lining: the experience taught me that you can do something with the time you have and that itself can be impactful. One for me to keep in mind as I look at contributing more to WordPress.
You could say I’m a little biased, but my favourite WCEU 2025 talks were from the amazing Humans of Human Made. Petya’s talk in particular touched me, especially the tough question she raised of “What are you building?”. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and it’s not because it’s such a unique question, but more because of the story she shared and how it was a great way of answering the question. Building something impactful that leaves a great legacy.
I also saw this tying into Noel’s talk, which was another example of how that question can be answered and how WordPress as a tool plays a part. I’ll continue to ponder on this and I think everyone else should also look at how they can answer the question in a meaningful way.
Check out Noel and Petya’s talks here.
Another thing that’s been on my mind, especially with the rise of LLMs, is translations. How they could be leveraged to get my own native language, Shona, and other local languages? Could they be made widely available in the tools I use everyday? I attended a talk on translations which I found really interesting, as it showed how translations aren’t just about text going from one language to another: they also involve culture. Things like how are words arranged in the language, names of people and assumptions around those, e.g first and last name are different, currencies etc. It was also great to hear how a Swiss government-related entity was leveraging WordPress for their multilingual publishing needs.”
– Rufaro Madamombe, Web Engineer
Jon’s personal WordCamp milestone
“WordCamp Europe this year hit differently.
It has been a tough year for the WordPress community. Being back in person reminded me of what makes this space so special. The resilience, the camaraderie, the shared passion. It’s all still here. Events like these aren’t just about tech; they’re about the people who show up for each other, year after year.
WCEU also marked a bit of a milestone for me. I have now spoken at all three flagship WordCamps in a single year: WC Asia, WCUS, and WCEU. It feels like a box checked on a very personal list, and I’m grateful for every moment of it.
Getting on stage to talk about the Standard Chartered project was emotional. It is a story nearly eight years in the making. Presenting it with Tom was especially meaningful because he was the one who hired me into Human Made to lead that very project. The fact that WordPress powers a global bank still feels hard to believe. But that is what Human Made does. We take on the unlikely and make it real.
Check out Jon and Tom’s talk here.
I am walking away from WCEU with a full heart, inspired by the people who make this community what it is.”
– Jon Ang, Director of Enterprise Strategy
That might be a wrap on WordCamp 2025, but we’re already looking forward to 2026 in Kraków – the humans will see you there 👋