Grow Your Own Community! Lessons Learned from Running Kubernetes Community Days Across Europe

Tips for organizing a successful Kubernetes Community Days event

• Continuous advertising of the call for papers (CFP)
• Direct outreach to underrepresented communities for diverse speakers
• Engaging smaller companies for cash flow
• Allowing enough time for preparation
• Resources available from CNCF and Kubernetes Community Days repo

The organizers had a hard time engaging diverse speakers despite reaching out to various channels. They even contacted individuals suggested by CNCF but found that there were very few available speakers who were overwhelmed by requests.

Kubernetes Community Days are community organized events that gather adopters and technologists from open source and cloud native communities to learn, collaborate, and network to further advancement in Kubernetes. They also are a lot of fun and a great way to meet new people and build community. Organizing KCDs is highly rewarding, but can also be a big undertaking, with lots of potential challenges and pitfalls. In this panel discussion, organizers from some of the biggest Kubernetes Community Days in Europe will come together to share their experiences and best practices for how to get going, along with dos and don’ts for organizing community events. We’ll talk about building your team, ensuring diversity, managing logistics, raising sponsorship, handling finances and more. If you’re new to community organizing or a seasoned veteran, you’ll be sure to gain some insights into how you can organize better events !