T3CON23 Recap—Unleashing the Power of Connectivity
Unleashing the Power of Connectivity
Unleashing the Power of Connectivity was a generative session where speakers and audience switch roles. Centered on transformative change, the interactive workshop was led by mentor, coach, and facilitator Wolfgang Fiebig and business consultant and coach Claudia Deuster.
Participants gathered into groups of 3–6 people to gather insights from the attendees about TYPO3 and T3CON, and channel these into opportunities for growth for the project and community. Wolfgang and Claudia asked questions and people responded via their devices.
Missed T3CON23? No worries. This article is part of our recap series, and T3CON24 is less than a year away.
About the Speakers
Wolfgang Fiebig is a distinguished facilitator, coach, and mentor with over two decades of leadership experience. He is renowned for his ability to navigate complex systemic issues within organizations. His methods, deeply rooted in dialog-oriented practices and neuroscience, coupled with an engineering background, promote holistic and lasting change.
Claudia Deuster founded her coaching and consulting firm in 2012. She believes fervently in the power of change to foster growth and development, guiding individuals, teams, and organizations on their paths to actively driving change rather than being passive recipients.
Prologue: Impressions from the Developer Days and the TYPO3 Camp
In preparation for this session, Wolfgang Fiebig talked to participants of two prior conferences, the Developer Days in Karlsruhe, Germany, and the TYPO3 Camp in Munich, Germany. In an interview for typo3.org, Wolfgang pointed out that “the general spirit, the ease, and the cohesion among the people” is impressive — an observation shared by the participants of T3CON23.
As a major takeaway from the two prior conferences, the participants felt “that despite competition and individual goals, one is part of a community. Some realized that they can only manage large projects as part of the ‘swarm.’”
For the T3CON23 session, Wolfgang planned “to start with a blank page to avoid preconceptions and keep the space open for new ideas.” The session was set up for “strengthening the community spirit. The realization that we are only strong and viable as a community was central. This spirit shaped our questions on stage in Düsseldorf.”
Stand-out moments from the conference
For the participants, attending the conference generated a feeling of deep connection to the TYPO3 community. Connections, conversations, and knowledge-sharing abounded, and people felt energized by the collaborative spirit, new perspectives, and sense of shared purpose.
This became clear when Wolfgang and Claudia asked their first two questions: “Thinking of the most uplifting moments at the conference so far, what stands out to you?” and “What positive insights or inspirations have you drawn from these?”
People were grateful to be a part of the TYPO3 community and described it as “open”, “welcoming”, “alive”, “special”, and “inspiring”.
Inspiration was a central theme. Conversations had sparked unexpected ideas and insights, and many felt inspired by the shared excitement around TYPO3 and the collaboration towards common goals. The AI discussions had triggered interest in the potential of the technology.
The participating audience members were asked to form groups to discuss their thoughts on each question.
Several themes emerged as uplifting moments at the conference:
- A sense of community. The open, welcoming, passionate community spirit was a major positive. People felt humbled and thankful to connect with others.
- Networking opportunities. Meeting new people, random conversations, and connecting with the community has great value.
- Inspiring talks. Nicolas Janni's keynote on emotions was one of the talks called out as an inspirational highlight.
- Celebrating successes. The award ceremonies, especially Personality of the Year.
- Practical knowledge sharing. Discussions and proofs of concept provided useful examples and insights into topics like AI.
- Collaboration. Seeing people happily collaborating and working together towards shared goals.
What will TYPO3 look like in 2028?
Next, Wolfgang and Claudia asked the participants to look into the future and imagine TYPO3 in five years. “Imagine our thriving community as a key player in 2028, living trust and transparency with TYPO3. What would it be like? How did we achieve that?”
People were clear about the TYPO3 community’s role as a key player in the web industry. In 2028 …
- The community grows and thrives. International collaboration increases, and community meetings happen all over the world.
- Local communities grow thanks to support from the TYPO3 Association and TYPO3 GmbH.
- The community remains welcoming and inclusive but has become more multicultural and diverse.
- TYPO3 is an agile and colorful community that rocks the web with clear goals and purpose.
They also had ideas about how to achieve the goals:
- Through worldwide education in computer, software, and TYPO3 skills
- More meetings between agencies and with the TYPO3 Association
- A transparent strategy
- Leverage the boost TYPO3 will get from the German government’s Government Site Builder (GSB) project
- Events for onboarding more young people
- Bringing more diversity into the project
- Promote and use open-source tools
Takeaway: Our community is our strength
You now have it in black and white: The TYPO3 community is remarkable. A community of highly committed people like this one truly stands out.
Wolfgang and Claudia created a space for participants to give authentic and valuable feedback that will help guide the TYPO3 project.
This word cloud from the session says it all. The top responses include highly positive feelings like “inspired”, “excited”, or “connected”.
Looking forward, Wolfgang sees TYPO3 “continuing on a positive development path. It’s important that the committees function and don’t hinder themselves through fears or limitations. The global situation requires a rethink, moving away from island thinking towards more connectivity. At the events in Munich and Karlsruhe, I experienced exactly this kind of connectivity.”
Addressing the community directly, he adds: “Be curious and open to new things, listen to each other. ‘If you can dream it, you can do it.’ Realize your dreams together through listening and dialogue. Get rid of the boundaries and limiting thoughts. This strengthens the community, which lives through you.”
Let’s meet again at the next T3CONs — until 2028 and beyond!
More impressions from the group discussions (Copyright: Markus Luigs)
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