A programme packed with discoveries and innovations

During the first two days, participants attended a variety of conferences covering a wide range of levels and topics, followed by a day dedicated to contribution on Saturday. This day gave us the opportunity to work with some of the most passionate people in the French community to drive Drupal forward. Among the initiatives, we reflected on the impact of the release of the Statistics module in Drupal 11 core, carried out translations, and launched new projects within the UI Suite initiative.

Introduction to Drupal

A great way of discovering Drupal was an introductory session held on the first day. This session enabled new users to achieve rapid autonomy, facilitating their immersion in Drupal's powerful functionalities. The success of this event reinforces Drupal's position as an essential solution for developers and companies seeking to optimize their digital presence.

Focus on inclusion and accessibility

Other articles on our site will focus on conferences dedicated to Drupal, but we'd like to share our interest in the first day's morning plenary: "From observer to responsible: curbing the impact of racist bias in the user experience", expertly and enthusiastically led by Marcy Charollois.

Plenary on inclusion

Numerous examples were discussed concerning the presence of racial bias in digital technologies. Very concrete cases, such as the impact of skin color or traditional tattoos on the facial recognition of telephones or the avoidance capacity of autonomous vehicles, were presented. It was also pointed out that a feeling of exclusion could insidiously appear among users, through choices of images, colors or editorial bias in user interfaces. This plenary session provided an opportunity to broaden the inclusion issue to include gender and disability issues.

Community impact

This session resonated with an audience that found themes close to the values espoused by free software, but who may unconsciously succumb to cultural biases. It's everyone's duty to take a step back from these issues. At Smile, we've been navigating the Open Source ecosystem for over 30 years, and since last year we've brought together a wide range of skills in our Responsible Digital offering. This offering follows a holistic approach, covering topics such as eco-design, low-carbon architectures, accessibility, and SEO- and inclusion-optimized content writing.

The video recording of the plenary and other sessions will shortly be available on the Drupal France Association YouTube channel, enabling wider dissemination of the knowledge shared at this event.

Our ongoing commitment to Drupal

At Smile, our active participation in the Drupalcamps organized by Drupal France is not limited to sponsorship. We also had the pleasure of speaking at no fewer than four conferences. This event was also an opportunity to officially announce the sharing on drupal.org of Sobki, a Drupal installation profile enabling non-technical users to easily take advantage of Drupal's power through an approach combining no-code and design system.

Introducing Sobki

Sobki is a project resulting from our R&D efforts which aims to democratize access to Drupal. With Sobki, users can create and manage complex websites without requiring advanced technical skills. This installation profile is designed to integrate modern design systems, offering an optimized user experience and rapid deployment.

If you'd like to find out more about Sobki or our Responsible Digital offer, we invite you to read our detailed article on the subject. Our team is available to support you from start to finish with your digital projects.

Conclusion

The Drupalcamp Rennes 2024 was a landmark event for the Drupal community, bringing together enthusiasts and professionals around crucial discussions and innovations. At Smile, we're proud of our ongoing commitment to the Drupal ecosystem and our contribution to innovative projects like Sobki. These events reinforce our belief that inclusion, accessibility and collaboration are essential for sustainable digital evolution.

To find out more about our initiatives and discover how we can help you maximize the benefits of Drupal for your business, please get in touch. We'd be delighted to share our expertise and work with you to turn your ideas into high-performance digital realities.

For a detailed demonstration of Sobki or to discuss your specific requirements, please contact us. Our team of experts is ready to help you maximize the benefits of digitalization for your business.