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We are looking forward to gathering in person at DrupalCon Pittsburgh!

And current projections show that many will be gathering: registrations are up 32% over last year.

There is much work being done to make DrupalCon Pittsburgh the ultimate Drupal event in North America, one that generates excitement for Drupal and spurs the creativity that abounds within the Drupal Community.

We also recognize that we’re doing this planning work amid rapidly changing pandemic conditions. The Drupal Association has been monitoring COVID-19 trends and has seen a marked decrease in Covid-19 cases both nationally and in Pittsburgh. The CDC reports that weekly cases since January for the U.S. have dropped 67%, and for Allegheny County (which incorporates Pittsburgh), it has dropped 60%. Pittsburgh is currently rated as “low risk” by the CDC. This assessment is matched by the World Health Organization’s trends, which show a significant decline in cases in the U.S.

This is GREAT news! News that I hope makes everyone feel more comfortable in joining us in Pittsburgh.

Some have been asking if that means we are going to change our health and safety policies for this event.

In January, we updated our health and safety policies prior to opening registration. This update removed a vaccine or daily testing requirement, but retained masking indoors. Let me explain why.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Drupal Association to implement extraordinary measures to protect our community. At the same time, we knew the situation would constantly evolve, and our response would also have to evolve. We knew we would have to closely monitor medical, scientific, and public health data and make appropriate changes to the DrupalCon Health and Safety Policies.

We decided early on that we needed a decision rooted in our values: DrupalCon should be a safe, accessible, and inclusive space for everyone in our community. It is often the most vulnerable in our community who are left behind, and so we felt it important to ensure our criteria for policy changes centered on those most at risk.

With that value at heart, we looked at the following criteria:

• Public health metrics and recommendations from International and National organizations such as the WHO and CDC, including whether these organizations have updated their designation from pandemic to endemic.
• Medical/Scientific studies being released by reputable, peer-reviewed sources.
• Comparable industry events whose values align with our own, especially other Drupal community events.
• Pragmatic and logistical constraints for us and attendees in event planning.

This last bullet is worth a bit more explanation. The Association realized a decision was needed prior to opening registration for each event and then to stick to the decision. Attendees register with the expectations presented at the time of registration and changing after the fact can make some participants feel like the rules are changing against them unfairly and cause them to question our reasoning. We have observed other conferences that changed health & safety policies mid-registration with significant consequences.. Our default position is to change policies between events’ registration periods, but not during.

So how have we used those criteria with our values so far?

In 2020, with no vaccines approved and clear national guidance and legal mandates, it was clear that both DrupalCon North America and Europe would have to become virtual events. Both were held successfully, and we even had an influx of first time attendees who would not otherwise have been able to attend.

In 2021, although the first vaccines were now available under an emergency use authorization, they would not receive full FDA approval until August of that year. At the same time, the pattern of multiple infection waves and new variants had become apparent, and vaccination rates and hospitalization levels were still very high. Both DrupalCon events would again be virtual in 2021.

In 2022, most national and regional public health recommendations began to allow for in-person events again. After a review of Oregon and Multnomah county public health mandates and metrics, it was decided that a Vaccine-or-daily-test requirement and masking was required. Metrics in Europe improved more rapidly than those in North America, and thus DrupalCon Prague did not require vaccination but did include a mask requirement.

So where does that leave us in 2023?

We are monitoring the trends but have not changed our health and safety policy for DrupalCon Pittsburgh.

We are following our default position of maintaining policies in place at registration opening. COVID-19 is still identified as a pandemic, with new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths still occurring.

But monitoring is appropriate, as is evolving. If the recent very positive trends continue, the health numbers for Covid prevalence in Pittsburgh may be very low by June. Consequently, some attendees may be frustrated by these continued safety measures and this may affect compliance at the event. A lack of compliance undermines the health benefits of our health and safety policies.

Thus, community feedback is crucial.

I invite feedback from the Drupal community on this blog post and our health and safety policies for DrupalCon Pittsburgh. How we can create an inviting and welcoming atmosphere for all community members amidst a changing world of health metrics.

If you’re so inclined, please share your thoughts with us.

Share your input

DrupalCon Lille 2023

This month has been the same time window where we have to utilize these decision making criteria to set our policies for DrupalCon Lille.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and French national guidelines recommend but do not require masking in any setting, including hospitals and nursing homes, though it is still recommended in gatherings with vulnerable people. Vaccination and testing requirements for entry to the country have not been required for about a year.
• The entire country of France has a rate of hospital admissions and covid-related deaths comparable to just Alleghany County(where Pittsburgh is located) in the USA. The per-capita daily mortality rate due to covid in all of France is less than 10% the rate in Alleghany County.
• Regional events in Europe have almost entirely eliminated their extraordinary covid measures.

Therefore, we anticipate that DrupalCon Lille will not be requiring proof of vaccination, daily testing, or masking (though masking is still recommended).

We hope that this retrospective and more detailed explanation of our DrupalCon health and safety policy decision criteria is helpful.

I look forward to gathering with the Drupal community in Pittsburgh, meeting as many people as possible, and hearing your ideas about how we can advance Drupal.

Tim Doyle
CEO
Drupal Association

Content teams want the flexibility to publish content creatively. They want landing pages to be dynamic and reflect the vision they have inside their heads. Organizations want to encourage brand and writing-style consistency (sometimes across a whole network of websites). They also want to ensure their content is maintainable and meets web accessibility and security standards.

We are finalists in the Tech For Good category of the 2023 Global Business Tech Awards. The nomination recognizes our work n EQUIP, a digital training and assessment platform for mental health first-aiders in 70+ countries.

Drupal Career Online Palantir.net Fellowships enrich their corporate character

When George DeMet and Tiffany Farriss brought Palantir.net into being in 1996, they sought to create an organization that strives for excellence not only in client services, but also in a collaborative, creative environment in which its staff brings out the best in each other. They also believe that the more diverse that staff, the better their corporate culture can achieve excellence on all fronts.

When you chat with George, Tiffany, or really any Palantiri, you realize these guidelines are not just words in a value statement; collaboration and creativity truly are the undercurrent of everything they do, including making sure that present and future Palantiri succeed. 

Interns are a key component of Palantir’s team, which includes senior engineers, designers, and architects who started as interns nearly 10 years ago. In addition, they are committed to growing talent in a thoughtful, inclusive way. “Some of our longest-serving team members started with us as interns out of college, and we are always looking for opportunities to help people with passion and potential to build experience and expertise by working with our team on real-life projects,” George beams. 

A few years ago, Palantir pioneered a mentoring initiative to help the Drupal Community become more diverse. In addition to contributing to the community, it also clarified for Palantir that skills training with a paid internship could really help them to achieve the best results from their efforts. “Growing and developing talent has long been a priority for us,” says George, so building out internships with a training component would enable recipients to have more confidence as they gain real-world experience and would make it easier for them to assimilate into the team.

“The other key takeaway was that we needed to have a dedicated partner to help assess whether candidates would be a good fit, provide the upfront training and continue to be available as a resource during the internship period and beyond,” George says. “Given those requirements, DrupalEasy was an obvious choice for our Fellowship program. The Drupal Career Online  curriculum provides a solid foundation for our interns, and the ongoing support provided by DrupalEasy helps them continue to grow and gain confidence as they progress on their career path.”  

Adwoa Kesse, Employee Experience Manager, is on Palantir’s hiring and operations teams and coordinates the newly revived internship program, which, for the past year, has included fellowships through DrupalEasy’s Drupal Career Online. Palantir’s Fellowship program targets those who have experienced marginalization due to racism, misogyny, transphobia, or other forms of discrimination or are members of a marginalized community that has been underrepresented in the technology sector. Several other organizations provide scholarships for the DCO as well.

The Palantir Fellowship program provides participants with underwriting for the class tuition, a laptop once they accept the fellowship (if needed,) a stipend once class starts, and hourly pay once the intern graduates from the DCO and begins working. From Adwoa’s perspective, integrating the DCO Fellowship has really enriched the program. “We really don’t have to worry about the technical side of candidates, as Mike takes care of that piece,” she explains. 

DrupalEasy’s Mike Anello interviews all prospective class applicants, including scholarship seekers, and determines if they have the prerequisites and mindset to be successful in the class.  Only applicants who are accepted to Drupal Career Online are presented to Adwoa for consideration. Often Mike provides a pre-work program that candidates can complete to get up to speed so they can continue the fellowship process and be successful in the 12-week DCO program.

This process allows Palantir to be confident that the team members they are considering have the technical aptitude to be successful in Drupal, so the hiring team can focus on whether the potential intern will be a good fit in the Palantir culture: Do they have a growth mindset? Are they curious and will they be comfortable working remotely?  All key aspects of Palantir’s hiring decisions as they continue to build and enhance the collaborative, creative environment in which everyone encourages and celebrates the best in each other.  

“Everybody has their different journeys, but we are very satisfied with what they are doing,” Adwoa explains about the Fellowship interns. “Every person is different, so each has a different ramp up, but they are all willing to learn and grow.” Positions that interns are working toward include Engineer and Front-End Developer, and each are assigned a mentor once they are awarded a Palantir Fellowship. 

The most challenging part of the program is the transition to employment and determining what each intern needs, including Drupalize.me follow-on training resources, training projects and transitioning them to roles within the team and building confidence on actual projects. 

According to George, “Fellowship program recipients have been full of curiosity, humor, and a desire to learn. We made full-time offers to all of the interns out of the first two Drupal Career Online cohorts, and we are looking forward to working with the graduates of the latest cohort.” 

He explains that they think the “key to the success of the program is the vetting process that is conducted by DrupalEasy before being accepted to Drupal Career Online, as well as the interviews our team members conduct with scholarship applicants. When combined with the ongoing progress reports we receive during the course, we have a very good picture of what a recipient’s skills and growth opportunities are before they begin their internship.”

Another ingredient of the success of the Fellowship program is that ongoing mentorship is essential not just during the Drupal Career Online course, but also during the internship period and beyond. In addition to internal mentors, Palantir engages with DrupalEasy to provide focused mentors and encourages the Fellowship participants to engage in the DrupalEasy Learning Community by attending weekly office hours, which provide a safe space for them to ask questions they may not feel as comfortable asking co-workers.

An unexpected benefit of the program, according to George, is that they are able to reuse many of the resources that were created to help on-board Fellowship recipients for other new hires who did not come through the program.  It also helps them improve support for junior-level developers. “Serving as mentors to our scholarship recipients has been a great experience for our existing team members, helping them to develop and exercise skills that are important to their own career paths at Palantir,” he adds. 

George sums it all up:, “Our partnership with DrupalEasy has enabled us to bring on new team members who not only add value to our project teams, but also contribute to the growth of Palantir’s culture.” 

If you would like to discuss how your organization might join others who participate in the Drupal Career Online Scholarship program, contact us!

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