fidzu : cms

DrupalCon Chicago 2026 was one of the most exciting DrupalCons I've attended. Not because everything was perfect, but because the conversations were real. I came in pushing two conversations: the International Federation and what I call "the little guy". I left with more energy than I arrived with, and a clearer picture of what needs to happen next.

The Driesnote Energy

Dries opened with the story of Chicago literally lifting its buildings to rebuild its foundations. Perfect metaphor for where Drupal is right now. He talked about the stable triangle that has held Drupal together for 25 years: the product, the agencies, and the open source community. And he was honest about all three legs being under pressure from AI at the same time.

The demo was impressive. Using Lovable to generate a beautiful website in 15 minutes. Then migrating it to Drupal using Canvas CLI and OpenAI Codex in about two to three hours. The new pitch Dries proposed: "We use AI to prototype fast, then we use Drupal to build systems that last." I think that's a strong message.

Jurgen Haas showed what one Drupal expert can do with AI as a tool. 90,000 lines of code, over 300 commits, full test coverage for the new ECA experience. In six weeks. AI didn't replace his expertise. It removed friction. That's the model.

Aiden Foster from Foster Interactive named the dread AI created for him as a 17-year agency owner. And then he named what he learned: "The bottleneck isn't production anymore. It's creativity, strategy, and judgment. All innately human." He's right. And I think that realization is where the real opportunity lives for agencies in our community.

25 Years of Drupal

I've only been in Drupal for about half of those 25 years, but the gala was something special. Seeing friends and colleagues celebrating together, people who have built careers, companies, and communities around this project. It was a reminder of what makes Drupal different. The technology matters, but the people are why we stay.

The Little Guy Needs a Voice

Here's where I want to add to the conversation. When you watch the Driesnote demo carefully, a marketing director receives brand guidelines from a team, legal is involved, a landing page is created for a product launch. That's enterprise. And if you're a small company without a marketer or a team for brand guidelines, that demo doesn't speak to you. It might even scare you away.

The site templates and marketplace are great progress, eleven templates up from one six months ago. But the framing is still enterprise and mid-market.

Microsoft did not become the default by being the best. They became the default by being on every computer, which made people think about them when they needed a server. The same applies to WordPress. Forgetting the base of the pyramid is a mistake.

I made this point at the Marketing Initiative BoF. As long as we keep talking enterprise, we might solve today's problem, but we will be right back here again. This is not either/or. We need enterprise marketing AND the little guy.

We already have companies building for the down market. Dripyard, FlexSite, Drupito, Drupal Forge, Palcera, the IXP Initiative. At Josh Koenig's "Real Talk on Drupal's Economic Prospects" BoF, Ashraf from Drupito showed their marketplace approach, where agencies personalize templates to serve specific verticals like barbershops. Concrete proof that the tools and the willingness exist.

The problem is fragmentation. We're all pulling in our own directions, and we can't expect an already spread-too-thin DA to coordinate this for us. What we need is a strategy. Let us create the content. We just need help from the DA identifying the difference in tone, and we can help create and publish it. Then the DA helps with distribution through their larger channels. I shared this with Paul McKibben and Chris O'Donnell, and they agreed. But we need more people to join this effort.

The IXP Program Deserves More Attention

Ana Laura Coto presented on the IXP Initiative and the credits we've already delivered during the Community Summit. A company completes an IXP engagement and gets 250 contribution credits. Bronze certified partner status requires 150. One engagement and you're on the path.

On contribution day, I presented the IXP to newcomers participating in Drupal in a Day. The pitch is straightforward: if a company cares about Drupal contribution credits, someone who completed the IXP can walk into a conversation and say "I'm worth 250 credits, hire me."

Between Drupal Camp Costa Rica and DrupalCon Chicago, over 100 people have registered for these programs. And honestly, I'm frustrated that companies are not jumping on these opportunities. We're feeding new talent into the ecosystem, people who could become the next generation of Drupal professionals. And the industry is barely paying attention.

And in the Driesnote, when Dries talked about driving adoption and the initiatives moving Drupal forward, the IXP was not mentioned. Again.

The AI Conversation Landed in the Right Place

Dries said something on stage that I've been arguing for weeks: "Don't submit code you don't understand." The AI slop conversation has been intense in our community, and it landed in the right place. Not bans. Quality gates. Standards that apply to the output regardless of how it was produced. The community's response during DrupalCon week proved that people who deeply disagree on AI can still work together with respect. James Jackson Abrahams showed real leadership through that process, and I'm glad the community recognized it.

The Federation Needs to Move Forward

The International Federation was a thread through the entire week. During the Community Summit on Monday, Baddy Sonja laid out something important: you can't just say "create a federation" and expect it to happen. It takes time, costs, and expertise. That's fair.

But we also can't wait for a perfect plan. Through conversations with Baddy and Tim, I understand the different concerns around this. Funding. Community governance. Infrastructure ownership. All valid. But I pointed out something concrete: a model where local associations take in RippleMaker memberships and Drupal Certified Partner fees will increase funding directly. Right now, the main source of income besides DrupalCon is the DCP program, overwhelmingly based in the US with minimal commitments from outside.

I see local associations working in two parts. They increase funding by expanding membership and certification programs locally, with local payment methods, tax benefits, and pricing that makes sense. And that same revenue gives them a budget to promote Drupal in their markets the right way.

Others want full clarity on how everything would work before starting. I understand that instinct. But waiting for full clarity means waiting forever. We need to start somewhere and evolve.

There was also a comment during the board meeting about diversity of countries and companies on the board. I want to add something to that. Even if we achieve diversity of origin, that alone doesn't guarantee diversity of perspective. If someone lives in Latin America but their clients are all in the US or EU, their vision will still be shaped by those markets. Real diversity means having people who serve their local markets, who understand what it means to run a business where the economic reality is fundamentally different. That's what the Federation would bring.

DrupalCon Latin America

During the board meeting, I brought up DrupalCon Latin America. We asked for the Drupal Association's help reaching prospective sponsors. Dries told us to find a couple of possible dates and consult with him directly. That's not a confirmation, but it's a door that wasn't open before. We're going to walk through it. If you're interested in sponsoring, speaking, or helping organize, reach out to me.

What I'm Taking Home

DrupalCon Chicago gave me energy and clarity. The product is moving. Drupal CMS 2.1, Canvas, the Context Control Center, the marketplace, site templates. The AI work is real and impressive.

Dries framing it as "AI amplifies expertise, it doesn't replace it" is exactly right.

But the conversations about the base of the pyramid, the markets we're ignoring, and the funding model that could change everything... those are still happening in BoFs and hallways, not on the main stage.

I didn't come to Chicago to wait. Rotterdam is next, and I hope by then the Federation is moving, the little guy has a voice in our marketing, and DrupalCon Latin America is on the calendar.