Georgi Ker Awarded the PSF Community Service Award for Q4 2020

Georgi Ker was awarded the Python Software Foundation 2020 Q4 Community Service Award.

RESOLVED that the Python Software Foundation award the Q4 2020 Community Service Award to Georgi Ker. Georgi has been instrumental in establishing PyLadies Global. She is also a PyLadies Bangkok organizer, a member of the PSF Diversity and Inclusion WG, and an organizer with PyCon Thailand and APAC PyCon.

We interviewed Georgi to learn more about her inspiration and work with the Python community. We also asked several of Georgi's close associates, including Iqbal Abdullah and Saranya Mohan, to share more light about Georgi's community efforts and impact on the community.

The Origin Story

What was your earliest memory of how you got into tech?

I was born and raised in Singapore. I picked up computer languages pretty much like how I pick up most human languages - self-taught. I speak about eight human languages and three-to-five computer languages. 

The very first computer class I took was MS-DOS 5.0.

When I was 20, I migrated to France and got married there. It was only when I had my first child while creating a website for her on Geocities that I found all the limitations on the template and started fumbling around CSS.

Programming has always been more fun for me to explore since my income comes mainly from project management, business consultations, design, and digital marketing.

When I moved back to Thailand in 2018, I went to a hack night one day and met programmers coding in different languages, hanging out together. I was learning Ruby then, and the meetup organizer, Dylan Jay, introduced another Rubyist - Dan Itsara, to me.

Along the way, we got two more programmers - Cody Fox and Matt Meyer to join in, and we started our very first Ruby meetup in Bangkok. 

That's when I started to get more involved in programming.

What was your earliest involvement with the Python community?

After a few meetups in the community, Dylan, a Pythonista, knew that I do design work, contacted me then to help them out with their new PyCon logo and some event posters.

The following year, I organized PyCon and managed the marketing and design section for PyCon Thailand 2019.

During ThaiPy meetups, I was usually either the only female or was one of the few female developers there.

Inspired by a talk from Lina Katayose (PyLadies Tokyo) at the PyCon conference 2019, I decided to start a PyLadies chapter in Bangkok along with Gatuk (Sudarat Chattanon) to help support the female developers in the Thai Python community. I also helped many young, motivated students from Chulalongkorn University set up CUPy on their campus, providing organizational guidance.

What drives and inspires you to volunteer your time and resources in the Python community?

Being an immigrant in Thailand, it is hard to find resources and support in English to learn more. And that is why I go to meetups.

Being a female, it can be intimidating to be surrounded by men when I want to learn more. I want to feel comfortable asking the dumbest question one can ever think of and not being laughed at.

Learning is subjective, and motivation coming from an individual can be limited. Python is an Open Source language. 

There are no companies paying advocates to promote the language, yet the language is so commonly used by organizations worldwide. This is where a community can help. To motivate learning and help discover new methods to solve problems related to Python.

The key to learning without boundaries is access to resources and support. If there isn't one, I will help build it. If there is one, I will volunteer to help support it. After all, I will also benefit from the community when I listen to the talks and meet these people.

How has your involvement within the Python community helped your career?

I actually got to know the PSF team through Ewa Jodlowska. She approached me to help them design PyCon assets and PSF's anniversary T-shirts this year after seeing the posters I've created for International Women's Day in March.

Later in the year, Jackie Augustine invited me to submit the proposal for design assets for PyCon 2022 and 2023.

I got the project, and now I get to do the UI design, swags, and banners! It's cool to see people wearing your designs.

For my self-improvement, with the community's help,  I also get to know where to find suitable ebooks and resources, and I get to know amazing people who support me while I am learning.

How has Covid affected your work with the Python community, and what steps are you taking to push the community forward during these trying times?

Wow!

I can totally relate to this question after leading PyCon APAC 2021. When we decided to submit our proposal to host PyCon 2021 last year, the pandemic hit hard and demoralized many PyCon organizers. 

We decided to propose a hybrid - in-person and online - event with so many uncertainties. And it was tough because it seemed like you were organizing two events. Due to travel restrictions, we decided to make the event online.

Some PyCon APAC organizers couldn't find the manpower and resources to organize PyCon in 2020 and 2021. So we asked these organizers to nominate two-to-three speakers from their own country. This allowed everyone to participate without investing too many resources and at the same time allowed the conference to showcase diverse talents.

And there was the challenge of time zone differences. So to allow attendees to watch the talks at their own convenience and prevent speaking from waking up in the wee hours to give a talk, we proposed pre-recorded talks.

The Covid lockdowns have limited our mobilities, and studies have shown that people suffer from mental health issues. We invited health specialists to talk about mental health, computer-related injuries,  posture, and pain. One instructor even gave a live yoga session.

Since PyCon APAC is a diverse community and English is not the first language for many, we had all our talks captioned to make it easier for everyone. We had volunteers moderating different language chatrooms, a 24-hour open space to meet and make new friends, an open mic for everyone to show off their non-coding talents, and a live DJ from Paris.

Covid has forced everyone to find solutions as soon as possible, but some things still require time. 

Community leaders have to stay positive and help keep the community motivated.

Georgi Ker Impact Story on the Python community

Iqbal Abdullah, PyCon Japan, speaks on Georgi's contributions to the Python community.

Georgi's most significant influence is rallying the community in Thailand to host PyCon APAC in 2021. Through her leadership and hard work, she has cultivated a community in Thailand that was non-existent as it is right now.

Georgi is also a role model to many. She has shown that her unconventional background and life experiences do not deter her from having a career in technology, being accepted, and finally leading the community.

I am happy and proud that Georgi is being awarded the CSA - she deserves it!

Saranya Mohan also speaks on Georgi's impact.

One of Georgi's outstanding qualities is the ability to listen and understand the community's needs. For example, she noticed that Thailand does not have a PyLadies community group, and she created the PyLadies Bangkok group. There were also student volunteers for PyCon Thailand 2019, and they were interested in creating a Python user group within their campus. Georgi volunteered to help them set up this chapter, now known as CUPy - Chulalongkom Univesity Python User Group.

Thailand hosted PyCon APAC 2021, and Georgi was the conference lead. She came up with the idea of a community and health track and invited prominent speakers in their fields to talk about work-burnout, posture problems - which we are experiencing these days. 

The Python Software Foundation congratulates and celebrates Georgi Ker.

PyPI User Feedback Summary

The PSF conducted a series of three surveys to identify key user requirements that have not been addressed so far. We used this round of surveys to engage with the PyPI community and understand ways to support community needs better. This post summarizes the feedback we have received and key decisions we have made based on the feedback.

Purpose of the surveys

• Identify one feature or group of features that would be most useful for users who are part of a corporate or community project

• Identify features that can offered to companies on a subscription basis, and community projects at no cost

First Survey

The first survey was a general survey where PyPI users were invited to submit features they would like PyPI to offer. This survey was targeted at users who used PyPI as a team in their corporate or community project. We also asked permission from survey respondents if we could contact them for more detailed feedback.

 

Figure 1: Most requested features from the first survey 

 

 

The first survey received 35 valid responses. Out of this, 12 responses were for community projects. As seen in Figure 1, the most requested feature was private packages. At second place, both organization accounts and namespace support had the same number of requests. Other feature requests are listed here.

 

Second Survey

Based on the feedback we received in the first survey, we invited respondents for short interviews. 11 respondents agreed to meet us. At this interview, we asked PyPI users to expand on previously shared feedback. We wanted to know more about problems they faced when using PyPI as a team. We also wanted to know how they used other package managers and which features were most useful in these packaging managers. Of the 11 respondents, 5 respondents represented community projects. 

 

Figure 2: Most requested features in the second survey 

 

 

As seen in Figure 2, the most requested feature was organization accounts. Other features such as namespace support and private packages were also requested more than once. One common theme that emerged was how useful PyPI is for many teams in different organizations and projects. Other packaging managers such as npm and NuGet were also mentioned to indicate superior features when it comes to managing multiple packages and teams, namespace support and private packages. The minutes of the meetings are available here. The minutes of one meeting cannot be shared publicly.

 

Third Survey

From the second survey, it was clear that features like organization accounts and namespace support would be most useful to users in a team. This team could represent an organization or community project. To confirm this finding, we held another poll asking users to choose between the three features- organization/team accounts, namespace support and private packages.

 

Figure 3: Most requested features in the third survey 

 

 

 

There were 160 responses from the PyPI community. From Figure 3, it can be seen that namespace support was the most requested feature with 64 requests. There were 42 requests for organization accounts and 54 requests for private packages. Other requested features are listed here.

We also asked users to share where they got to know about the poll. 81 users saw the poll on Twitter. Another 27 users saw the poll on discuss.python.org and 23 users found the poll in the PSF newsletter. A total of 29 users saw the poll on other outlets such as PyCoder’s weekly, RealPython newsletter, company Slack channel.

Key Decisions

From the three surveys, it was observed that organizations accounts, namespace support and private packages were the three most important features for users. There were multiple requests for these three features. Based on the feedback we have received so far, we have made these key decisions-

• The PSF will develop organization accounts in the first phase of development. Any feature targeted at organization or community projects will require organization accounts to manage the feature. Hence, it makes sense to develop organization accounts first. This feature will allow organizations to manage multiple users and multiple packages.

• Organizations accounts will be offered on a subscription basis. Private organizations will be charged a fixed amount while community projects will avail this feature free of cost.

Next Steps

• Develop the project roadmap for organization account feature. This roadmap will be shared with the community once the Packaging Working Group reviews and approves it.

• Develop and share RfP for organization account feature on PyPI. We will invite developers to build this feature on a contract basis. 

• Work with the PyPI community to scope out the namespace support feature. We will invite users to share their feedback to define the requirements, functionalities and behaviour. Once the organization account feature has been developed and delivered, we will develop the namespace support feature. 

• Engage with the PyPI community to identify more features that can be offered to organizations and community projects.

Thank you for reading this post in its entirety. If you have questions or if you would like to discuss this further, please use this thread. To reach a large part of the community, please RT this tweet.

 

  

 

  

A message from the PSF's outgoing Executive Director

Today is my last day at the PSF. It's been an honor and a pleasure serving the Python community for over a decade. 

It's a very bittersweet feeling for me. Although I recognized that I needed change, this community has always been much more than just a job. I like to say that I helped the PSF grow to what it is today, and in turn, the PSF certainly has helped me grow into who I am today. 

I've met people from our community who have forever impacted my life professionally and personally. I've contributed to what has grown to be the most popular programming language on the planet. I've led a small non-profit to financial sustainability. We've been through a few crises that nearly spelled the end of our foundation, including this ongoing pandemic. I've gotten a chance to work with some of the most brilliant and caring folks every day. I'm incredibly grateful to all of you for that experience.

The PSF staff meeting in November of 2021

The PSF Board Executive Director Transition Committee is working diligently to find a replacement. In the meantime, Thomas Wouters will be the interim General Manager, supporting the staff through this transition. I look forward to seeing how the PSF will continue supporting the Python community and who'll be leading it into this new era.

I wish all my Python friends health, happiness, and success in all you do!

https://twitter.com/ewa_jodlowska

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ewa-jodlowska-39810611/

Loren Crary has joined the PSF as its Director of Resource Development

The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is excited to welcome Loren Crary as our new Director of Resource Development!

Financial sustainability is critical to the PSF and the entire Python ecosystem as Python continues to grow in popularity. Financial sustainability will ensure we can continue providing initiatives such as our international Grants Program, supporting fiscal projects, producing PyCon US, maintaining community infrastructure such as pypi.org and python.org, supporting roles such as Python's new Developer-in-Residence and the new Packaging Project manager, and delivering on strategic goals the PSF Board sets in place. 

With that in mind, we knew we needed an expert to spearhead fundraising efforts and we're very luckily to have been able to hire Loren as that expert! Loren will be focusing on all aspects of fundraising including sponsorships, fundraisers, grants, donor stewardship, as well as supporting the PSF Board with their fundraising efforts. 

Loren spent most of the last decade leading revenue strategy for Educate!, a nonprofit social enterprise, as it scaled by 5x in both budget and impact. (In that work she got to spend a lot of time in Rwanda, Kenya, and especially Uganda—and she is excited to connect with the active Python communities in that part of the world!) She is a lawyer by training, with a JD from Stanford Law School, where she focussed on public interest law. 

Loren is jumping into the software space, learning Python for the first time, and seeking all opportunities to learn about and from the dynamic and welcoming Python community.

Welcome, Loren! We are super excited about the impact your work will have on Python and its community. 

Humphrey Butau Awarded the PSF Community Service Award for Q4 2020

Humphrey Butau, web developer, PSF fellow, and PyCon Zimbabwe co-founder was awarded the Python Software Foundation 2020 Q4 Community Service Award.

RESOLVED that the Python Software Foundation award the Q4 2020 Community Service Award to Humphrey Butau. Humphrey is the co-founder of PyCon Zimbabwe and was an early member of the Python community in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a PSF fellow and has been stewarding our local community for a number of years. Humphrey is also a great speaker and has given talks at many conferences including keynoting DjangoCon Europe, speaking at PyCon Namibia and PyCon Italia.

We interviewed Humphrey to learn more about his inspiration and work with the Python community. We also asked Anna Makarudze, a close associate of Humphrey, to share more light about Humphrey's community efforts and impact on the community.

The Origin Story

What was your earliest memory of how you got into tech? 

I got into tech as an IT Help Desk Support and Technician. While doing this job, I started to learn Visual Basic for building applications on my own. 

A friend of mine later introduced me to Python in 2010, and I continued to teach myself programming.

I later gave up as I didn't manage to make headway since I was doing these things on my own, and there were no other peers from whom I could get help if I got stuck.

It was only in 2015 when I got a scholarship for an online Python and Django course with Treehouse that my coding journey continued in earnest.

What was your earliest involvement with the Python community?

In 2016 Anna Makarudze and I applied for and got financial assistance to attend PyCon Namibia in Windhoek. Although the financial aid was not enough to cover all our expenses if we took a flight to Namibia, we overlooked all that and took the alternative of a bus ride of 30 hours from Harare, Zimbabwe, to Windhoek, Namibia.

Attending PyCon Namibia was more important for the Python community and us in Zimbabwe at the time. It was an opportunity to learn from the international Python community.

We attended the conference, learned a lot, and met key people active in the global Python community. I am forever grateful to the organizers of PyCon Namibia 2016 as I believe it sparked the "Python revolution" in Africa, with PyCons in Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and the first PyCon Africa Conference.

The people as a source of inspiration

What drives and inspires you to volunteer your time and resources to the PyCon Zimbabwe and the wider Python community?

It is the people!

What motivates me is what comes out of meeting people who share the same interests as me. The conferences, workshops, activities, and events are a huge platform for sharing information and building oneself career-wise.

It is also heartwarming to hear people mention that their attendance at a Django Girls workshop encouraged them to pursue a career in programming.

How has your involvement within the Python community helped your career?

By being a member of the Python community, I have discovered so many possibilities that I might have never realized. I have learned a lot from the events that I have attended, and this has helped me have a clear picture of various roles that I can pursue.

In 2019, I landed my first role as a software developer. I am sure this was possible through my involvement in the Python community.

Coming from being a hobbyist programmer without Computer Science, my employer was willing to hire and mentor me.

How has Covid affected your work with the Python community, and what steps are you taking to push the community forward during these trying times?

Before March 2020, we were already facing challenges as a Python community in Zimbabwe.

Covid-19 came and poured cold water on the steps that we were already taking to address these challenges. For the past one and half years, we put aside plans to hold in-person events as we put the health and well-being of members of our Python community first.

We are currently discussing plans for holding virtual events and the improvement of the Covid-19 situation in Zimbabwe. We hope to get back to hybrid events in 2022.

Impact story by Anna Makarudze

As early as 2015, Humphrey had the vision to start a Python community in Zimbabwe to raise awareness for Python, a relatively new programming language in Zimbabwe.

It is because of Humphrey's leadership that we were able to bring PyCon to Zimbabwe.

Many of our community members, including myself, are working remotely due to Humphrey's work.

I also got involved in community work like speaking at DjangoCon Europe and DjangoCon US, running PyLadies Harare for a few years, and becoming Django Software Foundation president because of Humphrey's work.

There is no doubt that many of us in Zimbabwe are in the global Python/Django community because of Humphrey's vision of starting a community in Zimbabwe.

The Python Software Foundation congratulates and celebrates Humphrey Butau.

2021 End of the year fundraiser!

Summary: The PSF launched its end-of-the-year fundraiser. There are two ways to donate: 1. donate directly to the PSF or 2. purchase a discounted PyCharm license, with all proceeds going to the PSF. Contributing to the PSF financially helps sustain programs that support the larger Python community.

2021 is flying by! Regardless, the PSF made the best of this year by launching two critical initiatives thanks to Google's sponsorship and Bloomberg's grant. We're super happy to now support Python core development and Python Packaging in new ways: 

• Core Development: In July 2021, the PSF hired its inaugural Developer-in-Residence, Łukasz Langa. Łukasz works full-time (one year term) to assist CPython maintainers and the Python Steering Council. Areas of responsibility include analytical research to understand the project's volunteer hours, investigating project priorities and tasks as we advance, and working on those priorities. 
• Packaging: In August 2021, the PSF hired its first-ever Python Packaging Project Manager, Shamika Mohanan. Shamika is performing outreach to Python users to help the PSF better understand the landscape, identify fundable initiatives, seek grants, oversee funded projects, and report on their progress and results to improve Python packaging for all users.

To continue the above initiatives, the PSF will need to generate USD 325,000 per year. To hire additional folks for either initiative (in demand), the PSF will need USD 500,000+ per year. The amount of funding required is in addition to funding needed to maintain PyCon US, our fiscal sponsor program, several working groups, an international grants program, a healthy financial reserve, and a growing staff to operate the PSF. Even if donations are a portion of the PSF's revenue, every dollar makes an impact and allows the PSF financial stability to continue supporting a growing community!

Contributing to the PSF helps sustain programs that support the larger Python community. Donate today!  Donate directly to the PSF or purchase a discounted PyCharm license, with all proceeds going to the PSF.

The Python Software Foundation is searching for its next Executive Director

Summary: After announcing earlier this summer that Ewa Jodlowska is leaving after ten years of service, the PSF has begun its search for the organization's next Executive Director. Interested? You can apply here today.

The Python Software Foundation Board of Directors has begun the search for its next Executive Director. We’re looking for a leader who aligns with the PSF’s mission and is able to lead an established, successful and growing organization into its next stage.

What is the PSF?

The PSF is the 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that holds the intellectual property rights behind the Python programming language:

The mission of the Python Software Foundation is to promote, protect, and advance the Python programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers.

— https://www.python.org/psf/mission/ 

To meet the Foundation’s mission, the PSF employs a growing team of 8 staff members as well as several contractors supporting specific initiatives. We produce PyCon US, support development of CPython, The Python Package Index, and the open-source Python ecosystem, support regional Python conferences and workshops around the world, and fund Python related development with our grants program. 

For more details about the PSF, you can read our Annual Impact Report. Additional information, including 990s and reports from past PSF board meetings, can be found on our public records webpage.  

The duties of the Executive Director

The PSF Executive Director fulfills several duties within the organization to promote the success of the Foundation’s mission as well as to secure its long term health. This includes the creation of an annual budget, overseeing operations and fundraising efforts, as well as managing the PSF staff and community relations.

The Executive Director plays a critical role in the development and execution of PSF programs and initiatives that fall within the mission of the PSF. In addition to managing the PSF staff, the Executive Director works with the PSF Board of Directors, the Python Steering Council, PSF Working Groups and the broader Python community on events like PyCon US and other strategic projects and alliances.

Apply today!

If you or someone you know is interested to learn more about the executive director role, we invite you to review the position description. The PSF has retained the services of Perrett Laver to lead our search, and all potential candidates should follow the instructions listed in the position description.

We believe that the future of open source must include everyone. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcome all job-seekers regardless of race, color, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, marital status, military, veteran or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. You can read our Diversity Statement here.

Vicky Twomey-Lee Awarded the PSF Community Service Award for Q3 2021

Vicky Twomey-Lee, software engineer, PyLadies Dublin founder, EuroPython Society emeritus board member, Coding Grace co-founder, Women Who Code Dublin director, and WITS member, have been awarded the Python Software Foundation 2021 Q3 Community Service Award.

RESOLVED, that the Python Software Foundation award the Q3 2021 Community Service Award to Vicky Twomey-Lee. Vicky has been a PSF Fellow since 2012 and a long-time volunteer to several PSF and Python spaces. 7 years ago she founded and continues to help organize the PyLadies Dublin chapter. Additionally, Vicky has been an active contributor to the PSF's Grant WG since the beginning and continues to provide helpful feedback and reviews. She also helps with EuroPython, Python Ireland, and past PyCon Ireland events.

We interviewed Vicky to learn more about her inspiration and work with the Python community. We also asked several of Vicky's associates - including Cheukting Ho, Steve Holden, Marc-Andre Lemberg, and Lais Carvalho to share more light about Vicky's community efforts and her impact on the community.

The Origin Story

What are your earliest memories of how you got into tech?

It was undoubtedly thanks to my dad. I remember when I was a few years old, and I woke up in the middle of the night, and I heard this "click-click" sound with a green glow lighting up my dad's face. He was big into tech. I think he was one of the few who imported computers for work and personal interests in the early 80s.

And as I got older,  I initially played games, but then I got to install programs and even upgrade hardware. My dad brought my younger brother and me to all the techie and game shows coming to our small city, Limerick.

Then in 1984, a very unique and memorable present my dad brought back from Hong Kong, a Nintendo Famicom, changed everything. I got into video games big time. Fast forward to my late teens. I was interested in graphics and was qualified to get into Graphic Design at one of the best art colleges at the time. Still, unfortunately, I had to repeat my final year in secondary school as my parents wanted me to go to university instead.

I didn't have enough Chinese to explain graphics design, so I studied Computer Systems at the University of Limerick.

Besides my studies, I experimented with HTML (there wasn't even CSS back then) during those dial-up days and then progressed to hosting and designing my own blogs at home.

And then, there was my first job at Sun Microsystem, where I met my husband - Michael Twomey - we were into the same things, and Python was the first language we got excited about, around 2002. We attended and ran Python-related events together (amongst other initiatives like diversity in tech and game jams).

We still get very excited about lots of geeky things, and in the last number of years, it was around electronics. 

Involvement with the Python community

What was your earliest involvement with the Python community?

When Python Ireland's first meetup started in 2004, I was an attendee along with Michael. When it got rebooted in 2005, the folks wanted to organize talks (note that Meetup and Eventbrite didn't exist back then), so I thought it shouldn't be too hard to find a space and get speakers.

Somehow I ended up taking the ball and running with it for over a decade, though I stepped back in 2016.

What drives and inspires you into volunteering your time and resources in the Python Community - PyLadies Dublin, Python Ireland, PyCon Ireland, and EuroPython?

It is the community because it helped me get to where I am today. Everyone was so friendly and explained things if you didn't understand.

What drives me? 

I think it is knowing that these groups can provide opportunities that have afforded me lots of weird and wonderful experiences and jobs. Like a researcher and curator for Dublin Science Gallery for an exhibition called GAME, part of a team to run a meetup of all meetups (my dream) called 404.ie at a fantastic venue. Connecting even more communities at the new hip, up-and-coming co-sharing space called Dogpatch Labs.

I know what it's like to feel lost and scared in a field I work and volunteer. I realize that I have a platform to help those who are curious and want to learn more, connect with others, and I want them to feel welcome and be part of the community.

And hopefully, in turn, some of them will pass that same sentiment on and welcome others into the community.

Yes, I get pushbacks, but I have my husband, family, and friends who look out for me. 

And I have to highlight my wonderful husband, Michael. He's been my rock, intervened when it got too much for me, picked up and tidied things away for me when I was talking to people before and after events.

And EuroPython is finally coming to Dublin!

That's the reason why we started up PyCon Ireland in 2010 (I chaired the first four editions). Since then, the Irish Python community has made it successful year on year, and the goal is in sight.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone in person (it was postponed twice due to Covid-19, so the third time's the charm) in Dublin, Ireland.

And the PSF Grants Workgroup?

I wanted to do more and was delighted to get invited to join the PSF Grants Workgroup. It was a small way for me to give back. I know what it's like to try and run something when you don't have any support. No one knows about your group/event, and starting from scratch is super hard.

I have learned a lot from the various communities worldwide on their needs for help to run their events.

How has your involvement within the Python community helped your career? 

I was learning to be a leader, mentor, organizer, and diversity in tech advocate. It helped me stay grounded as I saw all the excellent work done by the PSF, EuroPython, and PyLadies. 

It's pointed me in the direction of advocating for diversity in tech and the creative tech community and the importance of STEM in education.

So I have very different and unusual jobs as a result.

How has Covid affected your work with the Python community, and what steps are you taking to push the community forward during these trying times?

I've been working from home for a while, but with Covid-19, I learned how to stream. I had experience running live streams and podcasts with Dublin Maker, and I used these skills to run PyLadies Dublin remotely.

I already have skills in creating media and editing videos. I noticed I have a shorter attention span when watching videos, so I've shortened our events to 1 hour and opened opportunities to collaborate with international groups and invite speakers abroad.

I also realized not to fret if there's a low attendance during live events as people will (re)watch the videos in their own time. So not stressing about live attendance helped me produce a better experience for guests and viewers at our events.

Other problems I noticed are people with "zoom" fatigue, so people are a lot more understanding of mistakes. We are more patient and supportive. We are looking forward to in-person events again and are wondering how we will do a hybrid event.

Plus, learning and being in awe of what EuroPython organizers and teams have done in the past two editions.

It's always about learning, not being afraid to fail, and trying other things until it works for you. Of course, it's good to collaborate with others. You can't do everything on your own. With everything remote right now, it's an excellent opportunity to try different ways of running events.

Besides all that, I am working part-time with a company called Yard. And we are looking at how we can help tech communities rebuild their groups after Covid-19. So that's interesting for me on a personal level with all my various community groups.

Vicky Twomey-Lee Impact Story on the Python community

Cheukting Ho, EuroPython, speaks on Vicky's contributions to the Python community in Dublin:

Besides being a fantastic leader in her community in Dublin, Vicky also helps other communities to connect. I would always reach out to her to invite more people to join my Python events.

Steve Holden supported Vicky's PSF fellow nomination and shared more on Vicky's impact:

By creating (and remaining a mainstay of) PyCon IE, Vicky gave Irish Python programmers the chance to see themselves as a community. Her other work to improve diversity and support the entry of more women into the tech field is also impacting.

Marc-Andre Lemburg nominated Vicky as a PSF fellow and has worked closely with her on the EuroPython Society Board since 2012. He speaks on Vicky's impact:

Vicky is highly positive, kind, and very supportive of people in the community and its organizations. She has made a real difference for Python in Ireland and helped seed the foundations of the community in Ireland.

Lais Carvalho from Python Ireland also speaks on Vicky's impact:

Vicky is a highly hardworking person interested in making the community as diverse and inclusive as possible. She works non-stop to accomplish such goals, to the point of mild exhaustion. Her impact has been significant with PyLadies, the Dublin Maker events, and Python Ireland.

The Python Software Foundation congratulates and celebrates Vicky Twomey-Lee.

Announcing Python Software Foundation Fellow Members for Q3 2021! 🎉

The PSF is pleased to announced its third batch of PSF Fellows for 2021! Let us welcome the new PSF Fellows for Q3! The following people continue to do amazing things for the Python community:

Anthony Sottile

Twitch, YouTube, GitHub Sponsors, Twitter

Bernát Gábor

Twitter, Website, GitHub

Cristián Danilo Maureira-Fredes

Website, Twitter, GitHub

Michael Iyanda

LinkedIn, GitHub

Nicolás Demarchi

Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn

Thank you for your continued contributions. We have added you to our Fellow roster online.

The above members help support the Python ecosystem by being phenomenal leaders, sustaining the growth of the Python scientific community, maintaining virtual Python communities, maintaining Python libraries, creating educational material, organizing Python events and conferences, starting Python communities in local regions, and overall being great mentors in our community. Each of them continues to help make Python more accessible around the world. To learn more about the new Fellow members, check out their links above.

Let's continue recognizing Pythonistas all over the world for their impact on our community. The criteria for Fellow members is available online: https://www.python.org/psf/fellows/. If you would like to nominate someone to be a PSF Fellow, please send a description of their Python accomplishments and their email address to psf-fellow at python.org. We are accepting nominations for quarter 4 through November 20, 2021.

Are you a PSF Fellow and want to help the Work Group review nominations? Contact us at psf-fellow at python.org.

Join the Python Developers Survey 2021: Share and learn about the community

This year we are conducting the fifth iteration of the official Python Developers Survey. The goal is to capture the current state of the language and the ecosystem around it. By comparing the results with last year's, we can identify and share with everyone the hottest trends in the Python community and the key insights into them.

In 2020, more than 28,000 Python users from 150 countries participated and shared with us how they use the language.

We encourage you to contribute to our community's knowledge. The survey should only take you about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Contribute to the Python Developers Survey 2021.

This year we have added questions that will help the CPython Developer-in-Residence and the Python Packaging Project Manager prioritize their work based on community feedback.

The survey is organized in partnership between the Python Software Foundation and JetBrains. After the survey is over, we will publish the aggregated results and randomly choose 20 winners (among those who complete the survey in its entirety), who will each receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card or a local equivalent.

Click on this link to participate in the Python Developers Survey 2021!

Katia Lira Awarded the PSF Community Service Award for Q2 2020

 

Katia Lira, Software Engineer from Mexico city, has been awarded the Python Software Foundation 2020 Q2 Community Service Award.

RESOLVED, that the Python Software Foundation award the Q2 2020 Community Service Award to Katia Lira for her contributions to PyCon LatAm as conference chair, which held its inaugural conference in 2019. Additionally, Katia is the DEFNA (Django Events Foundation North America) President and has collaborated in crafting the vision of PyLadies Global. She hosts and produces multiple Python/tech/community podcasts like El Dev Show in Spanish. She's a PyCon speaker and is well respected in the community.

We interviewed Katia to learn more about her inspiration and work with the Python community. We also asked two of Katia's associates - Valery Calderon and Cristian Maureira-Fredes to share more light about Katia's impact on the community.

What was your earliest memory of how you got into tech?

Growing up, I wanted to be an Architect. I loved doing the blueprints in AutoCAD. Then I switched to study web design but quickly found it easier to code than to do the UI. It felt effortless to use code to make a button send a form or trigger an animation, so I never looked back.

What was your earlier involvement with the Python community?

One of my best friends invited me to PyCon US in 2016. At the time, I was still learning Python and Django and was unaware of communities and conferences like that.

What inspires you to volunteer your time and resources in the Python Community?

It's always the conversations with people that make me want to continue volunteering and organizing spaces for sharing knowledge and building community, prioritizing Spanish as the language to share and engage.

How has your involvement in the Python community supported your career?

The most important thing is inspiration. Being involved in the community has widened my views on opportunities available to me and also the possibilities for growth. I discovered open source projects that push you to explore new tools and grow skills outside of day-to-day work.

Another thing is just being aware of the conversations around hiring and work. Especially when people are open about how to prepare for a technical interview and how they struggle with growing into a more senior role.

How has Covid affected your work with the Python community and what steps are you taking to push the community forward during these trying times?

I think we all tried to compensate with remote by joining as many virtual spaces as possible and it has been taxing on many of us. 

For the two conferences, I volunteer at - PyCon LatAm and DjangoCon US, we took 2020 off from having any events. That helped with not burning out our volunteers and organizers. And it made us ready for 2021 which has been easier because we had fewer uncertainties, we jumped in, knowing it was going to be fully remote and that the community members missed each other.

Katia Lira's Impact on the Python community

Cristián Maureira-Fredes, Software Engineer and R & D manager, speaks on Katia's contributions to the PyCon LatAm community and the larger Python community:

Katia has been a fundamental person in the whole PyCon LatAm initiative, being able to unify the many Latin American Python communities under the same umbrella. Hosting a LatAm conference seemed quite impossible if you ask me, but together with a wonderful team, they proved me wrong.

The enthusiasm and motivation I felt as a South American made me push forward the Python groups in my own country, from where we decided to organize our first small conference to a PyDay event. I asked Katia to be a keynote speaker and she agreed without any hesitation. 

Thanks to her talk, many people felt that being from LatAm was not a barrier to push for global communities and that people were responsible to make initiatives like PyLadies and PyCon LatAm as successful as they are.

Katia's keynote also motivated a lot of people from Chile. And this has led to an increase in community activities, beginning with new initiatives like the first PyLadies chapter - PyLadies Santiago.

And Katia's impact span beyond the LatAm region, to the global Spanish-speaking community.

Valery Calderon, Data Engineer speaks also on Katia's impact on the LatAm community:

Katia spear-headed the PyCon LatAm initiative. She is always open to helping people in the community by mentoring, giving talks, volunteering, and helping to organize events. She has also been of tremendous support to the past and present initiatives of creating room for diverse people within the Latin American community in the PSF.

Katia specifically helped me to propose my candidacy for the PyLadies Global Council.

In Latin America, there is a big gap in the culture of communities. And to make it better and inclusive, there's a lot of work that has been done and still needs to be done. Katia is helping to bridge this gap, which is a huge impact on the LatAm Python community.

We at the Python Software Foundation wish to once again congratulate and celebrate Katia Lira for her tremendous impact in the Python LatAm community, PyCon LatAm, and the wider Python community.

Tereza Iofciu Awarded the PSF Community Service Award for Q1 2021

 

Tereza Iofciu, Data Science coach, PyLadies Hamburg organizer, and PSF Code of Conduct working group member has been awarded the Python Software Foundation 2021 Q1 community service award.

RESOLVED, that the Python Software Foundation award the Q1 2021 Community Service Award to Tereza Iofciu. Tereza is a PSF Code of Conduct WG member and has done a wonderful job helping, participating, and driving the Code of Conduct WG discussions. Tereza formed and continues to help organize the PyLadies event in 2021. Tereza is also a member of the newly formed PSF Diversity & Inclusion WG.

We interviewed Tereza to learn more about her inspiration and work with the Python community. Georgi Ker, a close associate of Tereza also speaks about Tereza. 

The Origin Story

Can you tell us about your origin story? Like how you got into tech?

I got into tech quite traditionally, I studied Computer Science in Bucharest, Romania, but I chose that not for a particular love for Informatik. I was good at Math and Physics in high school but I couldn't study those as I didn't want to become a teacher, seeing how teachers were treated in school. 

 

In the year 2000, Computer Science seemed like a thing for the future.

 

After that I kind of went with the flow, and the flow got me to Germany and doing a Ph.D. in Information Retrieval as the field of Data Science was emerging.

After that, I worked as a Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Product Management, Leadership, and now I am teaching (ha! the irony) Data science at the Neuefische Bootcamp.

Involvement with the Python Community and Inspiration

What was your earliest involvement with the Python community?

 

I would say in 2018 I saw on Twitter a friend of mine posting she was looking for a new job where diversity was part of the culture. 

 

Through her, I discovered the PyLadies Berlin meetups and I realized that I was missing such a community in Hamburg. We had lots of meetups in the city (things used to still be in-person back then), but most were talks and networking, and not so much about teaching and learning. 

 

It took a while to set it up but then I started the PyLadies Hamburg that year, which I wrote about here.

You have been a volunteer coordinator and organizer of PyLadies Hamburg. You are also a member of the PSF Code of Conduct WG, and the Diversity & Inclusion WG. This is amazing. What drives and inspires you into volunteering your time and resources in the Python Community?

 

I often felt that a normal day job doesn't fulfill all my needs, one gets paid for work and it is hard for companies to be consistent in providing other goals. Business is business and in the end, things come down to profit. 

 

So one rarely gets the opportunity to be surrounded at work by like-minded people all the time. 

 

I have volunteered in other organizations, but I found that the PyLadies does attract people who, while they are active in it, are very passionate and inspiring about making tech accessible to more than the majority. So in the end PyLadies was also a refuge and an energy top-up. 

 

It is like finding your village in the world! 

 

Tech companies in Germany are still very behind with diversity.. and changing that needs all the help it can get, women and people from underrepresented groups need a space where they can learn and grow and get inspired without invisible glass ceilings. 

How has your involvement within the Python community helped your career?

 

Being involved helped my career in several ways - I've discovered that I learn better when I teach, that is I cannot be bothered to learn a new thing when it is just for the sake of me learning it. 

 

This ultimately led to me believing I would succeed in my current role, and thus I took the opportunity. 

 

We've organized a lot of events - meetups, full-day workshops (IoT workshop at PyCon DE 2019), and conferences like Python Pizza Hamburg in 2019 and 2020, and International Women's Day PyLadies over 3 timezones. 

 

One learns a lot from organizing and it can also be lots of fun. Also, I have been in a leadership role since 2019, and part of the job is to inspire people to get out of their comfort zone, present their work, organize workshops, do meetups and this is something that I was already practicing within the community. 

 

And the network, being around inspiring people is inspiring, and in the end, one is part of an inspiration loop - people also come back with stories on how their life got better with PyLadies. 

Impact of Covid in the Python Community

How has Covid affected your work with the Python community and what steps are you taking to push the community forward during this trying time?

 

We moved pretty quickly to remote events, nobody really felt like being responsible for spreading covid and now there is the remote everywhere. 

 

Aside from the fatigue of the pandemic, going remote has greatly made the events accessible to more people, people from other cities, countries, or people who have to take care of other people and wouldn't have been able to travel to a meetup. 

 

We had this year’s workshops with speakers from the US and Canada. This would have not been possible previously.

 

On the PyLadies Hamburg side, we try to keep to the rhythm of monthly events. 

 

And the International Women's Day event became a three timezone event quite randomly, I posted about organizing one event in Hamburg and looking for speakers among the PyLadies organizers, then Lorena Mesa from Chicago saw it and asked if she could do a joint one in Chicago and then I asked her if she knows anyone on the other side of the globe for symmetry, and she said Georgi Ker in Bangkok who said: "of course."

 

This year I also attended for the first time PyCon US and I was part of the panel presenting the Diversity & Inclusion Workgroup, and we were geographically spread all over the world.

Georgi Ker Speaks on Tereza Iofciu's Impact

Georgi Ker, who had the opportunity of working together with Tereza and Lorena Mesa in organizing the online International Women’s Day 2021 event, speaks on Tereza’s impact.

Tereza is everywhere! I don't even know where to start. She was the one who initiated organizing the PyLadies IWD - International Women's Day - event in different time zones. Making the event accessible for more people.

Apart from involvement in the Interim Global Council, she is also one of the PyLadies moderators to ensure that PyLadies stays as a safe environment for everyone.

Tereza is like the guardian of PyLadies and PSF protecting the gates of the Python community caring for people.

We at the Python Software Foundation wish to once again congratulate and celebrate Tereza Iofciu for her amazing contributions to PyLadies and the wider Python community.