We’re sharing this with the wider Python community not because registrations are still open (they aren’t!), but because Django on the Med is an experiment that we hope may be useful beyond Django itself.
Django on the Med is a small, free, in-person event that combines three mornings of Django development sprints with afternoons dedicated to conversations, networking and community activities. The idea is to create an environment where experienced contributors and people making their first open source contributions can spend several days learning, collaborating and getting to know each other.
The first edition took place in Palafrugell, Spain, in 2025. The second edition will be held in Pescara, Italy, from 23 to 25 September 2026 and is already fully booked with around 25 participants.
Rather than growing into another large conference, we’re experimenting with a lightweight format that we hope other Python and Django communities might adapt and organize themselves. Our goal is to make contributor onboarding more approachable through small, local events where mentoring and relationships are just as important as the code written during the sprint.
We’re very grateful that Django on the Med 2026 has recently been recognized as a Python Software Foundation Community Partner, which we see as an encouraging sign that this kind of community initiative may have value beyond our own event.
When: 23–25 September 2026
Where: Hotel Plaza, Pescara, Italy
Website: https://djangomed.eu/2026/pescara/
Code of Conduct: https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/
After the event we’ll publish a retrospective sharing what worked, what didn’t and what we learned from this second edition. If you’re experimenting with similar community formats, we’d love to hear from you.
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If anyone else is experimenting with similar small, contributor-focused community events, I’d be very interested to hear about them.