Drupal Trivandrum celebrated the 25th anniversary of both Drupal and Wikipedia on 15th January. I attended the meetup in person, and it was a good experience. Our involvement started with a simple conversation between Piyuesh and The Drop Times, which led to us being part of the event, and in turn, I got to be there as well. Destiny!
The event was held at the International Centre for Free and Open Source Solutions (ICFOSS), Trivandrum, and the turnout was impressive. There were many college students and fresh graduates attending, asking thoughtful questions, and engaging deeply with how Drupal is evolving. At a time when Free and Open Source communities are actively thinking about how to stay relevant for the next generation, seeing this level of curiosity and participation felt like a strong sign that the ecosystem is moving in the right direction.
The program opened with the Presidential Address by Sunil TT, Director of ICFOSS, followed by a session titled ‘Drupal: Past, Present, and Future’ by Sebin A. Jacob, Editor-in-Chief of The Drop Times. The session traced Drupal’s journey over the years and gave a clear picture of how the platform has grown and changed.
One of the most inspiring parts of the meetup was hearing people share their personal Drupal journeys. They spoke about how they discovered it, how they learned it, and how it ended up changing their lives.
What struck me deeply was how, in a time when the internet was not widely accessible and knowledge was not available at everyone’s fingertips, people still built communities and shared learning. They laid the foundation of an ecosystem that today creates jobs for so many of us and quite literally puts food on our plates. I spoke about the Drupal AI initiative and Drupal Canvas, which I am always happy to talk about.
As part of the celebration of 25 years of Wikipedia, Mujeeb Rahman from Wikimedians of Kerala presented the history of Wikipedia and explained how thousands of contributors collaborate every minute to make knowledge freely available and accessible to the world. He also introduced us to a fascinating site called Listen to Wikipedia(http://listen.hatnote.com/), which plays a sound whenever a Wikipedia page is edited or updated in real time. It felt like a powerful symbol of community spirit and collaboration.
To make sure Drupal and Wikipedia continue to stay relevant for the younger generation, two thoughtful initiatives were announced during the meetup:
- Drupal in a day, announced by Anish A from the Drupal TVM group, focused on introducing Drupal to college students in a simple, hands-on, and approachable way.
- Wiki Loves Drupal, announced by Kala Jayan from the Drupal TVM group, focused on improving the quality, depth, and accuracy of Drupal-related content on Wikipedia.
The second initiative felt particularly timely, as Wikipedia remains one of the most trusted and widely referenced sources of information, including by many AI systems and search tools. Strengthening Drupal’s presence there makes the information more reliable, more accessible, and easier for people to discover.
Dinner followed, supported by the event sponsors, and it gave everyone a relaxed space to talk, connect, and spend time together over good food. It was a simple but nice way to wind down after a packed day.
Meetups like this leave me feeling refreshed. They create room for real conversations, new ideas, and stronger community ties, and they remind me why being part of the Drupal and the wider open-source ecosystem matters.
Thanks to QED42 (that’s where I work), which supported the event as the Title Sponsor, along with several other sponsors who helped make the gathering possible.
