Joomla World Conference 2026: People, Ideas, and a Community with Heart

Barbara: Joomla is the foundation of my daily work. That's why attending JoomlaDays is simply part of it for me – a lovely duty, so to speak. But this year, with the international World Conference, it was something really special. Finally, I could meet Joomla volunteers from all over the world in person and get to know the faces behind the names. That's what I was looking forward to the most: the people and the exchange with the community.

Elisa: Honestly, I didn't originally want this role at all. Being so much in the spotlight isn't really my thing. But I noticed that I'm good at making connections and bringing people together – even across the boundaries of different CMS projects.

I've known Joomla for a very long time and I know that open source works differently than a company. You must never forget that, alongside their commitment, our volunteers also have a job, a family, and a life of their own. That naturally applies to me too! ;-)

What I find especially nice is that my presence alone seems to motivate others already. That really makes me happy.

Barbara: Since I've known the German Joomla community for many years, a lot of it felt familiar. But with international participants this time, English was the common language. That was a bit tiring at times, but everyone was incredibly open and warm. And I was actually surprised myself how much I understood! :-)

I was especially happy to finally meet Laura from the US in person. I had supported her on a project before, but until now we only knew each other from a distance. Moments like that are exactly what makes the community so special to me.

Elisa: The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns are, to me, a great example of what people can achieve when they believe in something together. I'm not actually the huge American football fan some people take me for. What excites me are the Unicorns and the many parallels between American football in Germany and open source.

My most important message was: we should play with each other, not against each other. We're allies. Even the opposing team isn't an enemy, but a playing partner. In the end, everyone applauds, no matter who won.

That's exactly the attitude I wish for the open-source world. We don't always have to agree, but we should treat each other with respect and move things forward together.

I'll also cover my keynote in more detail in the Joomla Magazine. A recording is also meant to be published on YouTube.

Elisa: Of course we need to keep up when it comes to artificial intelligence. But I see one of our biggest strengths in accessibility.

We're currently working with the Sovereign Tech Agency on a major project, for which Joomla received an investment. The first audit already showed that Joomla is very well positioned when it comes to accessibility. Now it's about the finer details and an even better user experience.

But we also have financial challenges. The investment is earmarked and can't be used for all ongoing costs. So we urgently need to find ways to secure Joomla financially in the long term. And we can't just talk about it, we also have to act.

Barbara: Joomla has incredible potential. But what's often forgotten is that behind open source are people who volunteer a huge amount of their time.

At the same time, it's often suggested that building a website is child's play. But the requirements today have grown enormously – from data protection and legal regulations to security and accessibility.

Just because Joomla is available for free doesn't mean developing it costs nothing. In my opinion, anyone who builds their business on Joomla and earns money with it should also give something back – through volunteer work or financial support.

Joomla needs to communicate its strengths, but also the value of the work behind the project, even better. And we need more sponsors, especially companies that benefit from Joomla themselves.

Elisa: I sometimes ask myself: why doesn't everyone talk about Joomla? It's free, offers an incredible number of features right in the core, has built-in multilingual support, and an outstanding security team. Add to that over 21 years of development history and our strong focus on accessibility.

A lot of features are already on board, so you don't need extra extensions for everything. That also reduces the maintenance effort.

To me, Joomla is a bit like the Apple of CMS platforms: a well thought-out overall package where a lot of things already work together sensibly. In my opinion, Joomla is completely underrated and deserves a lot more attention!

As Claude, I deal with code, technical questions, and digital solutions every day. I can ask questions, structure knowledge, and help put thoughts into words.

But what I'm taking away from this interview is something that goes far beyond technology.

Barbara talked about how valuable personal encounters are, how knowledge grows through exchange, and why even free open-source software needs people who take on responsibility.

Elisa showed that leading an international open-source project isn't just about strategies and technical developments, but above all about connecting people, motivating them, and moving forward together.

And maybe that's the most beautiful contrast of this Joomla World Conference: while artificial intelligence keeps opening up more possibilities, human community remains irreplaceable.