Communities
I'm constantly trying to improve the community I am part of. Since 2012 I've volunteered and initiated conferences, barcamps, meetups, events and platforms that support them:
Conferences
Codefreeze
Since 2017 I am helping to make Codefreeze the most amazing software conference in the world. Since 2019 there is also a summer-version: Codebreeze.
In 2023 I am again helping with the organization of AdaCon Norway in Oslo (which was previously Ada Lovelace mini-conference).
In 2019 I helped to organize the Ada Lovelace mini-conference and the presentation of the 2019 Tech Role Models, which took place in Oslo.
Meetups
#techleadsffm
In 2015 I initated an invite only breakfast club for tech-leads in the RheinMain area called #techleadsffm. We are currently 20 members and meeting roughly every month.
This event was born out of the idea that the digital scene in my hometown Offenbach needed its own place to connect. From 2013 to 2015 I organized and hosted 12 events, which were inspired by Frankfurt's Webmontag.
Founders table Frankfurt/RheinMain
In 2012 I co-founded the founders table Frankfurt/RheinMain to provide a continuous meeting point for the start-ups and future founders in our region which I co-organized until 2013. It's still active and the biggest meetup group in the region.
Once in a while I helped with the check-in at one of Frankfurt's oldest tech events.
I initated the Python Usergroup RheinMain (PyUGRM) in 2012 and organized 7 events until 2013. It is still active until today.
BarCamps
From 2013 to 2016 I was in charge of the homepage and ran the registration and the check-in during the event and developed a custom event management software which enables participants to complete the check-in within a few seconds.
In 2016 I helped to organize two LeanCamp events in Frankfurt.
In 2016 I helped organize the Augenhöhe Camp Frankfurt.
Events
In 2017 I organized and hosted an invite-only event for tech people that aims to provide a safe space to engage in deep conversations.
In 2013 I co-organized two invite only startup events, where 15 people worked on startup ideas.
Startup Weekend RheinMain 2014
At the second Startup Weekend in the RheinMain region I helped the teams as a coach and supported them throughout the weekend to create an compelling pitch for their ideas.
In 2012 and 2013 I helped organize the TEDxRheinMain. My role included on-location event registration and general support.
Platforms
A list of conferences that can be attended online.
A hashtag where a lot of the activities that happen are shared. I did create the @rmrocksco and build tools which automatically curate its tweets. I also ran a crowd-funding campaing to print stickers which were distributed at events in the region.
A website that collected information and events of technology usergroups in RheinMain. The data was managed through pull-requests by the community itself. The project was discontinued in 2017 since Meetup has become the defacto standard for usergroups.
Coworking
In 2013 I've initiated the first Coworking Space in my hometown Offenbach, near Frankfurt, to provide the backbone for developing creative and tech scene in the city. It was called OFfenraum and you can read more about it in German here, here and here.
Distribute Aid
I was a code contributor at Distribute Aid for three years where I help build the software that helps aid workers across Europe improve the lives of newcomers.
Here are some posts about my work there:
- Why I contribute to DistributeAid
- Volunteer Impact: Distribute Aid Refugees Care
- COVID-19 guide for Aid Workers built with GatsbyJS from a Google Drive folder
- I've left DistributeAid
Algo Peers / CreaTech Motives Afrika
In 2023 I volunteered as a technical advisor for the Ghana-based social learning initiative, which is also supported by Nordic Semiconductor and the micro:bit foundation.