Conferences

Devoxx Morocco 2024

Including JMaghreb 3.0 in 2014, this was my seventh time speaking at Devoxx Morocco. Four times in Casablanca, twice in Agadir, and this year in Marrakech. This conference has such a great vibe no matter which location they choose to run it. The community is amazing and very engaged by asking lots of questions in the talks and in the hallway between talks.

The venue in Marrakech was great with properly adjusted air-conditioning, a nice pool area, and an excellent buffet lunch restaurant. Before the second day, a group of eager morning runners met for a 5K run before breakfast.

My talk this year was A Journey of Contribution and Collaboration in Open Source. This is a non-technical, inspirational talk for getting more developers to get involved in Open Source. It is a pleasant talk to do and it is pretty timeless, so I will continue submitting it to conferences as long as there is interest in the subject.

BED-Con 2024

This was my first time at Berlin Expert Days. This conference is organized by the community for the community over two days. The venue is pretty cool with a modern exterior and slightly older interior and well sized for the conference. The first dad had four parallel tracks, while the second had two.

I presented A Journey of Contribution and Collaboration in Open Source in the afternoon on the first day. Since the presentation does not have any demos to lean back on, it is kind of a different experience for me. The audience were engaged, and we had some good questions and discussions after the talk.






If you ever visit Berlin, you should make sure to go for a run, or a walk if that is your cup of tea, in Tiergarten. I went for a morning run before the conference both days. The second day I ended up running 11 km. The weather sunny and the temperature perfect for running.

Jalapeño 2024

It was finally time for the first edition of Jalapeño. It was initially planned to be in 2020, but because of the pandemic, it was delayed until this year. But it was absolutely worth the wait! Located in a beach resort in Puerto Vallarta on the Mexican Pacific, the participants could bring their family and spend some nice days on the beach in combination with attending the unconference.

Jalapeño is an unconference, so you never know exactly which topics that will be discussed. But, as always, whatever topic chosen is the right one. Compared to for example JCrete, where the topics tend to be very technical, the topics of this edition of Jalapeño were more community oriented. Such as challenges around organizing a JUG (Java User Group), how to get involved in Open Source, and so on. Of course, there were technical discussions as well even if the non-technical topics dominated.

All in all, Jalapeño 2024 was absolutely worth the trip, and I would absolutely go back next time it is organized!

LAOUC Community Tour 2024

When I got the opportunity to be a part of the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 with two talks in Paraguay, I immediately accepted. This was my first visit to the country. It is not the first destination that comes to mind, and I had to google what the name of the Capital is (Asuncion).

There are two official languages in Paraguay, Spanish and Guaraní. Since I don’t speak either, if you don’t count my limited Spanish obtained from Duo Lingo, and English is only understood to a certain degree, the organisers set up the English speaking speakers with a translator. Having someone repeating your sentences in a different language during the presentation breaks up the rhythm and takes a while getting used to. Especially when you are told about it a couple of minutes before the talk starts.

The first talk was my migration talk From Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 with Java 22 and Jakarta EE. I was able to cut som content on the fly since the translation eats up a good percentage of the time.

For my second talk, I was prepared for the translation and reduced the content in advance. This talk was about how to Boost Performance and Developer Productivity with Jakarta EE 11.

The event was the last stop on the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 and was very well organised by the Paraguay Oracle User Group (OUGPY). Here are some photos of the speakers, attendees, and a display of Jakarta EE swag.

I had a great couple of days in Paraguay, and would not hesitate to go back on a later occasion. Of course, I had to pick up som Yerba Mate to bring home.

Join Us at Open Community for Java

Open Community for Java, a part of OCX 2024, will bring Java enthusiasts, developers, community leaders, and influential thinkers to share insights, challenges, and successes in the Java ecosystem. The event will take place October 22-24 2024 in Mainz, Germany. 

Open Community for Java is the ultimate gathering for those looking to explore the full spectrum of Java’s capabilities and trends in open source from Jakarta EE, Adoptium, and MicroProfile. Open Community for Java offers a unique platform to engage with industry leaders and innovators. The event will focus on the latest innovations, updates, and developments in Java using open source, vendor-neutral processes and technologies.

It’s the perfect venue to network with fellow developers, learn from the best, and get inspired by cutting-edge solutions shaping the future of open source Java.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from some of the most esteemed speakers in our community. Here are some of the standout sessions you can look forward to:

Eclipse Loves Java by Hendrik Ebbers

Developers can choose from multiple OpenJDK distributions and create applications or microservices using frameworks such as Spring Boot, Micronaut, or Quarkus. Despite this diversity, shared standards and specifications remain, managed by the Eclipse Foundation’s working groups. In this session, Hendrik Ebbers, CEO at Open Elements, will explore the Eclipse working groups and projects driving Java forward, helping developers and companies create innovative open source solutions. Learn more. 

Why Spring Matters to Jakarta EE – and Vice Versa by Ivar Grimstad

Jakarta EE 9’s namespace change from javax to jakarta has significant implications for the entire Java ecosystem, including Spring. This session by Ivar Grimstad from the Eclipse Foundation will explain why Spring developers should care about Jakarta EE updates and how Jakarta EE can benefit from Spring’s innovations. Learn how Spring and Jakarta EE influence each other and how they can collaboratively advance Java technologies. This talk will be particularly insightful for developers looking to leverage both Jakarta EE specifications and Spring Framework advancements. Learn more.

LLangChain4J: Supercharging Jakarta EE Apps with AI by Luqman Saeed

Harness the power of Generative AI to transform your Jakarta EE applications. This session presented by Luqman Saeed (Payara) will introduce LLangChain4J, a Java library that integrates AI into your Java development workflow. Learn how to build smarter, more dynamic applications with AI capabilities like text generation, summarisation, and conversational interfaces. Gain hands-on experience as we demonstrate how LLangChain4J can modernise your Jakarta EE stack, create innovative user experiences, and unlock new possibilities for your applications. Learn more.

Register Now!

Don’t miss out on a full program of technical talks, community activities, and networking opportunities. Register today to secure your spot at the event. For more information, visit java.ocxconf.org and follow @ocxconference on social media.

JCrete 2024

Attending JCrete has become a tradition for me. It is high up there among my favorite events and probably my favorite location. Whenever possible, I take some time off before or after the conference to explore the Island of Crete.

Every day at JCrete starts with a morning run. You have to be up early for this as it gets very hot very quickly and the hills above the OAC are pretty steep.

But JCrete is about so much more than the running, the location, the food….It’s all about the people! And the conversations. It is not often you get to spend a week in the company of such a group of dignitaries of the Java community in such relaxed circumstances. If you ever get the chance to attend JCrete, just do it!

Since JCrete is an unconference, there are no scheduled talks. The topics for the sessions are presented and voted on every morning and the schedule materializes from that. An interesting observation is that the topics on the first and second days are usually very technical, low-level JVM stuff. Whereas later in the week, the softer topics of remote working, burnout, traveling, and coping with various work situations are more common.

After JCrete, there is no better place to be than on a beach with coffee in the making and delicious Cretan thyme honey on Greek yogurt.

JConf Dominicana 2024

A Java conference in the Dominican Republic sounds too good to be true. Well, I can tell you that it is a thing, and it is awesome! JConf Dominicana, The Caribbean Java Technologies Conference is organized by Java Dominicano, the Dominican Java User Group. It is a one-day conference with a half day of workshops the day before.

I hosted a 4-hour Jakarta EE workshop together with Eudris Cabrera. He provided Spanish translations of all the instructions for the participants and explained in Spanish where my English came short. We had a great time, and it looks like the participants enjoyed it as well if you judge from the happy faces in this photo.

Jakarta EE was very well represented at JConfDominicana this year. In addition to the workshop, Shabnam did a keynote titled Empowering Innovation: The Open Source Odyssey of Contribution and Collaboration with Jakarta EE.

The day before the conference, we went out to explore the city and ended up visiting a cigar factory where they had free tours of the facilities. It is amazing to see how cigars are hand-made this way. Our clothes will need a turn in the washer after the visit as almost everyone in there was smoking cigars while working.

It is always such a great experience to speak at conferences like JConfDominica that are organized by and for the local Java Community. I encourage everyone who employs Java developers anywhere in the world to support the local Java community.

Developer Week ’24

Developer Week is a four-day conference that takes place in Nuremberg, Germany. As the name implies, it is a developer conference where Java is a track among the other track topics. I spoke at the conference for the first time in 2017, and it feels like the Java track has increased in size since then even if it is still a small part of the conference. Anyway, it is very useful to be present at these non-100%-Java conferences as well. As Brian pointed out, they are coping with the same problems and challenges as the Java community. Talking about Brian, here we are as we are following Jonathan‘s presentation.

Jonathan brought his daughter with him on this trip, and she go the task of evaluating the various speakers’ presentation skills. It will be interesting to see how well I perform on stage in the eyes of a 14-year-old girl. Hopefully, my bribe in the form of some exclusive Jakarta EE swag will improve my evaluation.

My talk From Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 with Java 22 and Jakarta EE went well. I even demoed Jakarta Data at the end of the talk.

Before the conference day, I went for a morning run around Nürnberg. there is a nice walk/bike path on the outside of the old city walls that is perfect for running.

DevBCN 2024

My second trip to Barcelona in less than two weeks was to DevBCN. This community-driven conference is always a pleasure to speak at. And it doesn’t hurt that it is located in Barcelona…

This time we had an Eclipse Foundation booth staffed by Carmen, Arjan, and yours truly. We even had some new Jakarta EE swag in the shape of caps and sunglasses. A fun moment was to have a selfie with Jean-Fredric from the ASF where he was wearing his vintage jakarta.apache.org t-shirt and me with my Jakarta EE t-shirt.

Despite some issues with the screens, I was able to start my talk at the scheduled time. This time, I dusted off the popular From Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 with Java 22 and Jakarta EE talk. Every time I do this talk, the number of attendees raising their hand when I ask who that has already done the migration is increasing. A bit surprising this time was that there were more hands raised for “not started yet”. So the talk is still valid, and I will most likely continue presenting it for a while longer.

Originally, I was supposed to do the one talk this year, but since there were cancelations from some speakers not being able to come, I was asked if I could do a second talk. The one I chose to do was an update of what to expect from Jakarta EE 11, and how this release will help you boost both performance and developer productivity.

Spring I/O 2024

This was my first time attending and speaking at Spring I/O. The conference is located in Barcelona and attracts around 1200 attendees from all over the World. The two-day conference has four parallel tracks as well as two workshop tracks.

Spring I/O is an extremely well-organized conference. Everything flows smoothly, both before and during the conference. I felt really welcomed and appreciated as a speaker. The whole event has a great community spirit. I will definitely submit a talk or two when the CFP for Spring I/O 2025 opens up!

I had a great time presenting Why Spring Matters to Jakarta EE – and Vice Versa at Spring I/O. The crowd was engaging, and I had a lot of good conversations about the topic afterward. Even if I most likely was the only one wearing a Jakarta EE T-shirt at this Spring event, I didn’t feel alone at all. The Java community is the same anywhere, warm and welcoming.

No conference without a morning run, and Spring I/O was no exception. On day 2, Abdel, Ash, and I had a nice 7K run around Barcelona. A refreshing start of the day.