Speakers - Mountain Camp 2027¶
See also: program/cfp.md for Call for Proposals
Featured Speakers¶
To be announced September 2026
Dries Buytaert¶
Role: Founder & Project Lead, Drupal Format: Fireside chat / interview (not a keynote) Status: ✅ Confirmed Topic direction: AI's role in open source, Drupal's path forward, what it means to be a builder in the AI era, data sovereignty Notes: Prepare interview questions in advance. Consider crowdsourcing questions from community via social media. Potential co-format with Hannes Gassert.
John O'Nolan¶
Role: Founder & CEO, Ghost - open source publishing platform Format: Talk or interview (25-40 min) Status: 💬 Expressed interest (May 2026) Topic direction: Editorial workflows in alternative systems; modern, AI-assisted content publishing on open source infrastructure Why he fits DMC 2027:
- Ghost Foundation is a non-profit; Ghost is truly open source - deeply values-aligned with "makers not takers"
- Ghost has been shipping AI-assisted content features while maintaining full data sovereignty
- Adjacent builder from outside the Drupal world - feedback consistently shows this profile generates the strongest reactions
- Platform independence and creator ownership aligns directly with the data sovereignty programme day
- Natural complement to Dries: two open source founders, different ecosystems, shared values
Suggested session framing: "Building the open web with AI - Ghost's approach to giving publishers real ownership"
Hannes Gassert¶
Role: Co-founder, Liip / Swiss open data and digital sovereignty advocate Format: Panel or joint interview Status: To be contacted Topic direction: Data sovereignty, government and open source, AI compliance in Switzerland Notes: Potential co-format with Dries for a government + open source conversation.
Featured & Keynote Speaker Outreach¶
| Speaker | Role | Why them | Status | Session | Contact by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dries Buytaert | Drupal founder & CTO, Acquia | Creator of Drupal. Enough said. | ✅ Confirmed | Fireside chat | Interview format, not traditional keynote | |
| John O'Nolan | Founder, Ghost | Open source publishing + AI. Shows Drupal isn't alone in rethinking the CMS. | 💬 Interested | Talk/Interview | Expressed interest May 2026; topic: editorial workflows | |
| Hannes Gassert | Co-founder Liip, Swiss digital sovereignty advocate | Swiss tech leader championing open source and data sovereignty. Local credibility. | 📨 In outreach | Panel | ||
| Adriana Groh | Head, Sovereign Tech Agency | Leads Europe's first publicly funded org for critical open source infrastructure. Hottest voice in EU open source policy. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Baddy Sonja Breidert | CEO/Co-founder, 1xINTERNET; Board Chair, Drupal Association | Chair of the DA Board. Her presence signals Mountain Camp matters. Very active social presence. Based in Germany. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Clem Delangue | Co-founder & CEO, Hugging Face | Leading the open source AI movement. Perfect fit for "Humans with AI in the loop" theme. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Emma Horrell | UX Manager, Drupal Core & CMS; University of Edinburgh | Co-leads UX for Drupal Core and CMS. Human-centred AI design fits "Humans with AI in the loop" theme. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Fabien Potencier | Creator of Symfony | Drupal is built on Symfony. Rarely speaks at Drupal events. Would be historic. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Frank Karlitschek | Founder & CEO, Nextcloud | Built open source cloud used by German federal government. Digital sovereignty in practice. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Johan Linåker | Senior Researcher, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden; Adjunct Professor, Lund University | Leading EU researcher on open source sustainability and digital sovereignty. Coordinates OSAwards.eu. Co-authored EU Open Source Policy Summit papers. Spoke at FOSDEM 2025 and Linux Foundation summits. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Marcus Dapp | Digital sovereignty researcher, ETH Zurich | Academic perspective on open source and digital commons. Swiss based, research-driven. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Matthias Stürmer | Head of Institute for Public Sector Transformation, BFH | Swiss open source in government. Founded Swiss Competence Center for Open Source Software. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Nick Veenhof | Director of Contributor Success, GitLab; DA board member | Cross-ecosystem appeal: GitLab + Drupal. Very active social presence. Keynoted at Mountain Camp 2019. Bridge between Drupal and wider open source. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Stefano Maffulli | Executive Director, Open Source Initiative | Leading the global definition of "open source AI." Shapes how every project approaches AI. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Sven Thomsen | CIO of Schleswig-Holstein | Leading Europe's most ambitious government migration from Microsoft to open source. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk | ||
| Tobias Koppers | Creator of webpack / Turbopack, Vercel | Built the most-used JS bundler in the world. Every Drupal frontend dev uses his work. | 🔲 To be contacted | Talk |
Featured Speaker Criteria¶
- Curated selection (not open call)
- High-profile community members
- Aligned with 2027 theme: "Humans with AI in the loop"
- External voices welcomed (non-Drupal)
Speaker Wishlist & Outreach Targets¶
Based on planning sync and planning weekend checkout.
People not yet in the main table, still exploring fit or waiting on timing.
| Name | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| afoster | Drupal AI initiative | https://www.drupal.org/about/starshot/initiatives/ai/blog/the-future-of-ai-powered-web-creation-is-people-first-not-prompt-first |
| Jamie Abrahams | Symfony AI / AI initiative keynote | |
| Marcus | Symfony AI / AI initiative (technical) | |
| Chris Hertel | Symfony AI Core Lead | Potential keynote on Drupal AI's evolution to Symfony AI |
Case Study / Showcase Speakers¶
Organisations with compelling Drupal stories - large-scale, high-profile, or Swiss-relevant implementations.
bs.ch - Canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland)¶
Built by: Liip What makes it compelling: Decoupled Drupal 10 + Vue/Nuxt + GraphQL serving 300+ content editors. Open-sourced blökkli editor. Deployed Alva, an AI chatbot - the first Swiss canton to do so. Session angle: "Scaling editorial at government scale" Potential speakers: Thom Nagy, Micha Jäggi Status: To be contacted | Day fit: Data sovereignty / government day
graubünden.ch - Graubünden Ferien (Switzerland)¶
Built by: Unic What makes it compelling: Drupal multisite platform hosting 20+ partner/destination websites. Won Drupal Splash Awards: National Businesses, Public Affairs, and Project of the Year. Session angle: "One platform, twenty destinations" Status: To be contacted | Day fit: Builders / contributors day
ge.ch - État de Genève (Switzerland)¶
Built by: Idéative What makes it compelling: Canton of Geneva's official platform, serving 500,000 inhabitants. Strong Romandie connection. Session angle: "Open source in the Romandie" Status: To be contacted | Day fit: Data sovereignty / government day
United Nations (International)¶
What makes it compelling: UN upgraded from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10. UNDP manages 200+ websites via Drupal multisite. Session angle: "Open source at global scale" Status: Needs further research
Community Partnership Contacts¶
- Apertus community - Two people expressed interest in supporting the event; reach out for involvement and as potential bridge audience
- CH Open - Swiss open source org; explore collaboration for government/sovereignty summit day
- Republic newspaper - Tech journalist; invite if significant announcements planned (Symfony AI, government partnerships)
Press / Media Outreach¶
Potential press invites if major announcements confirmed (e.g. Symfony AI keynote, government partnership, Apertus):
- Republic newspaper (Swiss tech journalism)
Speaker Benefits & Logistics¶
Benefits¶
- Free ticket to Mountain Camp 2027
- Gift: Victorinox knife with engraving - webers-world.com
- Speaker page on mountaincamp.ch
- Session recording published on YouTube
Key Dates¶
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Call for Papers Opens | Jul 1, 2026 |
| Featured Speakers Published | Sep 1, 2026 (announced on Pretalx) |
| Call for Papers Closes | Oct 11, 2026 (option to extend to Oct 18) |
| Full Schedule Published | Nov 1, 2026 |
Preparation¶
- Speaker guide to be sent January 2027
- Slide templates, AV specs, schedule, travel info via Pretalx
- Speaker acceptance via Pretalx workflow
Logistics Notes¶
- No separate paid speaker dinner (decision from previous years)
- Informal speaker gatherings encouraged but not budget-covered
Past Highlights (Reference)¶
| Speaker | Session | Year | Feedback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vera Herzmann | Keynote | 2025 | "Very good!", praised multiple times |
| Frederick Wouters | AI Workshop | 2024 | "Amazing - felt illegal how easy it was" |
| Jutta Horstmann | Open Source Funding | 2024 | "Led to several discussions" |
| Vera + Olga | External keynote | 2025 | "Great insight from outside community" |
Pattern: Beginner-accessible workshops + external voices rate highest
Notes¶
- No separate paid speaker dinner (decision from previous years)
- Informal speaker gatherings encouraged but not budget-covered
- Speaker acceptance via Pretalx workflow