WhatTheStack Community Conference, Skopje
- 3 minsWTF was that WTS!?!
To call WhatTheStack a conference would be doing it a disservice.
Community conference comes closer. But still not quite right. Even amongst the best grassroots tech events in Europe(ish) , this one stood out amongst them all. And not just for the conference itself.
Skopje offered the perfect location for a late summer tech event. Clear blue skies provided the backdrop for a architecturally interesting city. Vienna-esque grandeur blended with Soviet style buildings to offer one of the most interesting walks to an event venue ever, with the venue itself offering a peek inside a great example of the brutalist style.
But 30+ speakers didn’t descend on Macedonia from around the globe to take in the buildings, weather, and the THOUSANDS of statues. We were there to share our love of the web through our talks.
We certainly did that!
The big event on Saturday was preceded by a week of smaller events at Base42, a hackerspace in the heart of the city. As part of it, I dropped some Beats, Rhymes, and Neural Nets on the audience. Thankfully, the audience were right into it. I’m always hesitant with this talk in far flung places, as not all cultures appreciate talks at the fun end of the spectrum. This lot. . . they appreciated it more than most 💪
For the main conference, the speakers brought their A++ game. Despite the demo-gods not being on the side of everyone, the sessions were clearly a hit with audience. Whether you wanted to deep dive into React, Angular, (software) architecture, hear case studies, or be made to think, there was something for everyone. Whilst I didn’t get to see a whole host of the sessions, one of the ones I did really shone a light on how useful Supabase would be when prototyping software. Thanks Fanis!
Once the audience had filtered away after the event, the awesomeness of the gathering really shone through. After comparing notes amongst the speaker group, the consensus is that attendees were proactive in seeking out speakers to talk to. Whilst this might not sound like much, typically you’d get a couple of “thanks, that was great” comments and maybe a question or two.
Not at What the Stack.
The community were keen to talk. Very keen in fact. And this is a great sign of a thriving, safe, and engaged community that you don’t get at many events, and one of the things a community conferences should be. Rough around the edges, but polished in the places that matter. Informal, but without becoming a collection of cliques. Honest to what it is, whilst trying to grow into something greater.
This is a direct reflection of the team behind the event, and the communities in the city. To say the speakers were given a personal touch is an understatement. It was more of a concierge service. Want a table at a restaurant booked? Sure. Need a taxi? No problem. Want a day trip to Kosovo? Be ready at 9am. EVERY single tech event organiser, regardless of the scale of the gathering, could learn a think or two from the team here.
Overall, this has been my favorite conference in a very long time, with Skopje rocketing to the top three of my favorite cities. If you are a speaker in the web world, follow the conf page and keep an eye out for next years CFP. You won’t regret it.
If you are lucky enough to be selected, and you ask nicely, Faris might even buy you a post-event ice cream as well 🙏
Hope to see you there in 2026!
Originally featured on LinkedIn.