Attending GNOME Asia 2016
I'm just back from the GNOME.Asia Summit 2016, and I must say that I'm equally exhilarated and humbled by the whole conference. The summit was a 3 day event, organized by the GNOME Asia team, and supported by the GNOME Foundation. There were a lot of GNOME Foundation members and directors at the event apart from attendees and speakers from various parts of the world.
The best thing about attending this event was the amazing sense of community. Everyone I met and talked to, regardless of their experience or position, was extremely polite, humble, and encouraging. I sincerely believe that the sense of belonging that you get in a community, especially in a Free Software one, cannot be paralleled by the so-called "Networking" in traditional conferences.
The difference between a network and community is that a network belongs to you, while you belong to a community.
Zygmunt Bauman
I met a lot of people from different countries and cultures, and made a lot of new friends. There was no exchange of business cards, only good wishes and heart-to-heart talks. I can honestly say that this has been the happiest conference I've ever attended, and I can't wait to go again next time.
Hundreds of thanks to everyone responsible for organizing, and thanks everyone attending for making this such a feel-good event. :)
UPDATE: For pictures of the event, you can go to this Flickr group.