How One Developer Experienced Drupal Trivandrum’s 25th Anniversary Meetup
In a blog post for QED42, backend engineer Akhil Babu reflects on his experience at the Drupal Trivandrum meetup, held at ICFOSS to mark the 25th anniversaries of Drupal and Wikipedia. While The Drop Times previously reported on the event, Akhil’s post offers a personal and community-oriented perspective.
Akhil describes a vibrant, intergenerational gathering of college students, recent graduates, and long-time Drupal contributors. The event opened with a keynote by Sebin A. Jacob, Editor-in-Chief of The Drop Times, titled Drupal: Past, Present, and Future, which traced the project’s evolution and its continued role in the open-source ecosystem. The session was preceded by a welcoming address from Sunil T. T., Director of ICFOSS.
One standout theme in Akhil’s reflection was how early adopters of Drupal formed knowledge-sharing communities even before internet access was widespread. He also spoke about the Drupal AI initiative and Drupal Canvas, which aim to modernise developer workflows and learning. These insights highlighted the ongoing relevance of community-led innovation.
Mujeeb Rahman of Wikimedians of Kerala gave a parallel talk on Wikipedia’s legacy and tools such as Listen to Wikipedia, which visualise real-time edits. This symbolic bridge between Drupal and Wikipedia underlined the spirit of collaboration across open-source projects.
The meetup also marked the launch of two community initiatives. Drupal in a Day, announced by Anish A., aims to introduce students to Drupal through accessible workshops. Meanwhile, Wiki Loves Drupal, introduced by Kala Jayan, will focus on enhancing the quality and accuracy of Drupal-related content on Wikipedia. Both initiatives are designed to engage and inspire the next generation of contributors.
The event concluded with a sponsor-supported dinner, creating space for deeper conversations and networking. QED42 served as the title sponsor, alongside other supporters. Akhil closes his post by reaffirming why grassroots events and shared meals remain essential to sustaining open-source communities.
? Read Akhil Babu’s full blog post at the reference below.


