Episode 219: Bolaji Ayodeji on Open Source Festival 2023

Guest Bolaji Ayodeji Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this
episode, host Richard has a conversation with and guest, Bolaji
Ayodeji, Software Engineer, Content Creator, Community Engineer,
and an organizer of the OSCA (Open Source Community Africa), the
biggest open source conference in Africa. Bolaji highlights the
Sustain conference at OSCA, emphasizing the recent summit’s wide
range of workshops, significant attendance, and the introduction of
new working groups, particularly in mental health and data science.
The importance of self-care and workload management in the open
source community is a key topic, and Bolaji shares some strategies
to maintain physical health while functioning in high-demand roles.
Looking forward, they are making plans for the 2024 festival with a
hope of attracting a more diverse group of attendees! Hit download
now to hear more! [00:01:20] Bolaji tells us OSCA’s been around
four years, with the conference itself being three years old, and
he mentions the first Sustain in Africa happened in 2020, following
the one in Belgium. [00:02:00] The conversation shifts to the
Sustain conference at OSCA, which includes a variety of workshops.
Bolaji details this year’s Sustain summit, the duration of the
event, the number of working groups, and attendance. [00:03:25]
Bolaji describes the format of the sessions at Sustain, his role
with the timer, and the facilitation process. [00:04:21] Richard
appreciates the work put into organizing the event and Bolaji
shares his excitement about introducing new working groups focused
on areas like mental health and data science. [00:06:33] Bolaji
explains that the reports from the event are being prepared and
will be published on the SustainOSS website. [00:07:19] The
conversation turns to the challenge of organizing workshops on
burnout and the focus of these sessions. Bolaji talks about the
burnout and mental health session, discussing the importance of
self-care and managing workload. [00:09:35] Richard and Bolaji
discuss the scale of OSCA and the proportion of attendees who
contribute to open source as a full-time job versus a side project.
[00:10:31] Bolaji provides a few tips on maintaining wellbeing
while contributing to open source, including prioritizing tasks,
having a life outside work, and ensuring rest and relaxation.
[00:12:44] Richard asks Bolaji about any surprises from the Sustain
sessions, and he notes that there was a varied interest in
different working groups, with more interest in some than others.
[00:14:18] Will there be future events coming up? Bolaji confirms
that there will be another Open Source Festival and Sustain Summit
in 2024, but no specific details yet. [00:14:38] If you can’t
attend but want to be involved, Bolaji mentions the Open Source
Community Africa Discord server where the discussions continue,
where the report will be shared, and he talks about volunteering
opportunities. Quotes [00:06:01] “Sustainability is not just about
the project itself, it’s about the people who manage the projects.”
[00:07:37] “You’re already burnt out form your normal job, and then
you have to figure how to contribute to open source.” [00:11:32]
“Sometimes you need to touch the grass.” Links SustainOSS
(https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/)
podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS
Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open
Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute)
(https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) GitHub Sustainers Website
(https://github.com/sustainers/website) Richard Littauer Mastodon
(https://mastodon.social/@richlitt) Bolaji Ayodeji X/Twitter
(https://twitter.com/iambolajiayo) Bolaji Ayodeji LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/iambolajiayo/) Bolaji Ayodeji Website
(https://www.bolajiayodeji.com/) SustainOSS Events
(https://sustainoss.org/events/) Open Source Community Africa
Discord
(https://discord.com/invite/open-source-community-africa-676252299093475348)
OSCA Community (https://oscafrica.org/community) Credits Produced
by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M.
Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show
notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound
(https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Bolaji Ayodeji.