# Community Marathon: .NET Conf SA, GitHub Universe, and BSides Cape Town
What a run. What an absolutely packed, sleep-deprived, swag-laden, heart-full run.
The past couple of weeks have been a blur of airports, conference venues, tech talks, and incredible people. An event per weekend – sometimes one in between – and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
## .NET Conf South Africa
First up: [#dotnetconfsa](https://dotnetconfsa.co.za). Organizing .NET Conf South Africa across **three cities** – Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg – is no small feat. It’s months of planning, logistics, sponsor wrangling, speaker coordination, and a whole lot of group chat messages that never seem to stop.
But when you walk into a sold-out venue and see the energy in the room – developers genuinely excited to learn, connect, and geek out together – every late night and weekend hour is instantly worth it.
The attendance was through the roof. The speakers, as always, delivered. And the people who came out to each city? Absolutely epic. South Africa’s tech community continues to punch well above its weight, and events like this are proof of that.
Huge congratulations and gratitude to the organizing team for pulling off a massively successful conference. It takes a village.
## GitHub Universe
Sandwiched in between the .NET Conf city stops was **GitHub Universe** – always a highlight on the developer calendar. Whether you’re following along online or engaging with the local community watch parties and discussions, Universe is one of those moments that reminds you why you love building software. The announcements, the energy, the conversations that follow. Good stuff.
## BSides Cape Town – Going Volt
And then, to top it all off: **BSides Cape Town**.
BSides is one of those community-run security conferences that just has a different vibe. It’s grassroots, passionate, and packed with people who genuinely care about the craft of security. I had the privilege of attending as a **Volt** – a volunteer who helps keep the conference running smoothly behind the scenes.
Playing a tiny part in a huge event like this is a genuinely humbling experience. The fellow Volts I worked alongside were brilliant – professional, enthusiastic, and great fun to work with. If you’ve never volunteered at a conference, I’d highly recommend it. You see the event from a completely different angle, and you come away with a real appreciation for the effort that goes into making these things happen.
(The swag was also next level. Just saying. 🎒)
## Taking Stock and Looking Ahead
Now that the dust has settled, and after a well-earned nap, it’s time to reflect.
The end of the year is always a good moment to take stock of what the past twelve months looked like and start thinking about where to focus energy going into the new year. For me, 2026 is going to require some intentional thinking about how I navigate tech community involvement. There’s no shortage of opportunities – the challenge, as always, is being thoughtful about which ones to pursue and how to show up fully rather than thinly spread.
More on that as the new year takes shape.
For now: **Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!** 🎊
To every organizer, speaker, attendee, volunteer, and sponsor who made any of these events happen – thank you. The South African tech community is something special, and I’m grateful to be part of it.
#community #dotnetconfsa #bsides `#github #mvpbuzz #communityout
