PyData Berlin
Not Just Code: Building Communities That Don’t Burn People Out
Talk
Abstract
Open source runs on passion, but passion is not a renewable resource. This talk will explore the hidden emotional and social costs of contributing to open-source projects. From burnout to invisibility, we’ll reflect on how the very communities we depend on can unintentionally exhaust the people keeping them alive. Attendees will walk away with practical ways to support contributors, make communities more welcoming, and build open source that truly includes everyone.
Prerequisites
Attendees should have a basic understanding of open source or experience working in developer communities. This non-technical talk is focused on the human side of open source, including burnout, inclusion, and community care. Resources like CHAOSS and Open Source Guides may be helpful for those unfamiliar with community health metrics. This talk is especially relevant for contributors, maintainers, DevRel, and DEI advocates. Links https://chaoss.community/ https://opensource.guide/
Description
Open source has revolutionized the way we build software; however, it hasn’t solved the problem of how we support the people who make it possible.
Behind every feature request, GitHub issue, or Slack ping is a human being trying to balance their desire to help with their mental, emotional, and sometimes financial limits. And while we celebrate open source wins, we rarely discuss the cost of participation: burnout, loneliness, exclusion, and the pressure to be “always on.”
This talk takes a critical yet hopeful look at the human realities of contributing to and maintaining open-source projects. We’ll explore:
The hidden labor behind community work and code maintenance
How issues like burnout, gatekeeping, and lack of diversity still persist
Why community care should be treated as infrastructure
What inclusion actually looks like (beyond just opening a repo)
Practices that support contributor well-being without sacrificing project momentum
Whether you're a project lead, data scientist, contributor, or community manager, this session will help you see the people behind the pull requests—and understand how to build spaces where they can thrive, not just survive.
Speaker
AISHAT MUIBUDEEN (Maya)
Design Maintainer & Code of Conduct Committee @ AsyncAPI Initiative | Founder &Community Lead @OpenNest Africa
Aishat Muibudeen is a Design Maintainer at the AsyncAPI Initiative, where she also serves on the Code of Conduct and Technical Steering Committees. She’s an active contributor to CHAOSS and co-founded OpenNest-Africa, a community built to make open source less intimidating and fun, especially for folks from underrepresented backgrounds. Her work intersects inclusive design, community care, and open-source sustainability. She frequently spoke on these topics and presented her paper “Beyond the Code: How Diversity and Inclusion Shape the Future of Open Source” at the OpenForum Academy Symposium (OFA) in 2024. Driven by a love for storytelling and systems change, Aishat believes community is just as critical as code. She's passionate about helping people feel seen, supported, and safe in tech spaces — and yes, she’s learning German too, weil Wachstum nicht am Keyboard endet.