Kafka Summit 2021 – Double the Fun

My own sense of the passage of time in 2020 is no sure guide, but honestly it seems like Kafka Summit just happened—yet here we are, deep into planning for Kafka Summit 2021! We had over 35,000 people registered for the August event from more than 10,000 companies and 140 countries around the world. That’s a lot of numbers, all of which suggest that the next Summit is going to be even better.

Because COVID has not yet left us and we still lack a viable way to meet in large groups, we are planning to do virtual events in 2021. I know this is a little bit heartbreaking for many of you, but for others, it means you get to participate fully without having to travel. I truly believe it’s in the best interest of the Apache Kafka^® community, you as an attendee, our sponsors, and really everybody else. The time will come when this will change, but it’s still the order of the day now.

The Kafka community is too big a thing for just one annual event, even if it is virtual. You are a part of a global phenomenon, and not everybody on that globe sleeps at the same time. Therefore, we have decided to have two events so you don’t have to keep hours that are any more odd than necessary:

• Kafka Summit Europe 2021: May 11th–12th, 2021
• Kafka Summit Americas 2021: September 14th–15th, 2021

Each event will be optimized for its local time zone and will have its own call for papers, unique content, and networking opportunities. You are of course welcome to attend either or both of them! Each event will bring together your fellow developers, data architects, engineers, and DevOps professionals, open to everyone who is just learning the basics to those advancing the state of the event streaming. We’ll all be there to share knowledge and shape the future of Kafka.

First up: Kafka Summit Europe. Submit your abstract for the call for papers or register now—it’s free!