{"id":5382,"date":"2026-04-08T15:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redmonk.com\/jgovernor\/?p=5382"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:16:45","slug":"monki-gras-2026-wrapped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redmonk.com\/jgovernor\/monki-gras-2026-wrapped\/","title":{"rendered":"Monki Gras 2026: Wrapped!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This year\u2019s theme was \u201cPrepping Craft\u201d \u2013 in a world where safety and normality are slipping away, how do we make our code, our communities, and our lives truly resilient? I loved the topic when I first heard it, and it\u2019s only become more urgent by the day. – <\/span>Alex Chan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

In a moment when institutional trust is declining, political environments are hostile, and the open source ecosystem is under genuine strain, a conference that centers human connection, psychological safety and community resilience isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a model for what the industry needs more of. – <\/span>Alyx McQueen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Monkigras is my favourite conference of the year, sorry to all the other conference friends I have, and it is not even truly my industry. Every year the conference has a theme and this year’s is about being prepared. – <\/span>Dave Letorey<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

“Listening to inspiring speakers from around the world helped me understand how to navigate challenges\u2014both as an individual and within a community. I also had the opportunity to gain different perspectives from experienced professionals in tech and individuals working in tech-related fields. Hearing their journeys and insights really broadened my thinking and inspired me to keep growing.” – Rahwa Haile<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So I guess we did OK, then. Monki Gras<\/a> 2026 was a couple of weeks ago. The feedback from delegates was lovely. <\/span>The theme this year was <\/span>“Prepping Craft”<\/b> \u2014 examining what it means to be prepared for whatever comes next, technically and culturally. What it means to be prepared: for the impact of AI on the industry, for geopolitical uncertainty, for the challenge of product rollouts, for (distributed) systems failure. We explored strategies, tools, and philosophies that make people, communities, products, and platforms safer and more resilient. All of the quotes above and below are from blog posts about the conference. They’re all well worth a read!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I would like to thank all my amazing speakers:<\/span><\/p>\n

Laura Tacho<\/b> kicked off with a clear eyed view on data versus hype, considering what is going on in the AI and generative coding space. <\/span>Anna Hevesi<\/b> asked how we win in the age of robots. <\/span>Ashley Rolfmore<\/b> made the case that trust has to come before truth when building explainable AI systems. <\/span>Sue Smith<\/b> raised the question of whether our fingers still remember how to code as we become increasingly reliant on AI tooling. <\/span>Liz Fong-Jones<\/b> brought something deeply personal and important about rights generally and trans rights specifically\u2014 what do you do when you may need to change up your citizenship? After lunch, <\/span>Hazel Weakly<\/b> got intentional \u2014 about her life and how she crafts herself. <\/span>Daniel Roe<\/b> took us into the world of the <\/span>npmx<\/span><\/a> project, but also atproto, federation, and resilience in open source. <\/span>Holly Cummins<\/b> and <\/span>Sanne Grinovero<\/b> tackled the open source bus number problem – what happens if something happens to your key project maintainers? Finally <\/span>Adrian Cockcroft<\/b> made the case that resilience requires conscious observability, which in many respects was a talk for what you need to do to prepare for a long and successful career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Day two pushed the prepper theme further. <\/span>Danilo Campos<\/b> prepared us for unimaginable change – and a world of abundance in energy and cognition (have you ever considered just how magical it is that you can simply flush a toilet?). <\/span>Chad Metcalf<\/b> shared his own story as a the owner of an old gold mine near Yosemite in California. <\/span>Adam Zimman<\/b> offered a trans guide for CIS parents. <\/span>Heidi Waterhouse<\/b> and <\/span>Kim Harrison<\/b> looked at resilience in communities, highlighting work in Minneapolis and Oaxaca. <\/span>Matt LeMay<\/b> closed things out by reframing how we plan for uncertainty itself. We closed things out with a book signing with the <\/span>Progressive Delivery<\/span><\/a> crew.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Another important word – a huge and epic thank you to our sponsors – you can\u2019t run an event li<\/span>ke this without the help of amazing sponsors. We live in capitalism, and we need to appreciate that.<\/span><\/p>\n