When WordCamp Belgrade 2026 was approaching on September 18th and 19th, I was fully set on attending both days. In fact, I bought an Early Bird ticket among the very first ones, fully planning to grab that t-shirt they had on offer!

But as the dates got closer, a nasty virus caught up with me. And when I say nasty, I really mean it, I was hit with a pounding headache, constant stomach issues, a slight fever, and at one point, even a nosebleed. All of this while somehow still dragging myself through work and trying to keep up with my daily tasks! 😅

Luckily, I bounced back just in time. I wasn’t even nearly recovered on Friday morning, but I managed to recover enough to show up at Dom Omladine Beograda shortly after noon on Day 1.

The Commute Strategy

Living just outside the city center (about 5 km from Dom Omladine), it’s a decent 1 hour walk, but definitely not something you want to do right after recovering from a virus!

Driving there wasn’t a great option either, since finding a parking spot in the city center is an absolute nightmare unless you pay for a public garage. So, I decided to commute! 😀

Having worked remotely for years now, stepping onto public transport feels like entering an alien world. The quality of public transport in the capital is… let’s just say unique and maybe that’s why they decided to make it free for everyone! 😅 In the end, the trolleybus became my official ride for both days.

Reconnecting Like Old Times

Once I arrived and started doing the usual rounds of small talk and catching up with old and new faces, I got a great surprise. I ran into my old colleague Uroš Ilić (Luki) (check out Uroš’s blog).

I honestly didn’t expect to see him there, but it ended up being one of the best parts of the event. Just like in the old days, we stuck together almost the entire time, navigating the tracks, chatting about tech, and catching up on everything that’s happened in our lives recently.

The Sessions & Hallway Track

Despite missing the early morning opening on Day 1, catching the afternoon track was well worth it. Sessions like Mladen Đurić’s workshop on WordPress, Docker, and AI Agents gave a solid practical look at modern workflows, while the afternoon panel on AI content marketing sparked plenty of good debate.

Day 2 shifted to the international English track, featuring some great talks:

• Simon Kraft delivered an eye-opening talk on the Cyber Resilience Act and Open Source Development, which is super relevant for anyone maintaining plugins and security products.
• Marcel Schmitz hit it with his talk “Code is cheap, judgment is not,” reminding us that as AI generates code faster than ever, developer critical thinking and architectural judgment matter most.
• Anne-Mieke Bovelett tackled accessibility in her talk, and while selling accessibility to clients is still tough, she emphasized why it’s non-negotiable today if you want to avoid hurting your SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) rankings, not to mention preventing massive potential losses in sales.
• To wrap up the official schedule, the “From Employee to Entrepreneur” panel featuring Remkus de Vries, Atanas Yonkov, and Alexander Gilmanov offered a fantastic closing discussion on making the leap from developer/employee roles to building and running your own business.

And, of course, the hallway track between sessions and over coffee was where the real community magic happened. Reconnecting with the local Serbian WP community and swapping dev stories made the whole event complete.

Final Thoughts

Even with a rough start to the week and a nostalgic trolleybus ride, spending these two days at WordCamp Belgrade was a great reminder of why in-person community events matter. Technology moves fast, but the people behind it are what keep the ecosystem going. Huge thanks to the organizers, volunteers, and speakers for putting on a fantastic event. Belgrade has an awesome WordPress crowd, and I’m definitely staying hooked for the next one! 🤞