Most first-time contributors never make it past setup. In this workshop, we set up together and then spend the session on real code in Eventyay, FOSSASIA's open source event platform. Conferences use it for ticketing, calls for speakers, schedules and online events.

You'll clone the repository and bring up the full stack with Docker Compose. This runs Django, PostgreSQL, Redis and Celery on your laptop, with sample data and live reload, so your changes show up instantly.

Next, you'll learn to find your way around a real Django + Vue codebase. We'll look at how the containers fit together, where the code behind each page lives, and how to read the logs. Then you'll pick a small issue prepared for this workshop, such as a template, text or UI fix. You'll create a branch, test your change and are ready for your first pull requests.

You'll leave with a working development setup, and a workflow you can reuse. Ready for more?
Bring: A laptop with Docker and Git installed, plus a GitHub account.

Most first-time contributors never make it past setup. In this workshop, we set up together and then spend the session on real code in Eventyay, FOSSASIA's open source event platform. Conferences use it for ticketing, calls for speakers, schedules and online events.

You'll clone the repository and bring up the full stack with Docker Compose. This runs Django, PostgreSQL, Redis and Celery on your laptop, with sample data and live reload, so your changes show up instantly.

Next, you'll learn to find your way around a real Django + Vue codebase. We'll look at how the containers fit together, where the code behind each page lives, and how to read the logs. Then you'll pick a small issue prepared for this workshop, such as a template, text or UI fix. You'll create a branch, test your change and are ready for your first pull requests.

You'll leave with a working development setup, and a workflow you can reuse. Ready for more?
Bring: A laptop with Docker and Git installed, plus a GitHub account.

How do you build a feature for a real open-source project when the codebase, requirements, and users already exist?

In this lightning talk, I’ll share my journey building TeamShifts, a team and volunteer management plugin for FOSSASIA’s Eventyay platform as part of Google Summer of Code 2026.

The plugin brings calls for team members, roles, applications, shift scheduling, team assignments, certifications, and volunteer vouchers into the event-management platform instead of relying on separate tools.

I’ll give a quick look at how the project evolved from understanding an existing Django codebase to designing the plugin architecture, integrating it with Eventyay, building the application workflow, and working through GitHub issues, pull requests, code reviews, and mentor feedback.

Rather than being just a feature walkthrough, this talk is a practical look at what it is like to contribute to a real open-source project — from understanding someone else’s code and making design decisions to handling reviews and collaborating with maintainers and other contributors.

I’ll also share a few practical lessons from the journey:

• Working effectively in an existing codebase

• Turning requirements into features in an open-source project

• Learning through code reviews and mentor feedback

• Finding your place and contributing as a new open-source contributor