We have decided to elect our Society Fellows quarterly! And now a warm welcome to the newly elected Q4 2021 EuroPython Fellows.
- Giovanni Bajo
- John Pinner (posthumously)
- Rob Collins (posthumously)
- Valeria Pettorino
- Harald Armin Massa
- Marc-André Lemburg
- Artur Czepiel
- Patrick Guido Arminio
EuroPython Fellows
EuroPython Fellows have contributed significantly towards our mission, the EuroPython conference and the Society as an organization. They are eligible for a lifetime free attendance of the EuroPython conference and will be listed on our EuroPython Society Fellow Grant page in recognition of their work.
Giovanni was a board member of the EuroPython Society between 2012-2014. He was one of the main organisers and a driving force of the EuroPython editions in Florence between 2011-2013.
John taught Python to so many people in the world. As Nicholas Tollervey put it, “This kind and gentle man understood the value of computing education and, through his work as founder and chairperson of the PyConUK conference, promoted it with great zeal.” John brought EuroPython to Birmingham in 2009 and 2010 and served as chair to the Society in those years, in which he brought together a great team and managed to raise the standards of the conference. He sadly lost his fight with cancer in 2015, but his love for the (Euro)Python community still burns bright.
Rob ran many sponsored massage sessions at past EuroPython conferences. He not only performed but taught and ran a group of volunteers to do these massages, which regularly raised more than a thousand dollars, donated to the Python Software Foundation (PSF) to do even more good. He sadly passed away in 2016, but we all remember fondly his humour, kindness and love for Python, and they will inspire generations to come. The Board has unanimously agreed to make him an honorary member and Fellow to honour his legacy.
Valeria was a Society board member in 2018. Between 2017-2019, she made significant contributions to the organisation of the conference as a member of the Program, Marketing & Design and the CoC Workgroups, as well on-site.
Harald Armin hosted countless lightning talks sessions at EuroPython in the 2010s, becoming another icon of EuroPython. Similar to Rob, Harald contributed much to the fun of EuroPython.
Marc-André is a giant figure in the history of EuroPython. He had served as an EPS board member for 9 years since 2012 and chaired the Board between 2016 to 2021. During this period, he has dedicated tens of thousands of hours to the betterment of the Society and the conference editions - establishing Workgroups to retain institutional knowledge, broadening the mission of the Society to serve the community, modernising and maintaining the software infrastructure, and creating a formal RFP process in venue selecting - to name a few of the many things he helped achieved for the EPS. Marc stepped down from the Board this year, but his passion for EuroPython continues to fuel the team.
Artur was a board member in 2018-2019 and contributed a great deal to the conference website codebase with many patches, refactoring and significant updates. Through chairing the Web Workgroup, he not only modernised the software used for the website, but provided crucial support to core infrastructure used by most Workgroups. He was nominated a Fellow before rejoining the Board and serving as the current vice chair, and we are very happy to have him back!
Patrick started working in the Web Workgroup in 2015 and chaired the WG in 2017 and 2018. He contributed a lot towards the design and the looks of the EuroPython website which still is in use. He is also the chair of Python Italia. His love for Python, technology and dedication to the community sets a great example. Patrick was nominated a Fellow before joining the current Board and what a great addition to the team!
The EuroPython Society Board would like to congratulate and thank all the above new Fellows for their tireless work towards our mission! If you want to send in your nomination, check out our Fellowship page and get in touch!
Many thanks,
EuroPython Society