add: Initial draft: fall festival

Author: lwasser

_posts/2024-12-01-pyOpenSci-first-open-science-festival.md

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+---
+layout: single
+title: "pyOpenSci celebrates Inessa Pawson - Community Leader"
+excerpt: " "
+author: "Leah Wasser"
+permalink: /blog/pyopensci-celebrates-inessa-pawson.html
+header:
+  overlay_image: images/headers/pyopensci-inessa.png
+  overlay_filter: rgba(20, 13, 36, 0.3)
+categories:
+  - blog-post
+  - community
+classes: wide
+toc: true
+comments: true
+last_modified: 2024-11-22
+---
+
+# Building Momentum for the Future: Reflections on Our First Open Science Festival Week
+
+## Introduction (Celebrate Success)
+
+Three years ago, I envisioned an online event where our community could come together to celebrate open science, share knowledge, and learn new skills. Last month, that vision became reality with pyOpenSci’s first-ever Festival, held from October 28 to November 1. The event brought together 64 participants from over 15 countries—a global mix of researchers, developers, educators, and Python enthusiasts.
+
+The week was packed with inspiring keynotes, hands-on workshops, and informal office hours, where participants connected and reflected on their learning. It was an incredible celebration of the amazing work happening across our community!
+
+We kicked the event off on Monday, October 28 with a morning of free KeyNote talks headlined by **Eric Ma, Melissa Mendonça, and Rowan Cockett**. The talks couldn't have been more perfectly aligned with the training to come that week and set the stage for a truly engaging week of learning together.
+
+Eric Ma on code readability and user-friendly setup, Melissa Mendonça on the importance of sustainability and diversity in open source communities, and Rowan Cockett on MYstMarkdown and Curvenote, a platform and tools for collaborative and transparent scientific communication
+
+### Eric Ma
+Eric Ma emphasized the importance of readability, user-friendly installation, and thorough documentation in data science projects. He shared personal experiences and best practices to highlight how these elements enhance collaboration and the overall impact of scientific work.
+
+My favorite part of this talk was the "Roast Your Repo" exercise, which invited attendees to critique a repository from his thesis code. Together, we discussed the repo's shortcomings, including lack of documentation, testing, and modularity. This discussion emphasized the importance of open science practices when considering how reusable code or a Githubr repository is.
+
+### Melissa Mendonça
+Melissa Mendonça shared her personal journey into open source. I really appreciated the discussion of her transition from academia to a career focused on open source scientific software. It can be hard and brave to leave academia- a difficult experience I've recently endured in my career. Melissa emphasized the importance of the scientific Python ecosystem, showcasing how foundational libraries like NumPy and SciPy form the basis for a vast and interconnected network of specialized domain-specific projects. She discussed the challenges and benefits of working within a volunteer-driven community, emphasizing the need for clear governance models, transparent decision-making processes, and a thoughtful approach to engaging with consumers of the software. Melissa concludes by outlining her interpretation of open science, emphasizing transparency, reproducibility, accessibility, and the need for independent investigation of research results.
+
+### Rowan Cockett
+
+
+And, of course, a heartfelt thanks to our **trainers, helpers**, and everyone behind the scenes who made this event such a success. You all are the true open science heroes!
+
+- Briefly introduce the event: What was it? When did it happen?
+- Highlight key stats (e.g., attendees, roles, organizations represented).
+- Acknowledge the success and thank participants and collaborators.
+
+## 1. What Made This Event Special
+- Share the vibe of the event, emphasizing what stood out (e.g., collaboration, energy).
+- Include 1-2 quotes from participants or speakers that capture the atmosphere.
+
+## 2. What We Taught (Core Content)
+- Summarize the primary focus areas or skills covered during the event.
+- Highlight relevance to open science challenges or community needs.
+
+## 3. What We Learned (Reflections and Insights)
+- Discuss 1-2 lessons learned from organizing or hosting the event.
+- Frame these as goals for improvement or ideas for future events.
+
+## 4. Community Highlights (Optional)
+- Spotlight a participant, trainer, or helper who contributed something unique.
+- Mention collaborations or partnerships that enhanced the event.
+
+## 5. Resources and Takeaways
+- Provide links to slides, recordings, or other materials for readers to explore further.
+- Share 1-2 key takeaways that participants found particularly impactful.
+
+## 6. Looking Ahead (Future Vision)
+- Connect the event to pyOpenSci’s broader mission.
+- Share teasers for upcoming events or initiatives.
+
+## Conclusion (Call-to-Action)
+- Thank the community for their participation and support.
+- Encourage readers to join future events, subscribe for updates, or share their ideas.
+- Pose a question to engage readers (e.g., “What topics would you like to see in our next training?”).
+
+## Visuals
+- **Throughout the Post:**
+  - Add event photos, screenshots, or key graphics.
+  - Include quotes or testimonials as pull-out text for visual emphasis.