AWS Community Day New York
Aug 30, 2024
AWS Community Day New York 2024 - A First Time That Meant Something
New York has always been a dream of mine. Not just as a city to visit, but as a place to work, to speak, to learn from - to stand on a stage and share something I built, with people I had never met before. In 2024, that happened.
This was my first time speaking outside of Europe, and the first time I presented this platform engineering talk alone, without my co-speaker. And on top of that - it was the first-ever AWS Community Day New York. The kind of alignment you don’t plan. It just arrives, and you realize how much your past self would have been proud.
The Talk: Automating AWS Account Setup with Backstage
The talk I delivered was: “Automating AWS Account Setup with Backstage: A Practical Approach to Integrated Cloud Services.” You can find the session here:
It focuses on a real problem many teams face:
- Setting up AWS accounts manually slows everything down.
- Developers get stuck waiting for access.
- Cloud teams spend too much time repeating operational tasks.
We solved this by building a self-service AWS account provisioning workflow using:
- Backstage to provide a simple developer portal
- GitHub templates to standardize provisioning
- AWS Organizations + IaC automation to keep governance clean
The goal was simple: Let developers start building without waiting on blockers, while still keeping the guardrails and architecture consistent.
What I loved most about the talk in New York was that the audience wasn’t looking for marketing — they were looking for reality. We talked about:
- What broke
- What we would do differently
- How organizational culture influences platform tooling
Those conversations continued in the hallway long after the session ended. And that’s where the real learning happens.
Why This One Was Personal
Traveling to New York for this event wasn’t just about presenting a talk. It was about realizing a version of myself I had imagined years earlier - someone who gets to build, share, and connect internationally.
I’ve spoken at many community events across Europe, but standing in New York - hearing my name called, feeling the room before the first sentence - it reminded me how far a journey can go when you keep choosing curiosity and momentum step by step.
I felt proud. Nervous. Grateful. Present. All at once.
The Community Day Itself
AWS Community Day New York was held for the first time in 2024. And you could feel that “first edition energy” - the mix of ambition, excitement, improvisation, and joy that only happens when a community builds something new together.
There were hallway conversations, deep-dive sessions, first-time speakers, and people who came simply to learn, listen, and meet others who care about cloud the way they do.
And that’s what makes Community Days special: it’s not the stage, or the city, or the slides - it’s the people who show up because they care.
Looking Back - and Forward
This trip reminded me why I build demos, why I share stories, and why I travel to community days across Europe and beyond:
- To learn from others
- To contribute something real
- To meet the people behind the ideas
- To stay connected to curiosity
New York was a milestone - not just in location, but in belonging. And I’m grateful to everyone who made that stage feel like home.
Here’s to the next journey.
