AWS re:Invent Las Vegas | 2024

My First AWS re:Invent as a Speaker - A Week of Learning, Sharing, and Community

Exactly one year after attending AWS re:Invent for the first time, I returned to Las Vegas - but this time, as a speaker. It still feels surreal to write that.

Last year, I arrived wide-eyed, curious, overwhelmed, excited - unsure what would come next. This year, I stepped onto the stage to share a topic that is deeply personal to me: how Amazon Q Business Apps can help scale and strengthen community engagement.

See the full recap of that week at the end of the page - the talk, the people, the reflections, and everything in between.

The Talk - Building Q Apps to Support Community

Our session, DEV201: Build Amazon Q Apps to Scale and Drive Community Engagement, focused on something I care deeply about: empowering communities with tools that reduce friction, automate the repetitive parts, and create more space for connection.

Sharing this story on stage - the emotional side, the practical lessons, the experiments that worked (and the ones that really didn’t!) - felt meaningful in a way that’s hard to describe. It was not just a talk. It was a reminder of why we build things together in the first place.

The Conversations Around It

What makes re:Invent special is what happens in the hallways.

I got to meet Gerta Sheganaku and Thomas Rausch at the expo, both speakers from our own AWS User Group Vienna. I spoke with people who are exploring Q Apps for their internal communities, organizing teams, or user groups. I was interviewed by Cobus Bernard and the AWS video team about where AI might take us in the next five years.

And of course - the magical coincidences: running into familiar faces across the Venetian halls, realizing how many journeys converge here.

Community Moments

I attended Matt Garman’s keynote and then made my way to Raphael Manke’s session on AWS Lambda Powertools - a proud moment for the Förderverein AWS Community DACH, with multiple members on stage this year. Along the way, I crossed paths with Ashley Lyon and Brian H. Hough - because re:Invent is like that. You walk five steps and meet someone from another chapter of your story.

Women in Tech Session

One of the most meaningful moments of the week was leading the Women in Tech session with Suzana Melo Moraes. We gathered voices from across regions and backgrounds — including Annariina Komljenovic and Monica Colangelo - to share stories of growth, resilience, and choosing to belong in tech spaces.

It reminded me again why community matters. Not because of numbers - but because of representation, visibility, and connection.

Learning and Play

I wrapped up the week with a Generative AI workshop on Amazon Bedrock, hosted by Franz Stefan, Marco Sommella, Gaurav Arora, Robert Hanuschke, and Adrian Begg. It was thoughtful, hands-on, and full of takeaways I took straight into my projects.

And yes - I won a LEGO unicorn. 🦄 No further explanation needed.

What I Take Home

• Speaking on that stage felt like a milestone, but also like a beginning.
• Community grows when we share work that matters.
• We lift each other by showing up - consistently, openly, and with curiosity.

To everyone I met, to everyone who came to the talk, and to everyone who shared a story, a question, a laugh, or a moment - thank you. You made my re:Invent truly special. 💙