The event was a true celebration of community-driven learning, technical excellence, and the power of shared knowledge. From deep-dive talks on serverless architectures to thought-provoking discussions about AI and sustainability, the day delivered value for everyone from curious newcomers to seasoned pros. I asked Martin Damovsky, who was a leading force behind the event, about his key take-aways from the conference.
Q1: What were some of the biggest challenges in organizing the event?
Martin: The real kickoff moment was when I met Jeff Barr, AWS Chief Evangelist, at the AWS Global Heroes Summit in Seattle. I invited him to Prague, and when he said yes, I knew I couldn’t back out anymore—it became real from that point.
From there, it all started to roll up: we had to establish a non-profit organization, handle sponsorships, manage finances, and solve logistics—basically build everything from the ground up. Small start up. We outsourced what we could, made fast decisions, learned as we went, and sure, made a few mistakes. But overall, it was a fantastic learning experience.
Q2: How did you choose the speaker lineup—especially the AWS Heroes?
Martin: I was blessed to met a lot of the AWS Heroes through the Summit or from following their work, so I reached out directly to people like Linda Mohamed and Anton Babenko. Others responded to our call for papers or were recommended by the community. In the end, we had eight AWS Heroes speaking in Prague—which felt like a huge win for a community-organized event.
Q3: Which session or speaker stood out to you the most?
Martin: Ironically, I didn’t see a single session in full! I was so involved with logistics and coordination that I didn’t get the chance. But based on the feedback from attendees, I know the talks resonated. The energy and engagement throughout the day were fantastic.
Q4: What themes or trends did you notice throughout the talks?
Martin: Three key themes came up again and again: security, AI, and serverless.
Serverless especially is a hot topic—it’s a way to pay only for the exact processing time your app needs instead of keeping a server running 24/7. It’s cost-efficient and ideal for apps with unpredictable or intermittent traffic. The AI talks covered everything from emerging models to agents and alternatives to tools like GPT.
Q5: How do you see the role of AWS Heroes evolving in the tech community?
Martin: The AWS Heroes program is very grassroots. We don’t have bosses—just program managers we can talk to for support. AWS Heroes are community-driven. We get early access to tools and give feedback directly to AWS product teams, but we’re not there to promote a product. We’re here to support and grow local communities. It’s very collaborative.
Q6: What role do you think events like this play in shaping the local tech ecosystem?
Martin: A huge one. Cloud, AI—these are business-driven, high-stakes technologies. But without passionate individuals on the ground—developers, engineers, learners—none of it moves forward. These community events help us stay educated, connected, and inspired.
It’s like a fan club for cloud tech. We learn, we laugh, we support each other, and we push boundaries together.
Q7: What’s one thing you hope every attendee took away from the day?
Martin: That continuous learning is non-negotiable. Whether it’s through blogs, meetups, videos, or conferences, you have to keep growing. My friend says it a bit more bluntly: “If you’re standing still, you’re falling behind.”
Also, when you find the right partners and put effort behind a strong idea, good things happen. That’s what this event proved to me.
Q8: What were three things that worked out especially well?
Martin: First, the support from partners like Ataccama and TrustSoft (General partners) was amazing. They were all in, even when the event was just an idea. Second, the audience engagement blew me away—we sold out with basically zero advertising beyond LinkedIn. And third, the team. We were a small crew, but we pulled it off without major issues. The fact that most people didn’t notice any hiccups is the best compliment we could ask for.
Any fun behind-the-scenes moments?
Martin: Well, Jeff Barr wore the wrong name badge the whole day, and none of us noticed until the next morning when we saw the photos. But hey—that’s how you know it’s real!
Summary:
AWS Community Day Prague wasn’t just a conference—it was a celebration of community, innovation, and collaboration. With local heroes, global support, and grassroots spirit, it’s clear that the future of tech isn't just in the cloud—it's in the people building it, together.