Written by
The XWiki Team
Every year, we take a break from our screens to meet face to face, laugh a lot, and remind ourselves why working together feels so good. In September, the XWiki team met again for the 17th edition of the XWiki Seminar at Wolkendorf Bio Hotel in Vulcan, a commune in Brașov, Romania. It was the perfect mix of nature, calm, and connection. Exactly what we needed to recharge before another busy season.
The seminar marked another milestone for our growing team. In 2024, for our 20 years anniversary, we gathered 57 XWikiers in person and 7 remotely. One year later, our team grew even larger, with 61 of us meeting on-site and 5 joining online. It may seem like a small difference in numbers, but it felt huge in spirit. Every new face brought fresh energy and new stories, showing how much XWiki keeps evolving as a team of people who share the same values and curiosity to build things together.
The elements that connect us 🌍🌬️🔥💧
Our theme this year was the XWiki spirit, inspired by the 4 elements of nature: earth, air, water, and fire. Each day focused on one of these elements and what it represents in our team and our work. We explored what makes us flexible like water, grounded in our values like earth, passionate about open source like fire, and adaptable as air.
The trip day brought all our strengths together as we took on the challenges prepared by the Orizont Scouts in Brașov. Split into teams, we set off on a treasure hunt through the city, following clues, solving riddles, and sharing plenty of laughter. (and quite a few steps to count) One of the tasks invited us to use the Open Food Facts app to scan local products, a challenge we gladly embraced since we love contributing to open source whenever we get the chance. We also stopped by the Black Church to listen to the grand organ before heading back, tired but smiling. Before wrapping up, our CTO Vincent Massol raised the stakes for next year’s seminar with a new idea: a pull request hunt within XWiki.
Afterward, we headed to Cheile Grădiștei in Fundata for hiking and alpine coaster rides. The air was chilly, but the fun and the company kept us warm.
Last but not least, the long-awaited hackathon, which has already become a tradition for the XWiki seminars, provided us with the chance to contribute to new features and applications or suggest new ideas through cross-team collaboration.
The days were filled with team sessions, inter-squad workshops, and lively discussions where ideas flowed freely. Evenings turned into stories, songs, and laughter. Some XWikiers relaxed in the hotel spa, while others played volleyball or badminton, rode bikes through the village, or visited the nearby medieval church.
Before our traditional XWiki Party, we gathered around a campfire to share our first or favorite XWiki memories. Some stories made us laugh, others made us quiet for a moment, but all reminded us how much we have grown together and how special this team is.
Like every seminar, our time together also had clear goals in mind:
✅ To encourage everyone to connect with colleagues we generally don’t work with or we meet only online
✅ To provide an overview of the company and each squad
✅ To innovate and improve processes
✅ To enjoy our time together, recharge our batteries, and come back with more energy and motivation
By the end of the week, we left with clear minds, stronger bonds, and that familiar mix of tiredness and joy that always follows an XWiki Seminar.
We could tell you more, but the photos below do a much better job of showing just how much fun we had.
Want to join us at the next Seminar?
If this sounds like your kind of team, check out our job openings. Maybe next year you will be the one sharing your story around the campfire with us.
