Back to Brussels for our recap of SymfonyCon 2023
On the 7th and 8th of December we were in Brussels for the long-awaited SymfonyCon Brussels 2023. This year the fantastic international Symfony community gathered in the Belgian capital for another conference full of inspiring talks and two days of fun. Relive it with us!
SensioLabs: Diamond Sponsor of the Conference
Following a very successful SymfonyCon at Disneyland Paris last year, SensioLabs, the creator of Symfony, once again supported the event as a Diamond Sponsor.
We were eager to meet Symfony developers from all over the world. This year, more than 1,200 attendees gathered at the Square Center Brussels, at the heart of the capital.
During the breaks, participants discovered the SensioLabs booth. We welcomed them with goodies and our unmissable SensioLabs University Platform challenge. Many attendees tested their framework knowledge and shared their results. The top participant took home a JBL wireless headphone. Others with similar scores received a SensioLabs branded sport bottle. The competition was intense!
To celebrate the event, we offered a pyramid of Belgian chocolates during Thursday's lunch break. The tasting was a huge success and lasted less than 30 minutes!
Our Favorite Talks
Each year, choosing from the fantastic talks is tough! Here are our favorites:
Guillaume Loulier, a developer at SensioLabs, discussed “Need to search your data? Have you heard of Meilisearch?” Guillaume described MeiliSearch, a Rust-based search engine, and how to integrate it into PHP / Symfony. He demonstrated its use and how to effectively search through data.
Antoine Bluchet presented “A serverless Symfony playground”. Antoine explained “WebAssembly”, a technology that allows programs to be compiled and run in the browser. He showed how to compile PHP in WebAssembly and run Symfony directly in the browser without a (PHP) server.
Our third favorite was Christophe Hertel with “How to use GPT with your Symfony application”. Christophe examined the fundamental concepts of GPT, relevant models, and how to use them effectively in your Symfony application.
A Fantastic Social Event!
Thursday evening saw a fabulous SymfonyCon evening hosted by Symfony. The event took place at the Belgian Comic Strip Center, an iconic and historic venue in the Belgian capital. A unique setting with a group of musicians 🎶, creating a beautifully orchestrated mix!
Between the adventures of Tintin, the world of the Smurfs and the legendary Marsupilami, some of us returned to our childhoods. Others discovered the story behind the creation of some of the literary masterpieces. After this cultural moment, the evening ended at the museum’s restaurant, immersed in the atmosphere of the place.
With the SensioLabs team, we took advantage of this event to meet some of the developers working in remote and share some convivial moments outside the conferences. Together, we discovered the local gastronomy, from delicious waffles to the unmissable Belgian fries. Finally, we also visited the wonderful Grand’place in Brussels, decorated in Christmas colours.
It was a pleasure to sponsor SymfonyCon again!
Congratulations to Symfony for organizing this conference, which is always a highlight, and to the speakers for their talks! You can watch in replay all the talks by purchasing a ticket on the Symfony conference website.
As for us, we look forward to seeing you next year at…. Vienna (Austria) 🦅 for the next SymfonyCon 2024!
See you soon 👋
