Djangonaut Space isn’t just a mentorship program—it’s an ecosystem of contribution, collaboration, and leadership. Over the past 8 weeks, this unique journey has brought together individuals eager to enhance their Django contributions, connect with like-minded peers, and make a lasting impact on the Django community.

What sets Djangonaut Space apart is its focus on group learning, sustainability, and longevity. It’s not just about writing better code—it’s about building relationships, cultivating leadership skills, and working on projects to enrich the open-source community.

This session proved once again that the possibilities are endless when passionate people come together. From brainstorming over Trac tickets to delivering impactful contributions, Djangonauts have showcased remarkable dedication and creativity throughout the program.

Session 3, which took place from 2024/10/14 to 2024/12/09, was nothing short of extraordinary. Let’s take a closer look at the teams and their stellar projects:

1. Team: Venus - Project: Django Core 💚
- Navigator: Mariusz Felisiak - LinkedIn | Fosstodon | GitHub | Personal Website
- Captain: Keanya Phelps - LinkedIn | GitHub
- Djangonauts: Anthony I Joseph, Soyoung Kang, Tainara

2. Team: Saturn - Project: Django Core 💚
- Navigator: Paolo Melchiorre - Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Fosstodon | GitHub | Personal Website | YouTube
- Captain: Miguel Johnson - Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Fosstodon | GitHub | Medium Blog
- Djangonauts: Yash Raj, Daniel Rios, Maria Hynes

3. Team: Neptune - Project: Accessibility 💚
- Navigator: Thibaud Colas - Twitter/X  | LinkedIn | Fosstodon | GitHub | Personal Website
- Captain: Anna Astori - Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Medium Blog
- Djangonauts: Abigail Afi Gbadago, Johanan Oppong Amoateng, Emme Bravo, Sarah Sanger

4. Team: Mars - Project: django CMS 💚
- Navigator: Fabian - LinkedIn | GitHub
- Captain: Rahmat Akintola - Twitter/X | LinkedIn | GitHub
- Djangonauts: Waithaka Waweru, Paulo Tintaya, Abdulwasiu Apalowo, Salim

None of this would have been possible without our officers (navigators and captains)—your guidance has been the rocket fuel for our Djangonauts’ success. Thank you for dedicating your time and expertise to mentoring this incredible cohort.

To our amazing Djangonauts—thank you for your hard work, enthusiasm, and for enriching our community better and brighter. Each of you has brought your unique light to Djangonaut Space, and today, you’re all stars in our galaxy! 🌟

This session was packed with incredible milestones and contributions:

🎉 29 Pull Requests opened in Django and Django CMS, with 20 PRs merged. Yay, celebrations!

📝 3 Blog posts authored by Djangonauts

📢 4 Django News "Updates to Django" authored by Djangonauts

✍️ 5 Co-writing Events to foster collaboration

🌌 2 Space Review Events by Tim and Raffaella

🎥 1 DjangoCon Watch Party to enjoy community learning

🌠 1 Collaborative Article published: Read Djangonauts and Stars - Thoughts on Open Source

💻 32 Weekly team meetings to stay aligned

🤝🏻 ~40 1:1 calls with Captains for personalized guidance

🪄 Recurring Deep Space Dialogues that kept ideas flowing

The hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm of everyone were truly inspiring!

We were honored to have two amazing guest speakers share their knowledge with us this session:

1. Simon Charette with a decade of experience in the Django community takes the stage at Djangonaut Space to present a talk on "Demystifying the Django ORM"! Must-watch for everyone who wants to dive deep into the Django ORM intricacies! Check-out YouTube Link 🤩

2. Emma Delescolle, the co-maintainer of DRF-Schema-Adapter, shared her visionary talk, "Django: Looking Forward to the Next 20 Years". Packed with insights, it’s a thought-provoking session for anyone passionate about Django! Check-out YouTube Link 🌶️

This year, we introduced the Djangonaut Showcase, a platform to bring our learnings to light! 🚀

During this internal cosmic conference, Djangonauts delivered lightning talks, each sharing insights and experiences from their journey in the program. With a 5-minute format similar to conference lightning talks, this event was all about celebrating achievements, building confidence, and fostering connections. ⚡

Why the Showcase Matters

- Celebrate Learnings: A chance to reflect on and share what you've accomplished with the community.

- Take Pride in Your Work: Highlight your achievements and the effort behind them.

- Grow Confidence: Speaking in a supportive environment helps overcome the fear of public speaking.

- Discover New Topics: Learn from peers and get inspired by their ideas and projects. 🌟

🎥 Relive the Showcase: YouTube Link

The Showcase was a vibrant mix of inspiration, camaraderie, and knowledge-sharing, bringing our community closer together. It’s always a joy to celebrate the incredible talent and dedication of our Djangonauts!

Djangonaut Space didn’t just shine within the program—they made waves across the broader community. Here are some incredible achievements worth celebrating:
- Sarah Sanger started a blog to share her insights and experiences. 📝

- Afi, Jeff, Paolo, and Tom were elected to the DSF board—congratulations on stepping into leadership roles! 🎉

- Raphael created a Django Enhancement Proposal (DEP) titled Unasyncify Codegen. 💡

- Andy Miller founded the Online Working Group, fostering new collaboration methods. 🌐

- Rachell was honored with the Malcolm Tredinnick Memorial Prize for her outstanding contributions. 🏆

- Yash and Bhuvnesh hosted India’s second Django Event, spreading Django love across the globe. 🇮🇳

- Velda, Lilian, Rahmat, and Afi inspired everyone at PyLadiesCon! 🎤

- Rahmat spoke at the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID) session at Deep Learning Indaba. 🤖

- Yash also shared his expertise at the FOSS Delhi meetup. 🌍

- Mariusz achieved an incredible personal milestone by completing his first ultra-marathon. 🏃‍♂️

- Keanya has been accepted into the 2025 Technologists for the Public Good Mentorship Program. ✨

- Carlton Gibson, Emma Delescolle, Tim Schilling, and Lily Foote have been elected to Django 6.x Steering Council — huge congratulations. 🥳

- Abigail Gbadabo has been appointed as Africa's Regional Executor of Black Python Devs. 🎖️

"If someone wants to be a part of the future Djangonaut Space program, I want them not to hesitate and apply. Through this Djangonaut journey, I learned that even newcomers and beginners can be part of the community and there is room for contribution. And it was a great experience to meet developers in another country and share thoughts about contribution."

"Give it a shot! The Djangonaut Space Program is a safe space to challenge yourself, receive feedback, learn and teach, offer support, and be supported. It's an inclusive environment for people with diverse backgrounds and different experience levels. For sure, you'll grow and be inspired by this amazing community! :)"

Over the past 8 weeks, Djangonaut Space navigated through galaxies of knowledge and grew together as a crew. The PRs are still rolling in, and so are we! Here is a glimpse of Session 3 Final Cosmic Celebrations

As we wrap up this incredible Session 3 full of of learning, contribution, and collaboration, our hearts are full of gratitude. Thank you for dedicating your valuable time, energy, and passion to making this program a success!

Keep an eye out on our socials for future session announcements! 👀

Till then, keep contributing! 💜