AWS Community Day 2024: A Landmark Event in Kenya's Tech Landscape

Nearly 50 days later, the excitement and inspiration from AWS Community Day 2024 still resonate with me. This event has left a lasting impact on Kenya’s tech community, offering a blend of insightful learnings and the chance to meet incredible people. It was a remarkable milestone for everyone involved.

AWS Community Day was the culmination of over 30 virtual and 4 physical meet-ups, bringing together a dynamic community that’s growing daily! I joined the AWS User Group in 2021 and became part of the organizing team in 2022. Since then, the community has expanded exponentially to over 3000 members, underscoring the importance of sharing AWS knowledge and advancing cloud computing.

Here’s a recap of this inaugural event that united our vibrant community.

TL;DR

Theme: "Learn and Be Curious"

The event's theme was inspired by Amazon’s leadership principles, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and exploring new possibilities.

Keynote Speakers:

1. Jeff Barr - Chief Evangelist for AWS. Watch it here
2. Dr. Aminah Zawedde - PhD, CISA, Permanent Sec. of Uganda's Ministry of ICT. Watch it here
3. Eng. John Kipchumba Tanui, MBS - Principal Secretary - State Department for ICT and Digital Economy. Watch it here
4. Robin Njiru - AWS Public Sector Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa. Watch it here

Venue: KCA University

Event by the Numbers:

Planning the Event:

We began planning in November 2023. Securing the date and venue were the most critical aspects, we were initially aiming for April 13th but later settling on Saturday, April 20th, 2024. We had an amazing team that pulled together to get the venue locked.

The organizing committee comprised AWS community builders, well-wishers, and cloud captains leading various key aspects of the event.

Sponsors:

Sponsors played a key role in ensuring the event was a success. Their generous support from financial resources to experts for panels & exhibiting during the event helped see our 1st community day be one for the books. This support did not come easy as potential sponsors needed to see the value they would get from the event.
We had an AWS Community Day concept paper that communicated the event's aim and the attendee profile we targeted to attend for the event.
Below are our esteemed sponsors who supported us. We could not be more grateful for walking with us.

Call for Papers and Agenda:

The most crucial aspect of the event was the Call for Papers and the crafting of the agenda. The organizing committee aimed to spark curiosity and provide a platform for learning and showcasing Kenya and Africa's amazing talent and knowledge. The call for presentations resulted in 38 submissions, of which 28 were accepted.

Tracks and Submissions:

• DevOps:18 submissions, 13 accepted
• Gen AI/ML:9 submissions, 6 accepted
• Cybersecurity:5 submissions, all accepted
• Sustainability and Environment: 6 submissions, 4 accepted

Types of Presentations:

• Paper Presentations: 17
• Technical Demonstrations: 21

Below are the various Presentations and Panels:

Gen AI/ML:

1. Farah Abdirahman: Building Generative AI Applications Using Amazon Bedrock
2. Chibuike Nwachukwu: Unleashing RAG: Serverless Q&A with Kendra, Bedrock & Amplify
3. Nicabed Gathaba: Intro to Quantum Computing
4. Shadab Hussain: Unveiling the Quantum Leap in Financial Modeling using AWS Braket
5. Alvin Kamau Ndirangu: Augmenting Human Intelligence with AI

DevOps:

1. Peter Muchemi: Building Multitenant Application with AWS
2. Elsie Marion: Containers Don't Contain: Container Security 101
3. Lewis Sawe: Decentralized Authentication with AWS Cognito
4. Kadima Samuel: DevOps: The Big Picture
5. Kelvin Kaoka: AWS SAM For Event-Driven Architectures: Building Serverless Architectures
6. Moracha Jacob: Building Serverless Application With Amplify
7. Chris Otta: AWS IAM Roles for Secure GitOps
8. Daniel Kimani: SDLC Automation
9. Abby Nduta: Demystifying AWS Billing for Beginners
10. Kevin Kiruri: Serverless Architecture on AWS
11. Wanjohi Christopher: Best Practices for Database Migration to AWS: A Technical Deep Dive
12. Evans Kiprotich: Optimizing Your DR Strategy: Leveraging AWS DRS for Seamless Recovery

Cybersecurity:

1. Kurtis Bengo: Beyond the Perimeter: Safeguarding Your AWS Cloud Fortress with Battle-Tested Practices
2. Adonijah Kiplimo: Deepfakes: The Looming Threat & Building Cloud Security Defenses
3. Emmanuel Mingle: AWS Certification Paths: Which Certification is Well Suited for My Future Role?
4. Albertini Francis: Hacked!!...Not again!!... A Guide on Reducing Your Attack Surface on AWS Cloud
5. Zipporah Wachira: A Defense in Depth Approach to Cloud Security

Sustainability and Environment:

1. Diana Chepkirui/Clive Kamaliki: IoT & Sustainability
2. Sumaiya Nalukwago: Developing Transferable/Soft Skills for a Sustainable Tech Career
3. Vanessa Alumasa: AWS Cloud: Innovation for Sustainability
4. Judith Soi: Successful AWS Training

These are the various Panels that were held:

Cybersecurity Panel Discussion

• Host: Nelly Nyadzua
• Experts: Yinka Daramola, Washington,Licio Lentimo, Purity Njeri Gachuhi

DevOps Panel Discussion

• Host: Mark Orina
• Experts: Antony Wanyugi , Yinka Daramola ,Lemayian Nakolah, Kevin Karanga Kiruri

Women in Tech Panel Discussion

• Host: Linet Kendi
• Experts: Zipporah Wachira, Ms. Cherin Onyango, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Diana Muthoni

AI/ML Panel Discussion HOST

• Host: DR Kevin Mugoye
• Experts: Mr David Opondo, Daniells Adebimp, Lawrence Muema, Chris Otta

AWS DeepRacer League:
The Deep Racer League exemplified the power of teamwork, resilience, and continuous learning.
The team organized virtual tracks of the AWS DeepRacer 3D racing simulator where each team put their models to the test.
The rounds are virtual with the single fastest lap. The racers who were consistent progressed on to the final race.
The team that cut were:

1. MMU
2. DEKUT
3. KCA
4. TUK
5. Strathmore 6.emobilis

The final round was held on the day of the community day which saw the winning team receive various gifts and prizes.
The winning team was the MMU team.
You can watch their presentation on how they were able to win the league:
How to get into AWS Deep Racer & AWS AI & ML Scholarship program

Thanks to all the hard work of the AWS DeepRacer team, mentors, competition administrators, and emobilis for making this Race happen.

AWS Community Day 2024 was a testament to the power of community and the endless possibilities unlocked by learning and curiosity. The event not only provided a platform for knowledge sharing and skill development but also reinforced the collaborative spirit that defines the AWS User Group - Kenya. We look forward to the next AWS Community Day, where we will once again come together to learn, share, and innovate. Until then, let's keep the spirit of curiosity alive and continue to explore the vast potential of AWS.

We are looking forward to AWS Community DAY Kenya 2025.

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