NorrNext Magazine.
20th Birthday of Joomla™. Interviews with volunteers

It all began, as the best ideas often do, with something simple. Sergey Tolkachyov just wanted a cool t-shirt.

But that simple wish was the seed. Watering that seed was something he saw in the international Joomla community chat: everyone was hard at work on a special anniversary edition of the Joomla Community Magazine. It got him thinking. While Joomla is a global project, the Russian-speaking community (of which Sergey is part) had its own rich history, its own pioneers and heroes who have done so much to develop not just Joomla, but the web as a whole. He had an idea. Why not create a celebratory section on Joomlaportal.ru? They could run a series of interviews, inspired by the JCM's "Meet a Joomler" series, to honor these local legends.

But Sergey wanted to add something special, something fun and visual. He proposed creating anniversary merchandise: a t-shirt, a hoodie, or a cap with the Joomla logo. The international community had already done the heavy lifting by creating a brand book and preparing print-ready files. All he had to do was order a shirt, get it printed, and take a photo for his article's cover. In a world of remote communication, he felt a deep lack of community spirit. This, he thought, would create a cool visual effect and awaken some warm, fuzzy feelings within the community. He expected maybe ten people would join in.

The response was overwhelming. The initial list of potential interviewers grew from a handful to over thirty names, featuring those who had worked with Joomla in the past and those shaping its future today. In the end, they published 19 incredible interviews with the pillars of the Russian community. And just as Sergey had hoped, many supported the merch idea, sending in photos of themselves proudly wearing their anniversary Joomla gear. "In my opinion, it turned out beautifully :-)"  Sergey remarked.

Eugene Sivokon was so inspired by Sergey's project that he translated NorrNext's team members interviews into English to share it wider. And then a bigger, more ambitious thought occurred to him.

Eugene’s idea quickly evolved from a translation project into a truly international initiative. He began reaching out to people from every corner of the world — Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Oceania — with one goal in mind: to showcase the incredible diversity and depth of the Joomla community.

The interviews became a window into how Joomla thrives across continents. Contributors spoke about their first experiences with Joomla — from building their first websites to discovering Joomla as a tool for digital freedom. Many had stories of running Joomla User Groups (JUGs), organizing JoomlaDays, and mentoring newcomers in their regions.

What emerged was a vivid mosaic of experiences — volunteers, developers, and designers working in different environments but sharing the same passion for open collaboration. The project captured not just their professional paths, but also their visions for Joomla’s future: the need for better onboarding for new contributors, more visibility for regional communities, and continuous evolution of Joomla as a modern CMS.

Eugene’s “Global Approach” became a bridge — connecting local stories into one global narrative, and reminding everyone that Joomla’s true strength lies in its community.

Authors of this edition imagined a global conversation—talking to different people, experiencing other cultures, and learning about Joomla's unique position in every corner of the globe. It would be a perfect way to celebrate Joomla's anniversary together and popularize the platform they all loved.

And so, a simple idea for a commemorative t-shirt blossomed into a beautiful, unifying project. It started with one man wanting to wear his passion on his sleeve and grew into a mission to weave a tighter, more colorful global tapestry for the entire Joomla community.