chore(blog): add conference'25 summary (#5030)

Co-authored-by: thulieblack <sibanda.thulie@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Rohit <108233235+TRohit20@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: thulieblack

markdown/blog/2025-annual-summary.md

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ authors:
     link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-thulisile-sibanda/
     byline: Community Builder and Open Source Fanatic!
 excerpt: 'AsyncAPI Annual Review for 2025 in Numbers'
-featured: true
 ---
 
 Happy 2026 to the AsyncAPI community!

markdown/blog/2025-conference-summary.md

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+---
+title: "AsyncAPI Conference 2025 Report"
+date: 2026-02-03T06:00:00+01:00
+type: Communication
+tags:
+  - Project Status
+cover: /img/posts/2025-blog-banner/banner-conf.webp
+authors:
+  - name: Thulisile Sibanda
+    photo: /img/avatars/thulieblack.webp
+    link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-thulisile-sibanda/
+    byline: Community Builder and Open Source Fanatic!
+excerpt: 'AsyncAPI Conference Report for 2025'
+featured: true
+---
+Celebrating the third year of planning the in-person conferences brought growth this year. We rebranded to AsyncAPI Conference, doing away with the `On Tour` branding for a more unified brand while still keeping the same vision we had from the beginning. 
+
+We expanded to six venues plus the online conference, and some worked better than others, but each taught us something valuable. We gained better knowledge, new case studies, stronger community bonds, and people connecting in person to share ideas.
+
+Here’s how it went.
+
+## Planning 
+With the growing partnership we have with APIdays, we had the opportunity to run the AsyncAPI track at five venues, and API Conf Lagos hosted it in Lagos. The experience wouldn’t be complete without the Online Conference.
+
+So in 2025, we were present in three new locations, expanding our reach, and had 41% of new speakers share their expertise at each conference, bringing the total to 39 speakers across all the events.
+
+For detailed summaries of each event, please read:
+
+- [Singapore Edition](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2025-singapore-conf-summary)
+- [Munich + Lagos Edition](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2025-july-summary)
+- [London Edition](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2025-september-summary)
+- [Bangalore + Online Edition](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2025-october-summary)
+- [Paris Edition](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2025-december-summary)
+
+## Challenges
+We are growing in capacity, so there were instances when we had great talks but limited slots, and we had to sacrifice introductory talks on what exactly AsyncAPI is, especially in new venues or for folks encountering us for the first time.
+
+Secondly, there were instances when communication was slow, and most planning and scheduling happened at the last minute. Huge thanks to the speakers for understanding and to the community members for stepping up.
+
+## Attendance
+The turnout at most events was amazing, and we had full rooms with attendees engaging with the speakers, asking questions. But the real conference usually happens in the hallway and at the API Standards booth, where our maintainers and community members have conversations, ask questions about the community, and share how they can get involved.
+
+The Online Conference garnered around **380** views. If you haven’t had the chance to watch, please be sure to catch up on the recordings.
+
+## Conference Sponsors
+The success of the 2025 conference edition was due to the amazing sponsors who supported our vision.
+
+### Host Sponsors
+Thank you to [APIdays](https://www.apidays.global) and [APIConf Lagos](https://apiconf.net) for hosting us and sponsoring space for the API Standards booth and lunch.
+
+<a href='https://www.apidays.global/' target='_blank'>
+<img src='/img/posts/2023-summary/apidays-logo-2023.png' alt='apidays' width='500px' />
+</a>
+
+
+<a href='https://apiconf.net/' target='_blank'>
+<img src='/img/posts/2025-blog-banner/apiconf.png' alt='apiconflagos' width='500px' />
+</a>
+
+### Financial Sponsors
+To facilitate travel, have MCs on-site to support the events and cover logistics for shipping swag, we received support from [Gravitee](https://www.gravitee.io) and [IBM](https://www.ibm.com) who were our Financial sponsors. We appreciate them for their support.
+
+<a href='https://www.gravitee.io' target='_blank'>
+<img src='/img/sponsors/gravitee.png' alt='gravitee.io' width='500px' />
+</a>
+
+
+<a href='https://www.ibm.com/' target='_blank'>
+<img src='/img/sponsors/ibm.png' alt='ibm' width='500px' />
+</a>
+
+### Where The Funds Went
+
+We sponsored travel for **13 individuals** to attend the conferences, both locally and internationally. We also reimbursed for the cheat sheet printing and shipped swags to major locations.
+
+## API Standards Booth
+
+The API Standards booth in Paris was super busy. We had representatives from AsyncAPI, GraphQL, and JSON Schema. Our initiative of having a vendor-neutral booth with open source API standards reached momentum, where there are too many of us, which is good; this means we want to share space together and have discussions.
+
+You can also join at https://groups.io/g/api-standards and help drive the initiative further. See the messages and discussion on the Paris retrospective.
+
+## Special Thank You
+
+Big thanks to our speakers for taking the time to share their knowledge and insights. Also, thank you to everyone who volunteered at the API Standards booth. Your effort to help didn’t go unnoticed.
+
+And a huge thanks to the behind-the-scenes crew who made everything work and led parts of the conference together as the Conference Coordination WG.
+
+<Profiles profiles={[
+  {
+    name: 'Lukasz Gornicki',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/derberg',
+    link: 'https://github.com/derberg'
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'Azeez Elegbede',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/acethecreator',
+    link: 'https://github.com/acethecreator'
+  },
+    {
+    name: 'Dale Lane',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1444788?v=4',
+    link: 'https://github.com/dalelane'
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'Daniel Kocot',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/466609?v=4',
+    link: 'https://github.com/danielkocot'
+  }, 
+  {
+    name: 'Ian Cooper',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/45537?v=4',
+    link: 'https://github.com/iancooper'
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'Aishat Muibudeen',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/Mayaleeeee',
+    link: 'https://github.com/Mayaleeeee'
+  }, 
+  {
+    name: 'Oluwabamikemi Kayode',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/64528871?v=4',
+    link: 'https://github.com/iambami'
+  }, 
+  {
+    name: 'Fran Méndez',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/242119?v=4',
+    link: 'https://github.com/fmvilas'
+  }, 
+  {
+    name: 'Martin Bonnin',
+    avatar: 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/3974977?v=4',
+    link: 'https://github.com/martinbonnin'
+  }
+
+]} />
+
+
+## Where To In 2026
+
+For our first conference for the year, we will be heading to DeveloperWeek February 19 – 20 in San Jose, CA, where the [AsyncAPI track](https://conference.asyncapi.com/venue/California) will be at the Frontend World + Dev Innovation World Stage.
+
+We have [Free Open Passes](https://link.devnetwork.com/1Uvd6FUb). Please help us share and spread the word, and see you there!
+
+
+Additionally, we are looking to complement our large conference tracks with intimate, community-led meetups. If your company has a venue to share or would like to host an AsyncAPI meetup in 2026, please reach out!
+
+More venues to follow, [keep an eye out on the Conference website](https://conference.asyncapi.com).
+
+
+
+
+
+