Laravel Creator Spotlight

# Building Community Through Laravel Live Denmark > Exploring the journey of Casper and the rise of Laravel Live events. Welcome to this week’s newsletter, where we dive into the inspiring journey of Casper, a key figure in the Laravel community in Denmark. ## From Programming Beginnings to Laravel Leadership Casper’s journey into programming began back in the 90s, starting with PHP. He recalls, > "I started programming PHP back in the 90s, doing like the classic just web pages with a small PHP backend." His passion for web development led him to discover Laravel around 2013, culminating in a significant project for a major energy supplier in Denmark. His journey truly blossomed when he attended Laracon EU in 2015, where he felt embraced by the Laravel community. > "The community just gave me a big hug. That was the way how I fell in love with the Laravel community." ## The Birth of Laravel Live Denmark The idea for Laravel Live Denmark sparked during a Laracon event in Lisbon. Casper envisioned bringing a similar event to Denmark. He meticulously gathered ideas, venue options, and budget plans, ultimately leading to the formation of a non-profit association dedicated to community-driven conferences. > "I’ve always been a non-profit guy and loved the non-profit association and volunteers. So I kind of tried to make an association here in Denmark to do it in a community way." ## A Unique Experience at Laravel Live Casper emphasizes that Laravel Live Denmark aims to provide a more intimate experience compared to larger conventions. > "We don’t want to be a Laracon. I think Laracon is a big business. We are between meetups and the Laracons." This approach allows for a blend of experienced speakers and newcomers, creating an atmosphere where everyone feels included. ## Bringing Big Names to the Stage One of Casper's notable achievements has been securing prominent speakers like Taylor Otwell and DHH for the conference. His connections in the community and a shared history with DHH paved the way for this success. > "I had this crazy idea to get you and Taylor to do just a tech talk about doing a framework. I think they have a lot of similar experience with starting this." ## Looking Ahead Casper’s vision for the future includes expanding Laravel Live to other countries, fostering a global community of developers. > "I wish to have more... I think Brazil should have a Laravel Live as well." As the Laravel community continues to grow, events like Laravel Live Denmark play a crucial role in connecting developers and sharing knowledge.

The conversation revolves around the launch of a brand new Laravel Meetup in the country of Georgia, featuring discussions with the co-founders of RedBerry, a software development agency based in Georgia. The meetup aims to bring together the Laravel community in Georgia and provide a platform for sharing experiences and knowledge related to Laravel and PHP development. Takeaways Laravel community in Georgia is growing and enthusiastic The meetup aims to create a platform for sharing experiences and knowledge related to Laravel and PHP development

Matt Stauffer discusses his recent appointment to the PHP Foundation board and provides insights into the foundation's purpose, structure, and impact on the Laravel community. He emphasizes the importance of community contribution and support for the PHP Foundation's initiatives, highlighting the potential for positive change and collaboration within the PHP ecosystem. Takeaways PHP Foundation's Purpose Community Contribution Chapters 00:00 Joining the PHP Foundation Board 06:34 Board Responsibilities and Meetings 12:00 Community Contribution and Support 18:11 PHP Foundation's Role and Future

The conversation covers experiences at Laracon India and preparations for Laracon EU, as well as announcements made at Laracon India regarding Native PHP version 3, technical limitations, open-source development, and showcasing Native PHP's apps and capabilities. The conversation delves into the power of Laravel plugins and their impact on empowering developers. It explores early plugin adoption and sponsorship, as well as the integration of a local ML model on a device. Additionally, it highlights the significance of the Cloud Code Plugin and its potential for developers. Takeaways Laracon India and Laracon EU events Native PHP version 3 and its features Challenges and opportunities in building mobile apps with Native PHP Local ML model on device Power of Laravel plugins

In this live episode of the Laravel Creator Series, I’m joined by Dan Newns, co-founder of Jump24, a Laravel development studio with over a decade of real-world experience building Laravel applications across multiple industries. We talk candidly about: - How Jump24 uses Laravel in client and internal projects - Creating weekly “This Week in Laravel” style videos - AI tools in PHP and Laravel workflows - Planning vs one-shot prompting with AI - Skills, agents, and internal AI tooling - PHP’s evolution and where Laravel is headed next - The future of junior and senior developer roles - Middleware, architecture, and long-term maintainability - Conferences like Laracon EU and Laravel Live UK Show Links - Daniel Newns LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-newns/ - Daniel Newns X https://x.com/DanielNewns - Jump 24 - https://jump24.co.uk/ This was a relaxed, unscripted live conversation covering what it’s really like to build with Laravel in 2026 and how AI is starting to reshape the ecosystem without replacing experienced developers. If you’re working with Laravel, curious about AI-assisted development, or thinking about the future of PHP, this one’s for you.