2026-03-17 –, Room Wintergarten
Open-source ecosystems run on more than code, they run on story. Beyond commits, shared narratives sustain trust and belonging. At WriteTech Hub, we turned storytelling into infrastructure, every doc review, milestone, and mentor invite reinforced one truth, you belong here, and what you build matters.
Every open community runs on more than code, it runs on story. In this talk, I’ll explore how storytelling can be used as narrative infrastructure to build stronger, more inclusive open-source communities. Drawing from my experience leading WriteTech Hub and contributing to open documentation initiatives, I’ll show how narrative can align diverse contributors, spark engagement, and sustain collaboration over time.
We’ll unpack practical ways storytelling can humanize onboarding, strengthen contributor identity, and create trust in open ecosystems. Attendees will leave with simple frameworks to use story as a tool for communication, governance, and culture-building.
At a time when contributor burnout and disengagement are rising, this talk offers a fresh, human-centered approach, helping communities reconnect with why they build, not just what they build
Zainab Daodu is a Senior Technical Writer with a background in software engineering and DevOps, known for transforming complex tech into clear, impactful documentation. She has contributed to global platforms like Google, Cisco, Tealium, Jenkins, and the Wikimedia Foundation, enhancing developer experiences and driving product adoption.
Through her work with She Code Africa, she has empowered over 500 African women in tech and continues to champion diversity in open source. As the founder of WriteTech Hub, she mentors the next generation of technical writers and leads a team that delivers high-quality technical documentation services to organizations.