Mr. Egeling, at the annual general assembly in mid-March in Hamburg, you took over for Kasper Skårhøj as the Chairman of the TYPO3 Association. Was this planned long ago, or did the nomination come as a surprise to you?
I was elected by the Steering Committee as the first chairman of the TYPO3 Association and would like to thank the committee once again for their confidence in me. I am aware of the great responsibility I have accepted with this office.
What will change now that you are the Chairman of the TYPO3 Association?
The necessary changes will not depend on one person. All Steering Committee members and the Board want TYPO3 to remain the largest and most important Enterprise Content Management System. The work to be done cannot be completed by only the Steering Committee and the Board, but will continue to depend on the help of many volunteers. The biggest challenge will be to make the Association so thriving that it will appeal to all TYPO3 enthusiasts without becoming unmanageable.
Do you have concrete plans?
The plans developed by the Steering Committee and the Board are ready to move into action. Necessary changes in the by-laws of the TYPO3 Association are being implemented and the theme of "more transparency" will bring along more work for all members of the TYPO3 Association. We are still looking for volunteers to help with this work.
Will it still be Kasper Skårhøj's project, even though he does not have an official position anymore?
Kasper is the honorary chairman of the TYPO3 Association and will remain so forever. As a "friendly ghost" he still supports us with advice and practical help. I myself can always count on his help. Kasper will continue to make the podcasts supported by the TYPO3 Association.
What role does the TYPO3 Association fullfill for the project?
The TYPO3 Association is and has always been the vehicle to collect funding for the project, to manage and to use according to the by-laws. This role will continue as before. To me it is important to note that every TYPO3 enthusiast is needed for the further advancement of the project. One should ask less frequently what the TYPO3 Association can do, but rather ask, what can I as an individual do for TYPO3. There are many different opportunities depending on skills and specializations.
What are the main challenges for the TYPO3 Association in the coming years?
The most important task for all TYPO3 enthusiasts will be to spread the special TYPO3 spirit even further around the world. We need to tackle the challenge together, building local TYPO3 communities to promote the project and increase its visibility. This is already the case in some European countries but can be taken even further with the support of al l stakeholders to tackle new ideas and the courage to pick up individual challenges and to actually implement them.
One of the biggest projects for the TYPO3 Association is the development of TYPO3 version 5. When will the new version will be ready?
The current state of development will be unveiled in Frankfurt at the T3CON10 TYPO3 Conference. This first preview version will include the new user interface. Much of the work in recent years was focused on behind the scenes technology so this will be the first visible result for people that have not been focused on TYPO3 version 5. After this, plans will largely depend on how quickly developers adopt the the new version.
Translation by Jeff Segars and Ben van 't Ende