After having cancelled 2 editions of the preFOSDEM MySQL Days because of the pandemic, we were finally back last week in Brussels for 2 wonderful days dedicated to the Dolphin database developed by Oracle.

During this event and for the first time, we, the MySQL Team, decided to reward some members of the MySQL Community that with their work, their energy have contributed to the promotion of MySQL throughout the past year.

Here are the winners:

In 2022, Peter took the risky gamble of setting up an in-person conference for the MySQL Community right after the pandemic. It wasn’t a sure thing, but it helped to reinvigorate the Community and reignite the excitement for evangelizing MySQL after 2 years behind a Zoom screen. PZ has always promoted the adoption of MySQL 8.0 and the good stewardship of Oracle for MySQL.

Some details:

  • retired CEO of Percona from 2006-2023
  • respected and accomplished expert
  • author in MySQL Performance Blog
  • co-writer of High Performance MySQL (ed 2 and 3)
  • evangelize MySQL in many conferences around the globe
  • @PeterZaitsev
  • 2022: 44k followers, 1731 posts, 243k likes, 58k retweets

In 2022, Tobias became more and more active on social media, sharing popular tips mostly related to MySQL.
He also started a newsletter and published a free ebook helping developers with their database. Tobias is a passionate backend developer, his work can be seen as the glue between developers and database administrators.

Some details:

Aaron became very popular in the MySQL ecosystem in 2022 thanks to his very educational short videos about MySQL on Twitter. The content and production of these videos make them a reliable and recognized source for developers and especially for the younger generation.


Some details:

  • Developer Educator at PlanetScale
  • Provides many tips on MySQL in the form of short, impressive videos
  • Speaker at conferences (mostly Lavarel & Ruby)
  • Technical Article Writer
  • @aarondfrancis
  • 2022: 12k followers, 243 posts, 176k likes, 104k retweets

Booking.com is a long-time user of MySQL. The company started very small over 15 years ago and is running thousands of instances nowadays. The Booking.com team has a huge wealth of experience in all areas of MySQL and in 2022 (as in the previous 15 years) they shared their extensive experience and insights at numerous Oracle/MySQL & Friends events around the world (and via social media).
With this commitment and openness to MySQL, they promote MySQL usage and build confidence for new MySQL users!

Some details:

  • Booking.com is a long-time user of MySQL
  • Booking DBA Team members are sharing their extensive experience and insights at numerous MySQL & Friends events around the world
  • In 2022 they were a reference in many events Oracle MySQL organized
  • They work in close collaboration with the MySQL Engineering Team
  • The members of the booking.com DBA Team are Aditya, Ali, Maxim, Mohammed, Nicolai, Pavel, Simon, Spiros, Dima. AK, Rahul, Sangamesh

I was very pleased and honored to be able to present this award on behalf of the MySQL Team to the various winners during the preFOSDEM MySQL Days organized by Oracle in Brussels, Belgium.

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As MySQL Community Manager, I am an employee of Oracle and the views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle.

You can find articles I wrote on Oracle’s blog.