AspirePress, FAIR and UK WordCamps

We’re starting the year with two talks that remind us why WordPress is more than just software, it’s a community, an ecosystem, and something worth looking after.

Whether you’re planning to get more involved in WordPress in 2026 or just looking for a solid January excuse to leave the house, this is a chance to learn something new, meet some friendly faces, and ease yourself into the year.

WordCamps in the UK, what’s next?
We’re pleased to welcome back our first speaker, Austin Meakin, a Technical Product Manager at Amnesty International with over 16 years’ experience delivering digital products. Austin has led the delivery of a unified open-source WordPress platform supporting more than 28 international sites, and has been actively involved in the WordPress community through meetups and conferences.

In this talk, Austin shares his journey through WordPress events, from speaking at meetups to helping organise a WordCamp Europe side event, and how those experiences shaped his understanding of community, governance, and what it takes to run sustainable events.

He’ll finish by outlining plans to form a UK-wide advisory group of volunteers, with the goal of bringing a WordPress event to a new location in the UK or British Isles every year, and how others can get involved in making that happen.

AspirePress & FAIR: Securing the Supply Chain
Our second speaker is Matt Leach, a technology leader specialising in AI, cyber security, and large-scale digital infrastructure.

Matt is Head of Digital at Salad Creative, where he has supported Team England’s digital ecosystem since 2018, including leading delivery of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games pre-Games platform. He continues to oversee Team England’s digital services in the run-up to Glasgow 2026. Alongside this, he is founder of OtherHalf Digital and Co-Founder & Head of Product at Policy Shift.

Within the WordPress ecosystem, Matt is on of the Product Leads for AspirePress, sits on the project management team and helped to guide the project from concept through beta release & public announcement at WordCampEU weekend, and continues to have a eye on the transition into stewardship under the Linux Foundation’s FAIR Package Manager initiative.

In this talk, Matt will cover the work being done by the AspirePress team in collaboration with FAIR, why software supply-chain resilience matters for WordPress, and how these efforts help reduce single points of failure across the ecosystem, ensuring the long-term security and sustainability of WordPress.

Want to get involved? Everyone is welcome - speakers, helpers, idea merchants: ping us on the form here: https://wordupbrighton.uk/

Here’s what the evening looks like:

Schedule

• 6:30 PM - Doors Open - Pizza, Refreshments and Networking
• 7:00 PM - Welcome! & Community Announcements
• 7:15 PM - Austin Meakin: “WordCamps in the UK, what’s next?”
• 7:45 PM - Short Break & Networking
• 8:00 PM - Matt Leach: “AspirePress & FAIR: Securing the Supply Chain”
• 8:30 PM - Wrap-up and Social

After we finish, we’ll be heading to The Walrus pub for more conversation, come along and join us!

A massive thank you to WP Agency Support for being a premier sponsor of WordUp Brighton. They provide end-to-end maintenance services for agencies looking to offload the day-to-day management and support of their WordPress sites.
👉 https://wpagencysupport.com/

Thanks also to [Hosting.com](https://hosting.com/) for their support. They provide WordPress hosting focused on speed, security, and simplicity for serious growth — handling updates, caching, backups, and security while you focus on clients.
👉 https://hosting.com/

As always, a big shout-out to Pizza Pilgrims for their more-than-cheeky discount to get Brighton’s best pizza at WordUp 🍕