After several years without an active CocoaHeads chapter in Cologne, I co-relaunched the meetup at STARTPLATZ Köln. Local meetups in the Apple ecosystem run on community goodwill alone, and somebody has to step up. Here is how the first event went and how you can join the next one.

The State of iOS Meetups

I have been going to meetups since the start of my career. I talk to people, learn from them, and build my network.

I also like to look beyond my own field. Product meetups, Clojure, Google Developer Group, and so on, not just iOS. With the Google Developer Groups you can tell how strongly Google supports its community, and over the years that has grown into a stable institution. iOS meetups, in contrast, run entirely on the community itself, which means a lot depends on a few committed people.

Since the pandemic, meetup culture as a whole has slowed down. I notice it especially with the iOS communities. The last meetup I organized myself was Watch WWDC Keynote @ Vodafone CRVSH on June 4, 2018. That was back when I worked at the Vodafone Innovation Lab.

Since 2022 there have not been any CocoaHeads events in Cologne either. I wanted to change that.

Finding a Home at STARTPLATZ

The biggest hurdle was finding a venue that works for the usual meetup time, is easy to reach, and lets people from outside the city get there without trouble.

I got lucky here. Through the Claude Code Anonymous meetups I had met Lorenz, the managing director of STARTPLATZ Köln. I asked him directly about my idea, and he was open to it right away.

I had Sascha as co-organizer. Sascha is the owner of the Meetup group, a good friend of mine, and a former colleague. Together we set the meetup back up.

The Relaunch

Two days ago it was time. The first CocoaHeads Cologne since 2022, at STARTPLATZ Köln. Out of fourteen sign-ups, eleven people came, plus pizza and Schreckenskammer Kölsch.

The first talk was given by Alex von Below on ARM64 Assembly. Alex has been a developer in the Apple ecosystem for ages and is a well-known speaker. After that I gave a short talk myself: A First Look at Swift for Android.

What I enjoyed most was the mix of people. Attendees came from Wuppertal, Aachen, Bonn, Düsseldorf, and of course Cologne. The professional spectrum was wide: Apple employees, people working with Apple Vision Pro, attendees from banking, telecommunications, and media, plus someone who does not yet develop but works in the app space. We kept talking over pizza and beer for a long time after.

What’s Next

As a start, I am happy with the evening. That comparatively many people came after such a long pause made me happy, and the next meetup is already announced. I hope that with this we bring the iOS community in Cologne back to life for good.

A big thank you goes to Sascha as co-organizer and to Lorenz at STARTPLATZ for making this possible in the first place.