Reflecting on Iftar.py: Python User Group Dhaka Meetup & Iftar Party
It was the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. In Bangladesh, iftar (the evening meal to break the fast) is not only a religious moment—it’s also a chance to bond socially. On March 15, 2025, we, the Python User Group Dhaka, took this opportunity to bring the Bangladesh Python community together through Iftar.py: Python User Group Dhaka Meetup & Iftar Party.
We were thrilled to welcome a diverse group of Python enthusiasts. Among them was Noman Ibne Mahbub, an MBBS student at Dhaka Medical College interested in Python for medical research. Another participant, Tanvir, an electrical engineer at Bureau Veritas, is currently learning Python. Attendees also came from various domains such as cybersecurity, machine learning, and web development—including several polyglot developers skilled in both Python and JavaScript.
I co-hosted the event with Tamal Anwar Chowdhury, the main host of the meetup. Tamal is a tech writer at Kinde and the organizer of the Python User Group Dhaka. I'm currently working as an NLP & Backend Engineer at LaLoka Labs (the company behind Kafkai, an AI-powered SEO content generation platform) and also lead the AI/ML Professional Community Bangladesh. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with him and contribute to the community.
Let’s dive into what happened at the meetup.
From Introductions to Iftar
We began the session around 5:00 PM with introductions and casual conversations. Iftar was at 6:08 PM, and we arranged a delightful spread of traditional Bangladeshi cuisine—including Kacchi Biryani, orange juice, Jali kababs, and more. I’d like to thank EventHandlers, a nonprofit event management organization founded by Tamal, for sponsoring the iftars for student attendees.
After iftar and the evening prayer, we resumed with a technical discussion and Q&A session, where participants shared questions, ideas, and insights from various domains. Topics included backend development, debugging, machine learning, cybersecurity, DevOps, and competitive programming strategies.
Reigniting the PyCon Dream
One of our major goals at Iftar.py was to re-energize Bangladesh’s Python community—and to begin conversations about bringing back PyCon Bangladesh. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh hosted two major PyCon events: PyCon Dhaka 2014 and PyCon Dhaka 2016. For nearly a decade, the local PyCon flame had dimmed. At Iftar.py, we discussed why PyCon Dhaka stopped, why its revival matters, what steps the community can take, and when we might be ready to host PyCon again.
As part of the discussion, we outlined a roadmap called Road to PyCon. It begins with consistent community activities in Dhaka, followed by supporting divisional organizers—since not everyone can travel to the capital. We’ve already received encouraging responses from Pythonistas in Sylhet, Mymensingh, and Chittagong. Once the national network is active, we’ll move forward with building a sustainable PyCon Bangladesh.
We’re also in touch with PyCon APAC organizers for guidance and suggestions. Special thanks to Iqbal Abdullah, PSF Fellow and Board Chair of the Python Asia Organization (PAO), for his continued support and encouragement toward PyCon Bangladesh.
Backstory of the Python Community
To understand why this meetup meant so much, it helps to look back at the journey of the Python community in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has around 400,000 IT professionals. Additionally, over 1 million Bangladeshis are currently employed in the IT/ITES sectors globally according to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment. Within this growing workforce, Python has emerged as one of the most in-demand skills, both locally and internationally.
While there’s no official count of Python developers in Bangladesh, the Python Bangladesh Facebook group alone has over 58,000 members—and that number keeps growing. Community meetups and events were vibrant before the pandemic, but they became rare afterward. The silence was first broken by True Meetup 1.0, organized by members of the Python Bangladesh Facebook group on December 7, 2024. Although a follow-up True Meetup 2.0 was planned for January 2025, the momentum didn’t last.
This year, Iftar.py once again broke the silence. More than just a meetup, we focused on building a sustainable community and rekindling the PyCon dream. We’re starting small but thinking long-term.
Machine Learning Conversations at Iftar.py
Alongside discussions on PyCon, many attendees had burning questions about machine learning. We talked about ML roadmaps, best practices in model deployment, production challenges, and the demand for ML engineers both locally and globally.
Some beginners asked about the best resources to start learning ML. I recommended two excellent books: "The Hundred-Page Machine Learning Book" by Andriy Burkov and "Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow" by Aurélien Géron. I also pointed them to the popular YouTube playlist "100 Days of Machine Learning" by CampusX, along with Andrew Ng’s Machine Learning course on Coursera, which is a great starting point for anyone new to the field.
Inspired by the event, I revitalized the AI/ML Professional Community Bangladesh (AIML-PCB) with a new focus on beginners. Shortly after, we brought together around 10 Bangladeshi ML professionals who agreed to mentor newcomers voluntarily. Going forward, AIML-PCB will organize monthly online ML Q&A sessions to provide guidance and support for those just starting out.
Looking Ahead
The Python Bangladesh community has always been here—it just needed a spark to reignite its momentum. Our goal now is clear: re-energize the community and work towards restarting PyCon Bangladesh in the near future.
We also believe that our Python community can grow stronger and more sustainable through collaboration with other specialized communities—such as Django, PyData, PyLadies, Cybersecurity, AI/ML, and DevOps. I’m currently working with the local AI/ML community, and during recent community activities we connected with Ijaj Ahmed, an organizer of PyData Dhaka. Our next step is to invite more community leaders from across all domains.
With steady collaboration and shared purpose, InShaAllah, we hope to see the Python Bangladesh community grow stronger, more connected, and ready to bring back a refreshed PyCon Bangladesh by next year.
We invite all Pythonistas—old and new—to join us on this journey.
References
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