The open-source, cloud native movement is defined by its strength of community and commitment to diversity and inclusion within its membership.

Late founding member Dan Kohn shared his passion for open source with a desire creating an open, inclusive and diverse culture around the technology.

“Dan breathed life into team cloud native; he built this organization to have the impact that it does today, and all the while he was relentlessly focused on diversity, equity, inclusion,” said Priyanka Sharma (pictured), executive director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. “Talent, drive, skills. None of these are exclusive to a certain zip code. You know, people everywhere have great qualities and deserve chances.”

Sharma spoke with Lisa Martin and David Nicholson, co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA. They discussed how KubeCon is making attending in-person events COVID-safe, the energy at the show and the latest news from the community, including the new CNCF certification program. (* Disclosure below.)

Red/green wristbands signal comfort level for physical proximity

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon has always been a celebration of that community spirit, a place where contributors and users from across the world get to meet and share ideas face-to-face. This week, as the conference went live and in-person once again after in-person events had previously shut down due to COVID, the rules of interpersonal conduct are a little different.

“Interaction is essential for us as human beings. So for us as professionals, we owe it to each other to do the right thing,” Sharma said.

Alongside a vaccine requirement for attendees, the CNCF has implemented a wristband system where people can choose to wear a green band signifying they’re OK  with close physical contact and a red band, which means “Please keep six feet of distance.”

“These things go a long way in making an event successful,” Sharma stated. “It is so lovely to be in person to meet people. And for those who are comfortable, there’s the fist-bumps and the hugs and the big smiles, and that energy I haven’t seen it in almost two years.”

CNCF community embraces everyone

Announcements at the conference centered around the theme of building the community, paying it forward and sharing the culture. During Sharma’s keynote, she announced the Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate certification, which provides foundational training for anyone who wants to kickstart their career.

“Literally, you can come with zero knowledge,” Sharma said.

The course covers the fun fundamentals of Kubernetes, along with a grounding in the CNCF landscape and key projects. Students will graduate with experience of deploying an application using basic kubectl commands.

With cloud computing skills in high demand, completing the course will open job opportunities and career advancement, according to Sharma. “Take this exam and, suddenly, all these employers, you speak their language. They will be impressed,” she said.

The value of being involved in a CNCF project is high, according to Sharma, who listed a range of big- and small-name companies who encourage employees to join “team cloud native.” Being part of a passionate, inclusive and supportive community benefits the employees themselves, but supporting projects bring bottom-line benefits to the companies as well.

“Because we have been such a great place for industry collaboration, lots of vendors have great products [and] make lots of money on these projects. And that’s as it should be,” Sharma said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA. (* Disclosure: The Cloud Native Computing Foundation sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither the CNCF nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE