My Experience at WordCamp Kathmandu 2026: AI, WordPress and Nepal’s Tech Community
EVENT EXPERIENCE · KATHMANDU, NEPAL
WordCamp Kathmandu 2026 was one of those events where technology, community and real-world conversations came together in one place.
The event took place on September 18 and 19, 2026 at Alice Receptions, Gairidhara, Kathmandu. I joined on September 19 with a particular interest in the conversations happening around artificial intelligence, emerging technology, search, SEO and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
As someone increasingly working at the intersection of practical AI, AI adoption, SEO and GEO, I was interested not only in the technology, but also in how developers, businesses and technology communities in Nepal are thinking about AI in practice.
WHY I ATTENDED
Looking beyond WordPress
WordCamp naturally brings together the WordPress and open-source community, but what interested me this year was how strongly AI had become part of the wider conversation.
I have also been working more closely with SEO, GEO and how search is changing as AI-powered search experiences, answer engines and generative systems become more important.
So I went to WordCamp Kathmandu with a broader question in mind: how are people building technology today thinking about AI, search, automation and the future of digital work?
THE COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE
Kathmandu felt surprisingly small, in a good way.
One of the strongest impressions I had throughout the day was how connected Kathmandu’s technology community actually is.
I met developers, designers, AI professionals, engineers, contributors, entrepreneurs and technology leaders. At the same time, many of the faces felt familiar.
Some were people I had already met at other technology and emerging-tech events. Others were people I had interacted with indirectly through communities, mutual connections or online conversations.
It made me realize that Kathmandu’s technology ecosystem may be growing quickly, but the people building it are increasingly connected.
I also had insightful conversations and learning moments with Rishikesh Gautam, Bibek Jaiswal, Devi Bhattarai, and members of the Fusemachines and Codewing teams.
Those conversations were as valuable as the formal sessions because they brought different perspectives from people actually working within the technology ecosystem.
MY KEY OBSERVATIONS
AI is becoming part of mainstream technology conversations in Nepal.
My biggest takeaway from WordCamp Kathmandu 2026 was simple: AI is no longer a separate conversation happening only inside AI communities.
It is increasingly becoming part of discussions about development, business, e-commerce, productivity, security, marketing and the future of technology companies.
AI is becoming mainstream
Developers, business leaders and technology teams are increasingly discussing AI as part of normal technology and business strategy.
The right tool matters
Effective AI adoption is not about using AI everywhere. It is about selecting the right capability at the right moment.
Ethics cannot be separated from adoption
As organisations use AI more deeply, questions around responsibility, employee development, verification and appropriate restrictions become increasingly important.
SESSION HIGHLIGHT
AI agents for e-commerce: using the right tool at the right time
One of the sessions I found particularly insightful was “Let’s make AI Agents run our Online Ecommerce Business” by Jagatjyoti Gyanendra Tuladhar .
What stood out to me was the agentic approach to solving business problems.
Instead of treating AI as one universal tool that should handle everything, the approach demonstrated how different tools and capabilities can be used depending on the task.
Good AI workflows are not about forcing AI into every step. They are about choosing the right tool, capability or agent at the right time.
That closely connects with how I think about practical AI adoption. The value does not come simply from having access to AI. It comes from understanding where a capability actually fits within a workflow and where human judgement still needs to remain.
CLOSING PANEL
The AI Shift: opportunities, restrictions and real workplace questions
Another important part of my day was the panel discussion “The AI Shift: Change, Challenges, and Opportunities for Tech Businesses.”
What made the discussion valuable was that it moved beyond simple excitement around AI and into questions organisations are already facing.
One particularly interesting area of discussion was the ethical and responsible use of AI inside companies.
For example, there was debate around how much AI should be used by junior-level employees. Should organisations restrict AI so employees first develop foundational skills? Or should employees be encouraged to use AI early, as long as their work remains outcome-focused and properly reviewed?
I found that discussion important because there is no useful answer in simply saying either “use AI everywhere” or “do not use AI.”
Organisations increasingly need to think about capability, accountability, learning, quality of results and human judgement at the same time.
That is where responsible AI adoption becomes much more important than simply providing employees access to another software tool.
CONNECTING IT WITH MY WORK
AI adoption is becoming a wider business and digital strategy conversation.
As an AI Educator, Applied AI Researcher and Corporate AI Trainer, I spend much of my work thinking about how people and organisations can use AI practically rather than simply following new tools.
More recently, I have also been exploring SEO, Generative Engine Optimization and how AI-powered search is changing the way people, organisations and information are discovered online.
WordCamp Kathmandu was useful because it brought many of these areas together.
WordPress, search, development, AI agents, business adoption and ethical AI may appear to be different subjects, but they are increasingly part of the same digital ecosystem.
For me, that was one of the most valuable lessons from the event.
WORDPRESS & COMMUNITY
Why events like WordCamp Kathmandu still matter
Technology changes quickly, especially now that AI is accelerating development, content, research and business workflows.
But events like WordCamp remind us that technology communities are ultimately built around people.
Meeting developers, contributors, designers, entrepreneurs and other technology professionals in person creates something that online interaction cannot fully replace.
You get to compare ideas, challenge assumptions, learn from practical experiences and often discover that people working in seemingly different areas are solving very similar problems.
WORDCAMP KATHMANDU 2026
Official links and community resources
THANK YOU
A well-organised day of learning and connection.
A big thank you to the entire WordCamp Kathmandu 2026 organising team, volunteers, speakers, sponsors, contributors and everyone who made the event possible.
Special thanks to Regan Khadgi, Lead Organizer of WordCamp Kathmandu 2026, and the entire organising team for bringing Nepal’s WordPress and wider technology community together.
I came to the event interested in AI, emerging technology, search and GEO. I left with something broader: new perspectives, useful conversations and an even stronger sense that AI is becoming part of mainstream technology conversations in Nepal.
