Last week, our office in Antwerp buzzed with excitement as we hosted the Flutter Belgium Meetup #22 ! It was an evening packed with insightful talks, engaging discussions, and plenty of Flutter enthusiasm. For those who missed it, don’t worry—the videos of all the talks are now available on YouTube! Here's a quick rundown of what went down: Lightning talks ⚡️ Widget of the Meetup : Baseline by Jens Gyselinck ⚡️ Fancy Fortune Wheels by William Verhaeghe ⚡️ Is the Hosting of My Mobile App Production Ready? by Johan Soetewey Talks 📣 Full Stack Dart by Brent Van Vosselen 📣 Publishing a Production-Ready Flutter App in 20 Minutes with the Codika CLI by Romain Pattyn A huge thanks to all the speakers, attendees, and organizers for making this meetup a success. Stay tuned for more updates on future meetups! 🚀 Join the Flutter Belgium meetup

The Belgian React Native community is back! On Thursday, December 5, ACA Group hosted the very first React Native Belgium meetup at their brand-new office in Antwerp. With around thirty enthusiastic participants, engaging talks, and a vibrant atmosphere, the event was a resounding success. Reviving the React Native community 🚀 "The React Native community in Belgium had been dormant for years, but with this first meetup in Antwerp, we’ve brought it back to life", says Jeffrey Vanelderen , who organized the event together with ACA colleague Jana Mineur . "The goal of this meetup is to bring people together, share knowledge about new developments, and spark inspiration for personal projects. It’s also a great opportunity to network with peers and get a pulse on what’s happening in the IT world." Inspiring talks The evening began with an informal reception where participants enjoyed pizza 🍕 and drinks. ACA Group then kicked off the night with two compelling talks : Talk 1: Accessibility in React Native apps Joren Vos , Mobile Solution Engineer at ACA Group for over 10 years, discussed accessibility in React Native apps . Drawing on his experience with projects at De Lijn , he shared insights on building accessible apps that are user-friendly for everyone, including people with disabilities. “As a developer, it’s crucial to always consider accessibility”, says Jeffrey. “Many people rely on screen readers and additional component explanations in apps, and Joren provided practical tips on implementing these features.” Talk 2: Latest updates in React Native architecture Tim Claes , a seasoned Mobile and Web Engineer with over 15 years of experience, explored the latest updates in React Native’s architecture . He discussed improved performance and the impact of upgrades on existing projects. “Tim addressed questions we developers often have”, adds Jeffrey. “For example: Is it worthwhile to upgrade our projects? What are the risks? How does it impact our code?” The talks were well-received by the audience. “The participants were extremely enthusiastic” says Jeffrey. “We saw this excitement even beforehand, as registrations came in quickly, proving the community is still very much alive.” Looking ahead to more successful React Native meetups! After the talks, there was time for networking. With drinks in hand, participants exchanged ideas and experiences. “A meetup like this is about more than just sharing technical knowledge”, emphasizes Jeffrey. “It’s also about building connections within the community .” The organizers are already looking forward to the next edition. “We’ve received interest from other companies wanting to host the next event”, says Jeffrey. “Hopefully, we can keep the community active with a new meetup in the spring of 2025.” With this successful kickoff, React Native Belgium has established itself as a platform for knowledge-sharing and collaboration in the Belgian tech scene. We are looking forward to the next meetup! 📲 Want to stay updated on the React Native community in Belgium? Join the community!

Hasselt, 24 January 2024 - Last week, ACA proudly hosted the 16th edition of the Flutter Belgium Meetup at our Hasselt office, bringing together Flutter enthusiasts, experts, and curious minds to share and learn together about everything in the Dart Flutter space. The evening was filled with insightful talks, interesting discussions, and lots of opportunities for networking. To kick-off the evening, attendees were treated to pizza and drinks. William Verhaeghe took the stage to share his expertise on Code generation. He highlighted three pivotal approaches in Code generation for Flutter: The simplicity of Co-Pilot for on-the-fly code suggestions, the direct control offered by file.write() and the structured efficiency of the Build Runner system. The key takeaway from this talk is to embrace these tools, each tailored for varying complexities and needs, to improve code quality and developer experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXXdxJ6dtzI During the second session our team member Stijn Huygh took the stage to deep dive in the utilisation of mobile sensor data to track train movements. The talk focused on applying a scientific method of problem solving inside a development environment. Stijn applied this method towards detecting arrival and departure of trains, going through multiple iterations to come to the final solution; the use of accelerometer data to accurately detect arrival and departure of trains. The key takeaway was to take a systematic approach in problem solving to be able to reach desired outcomes even for highly complex problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd2S6UG1ctQ The Flutter Belgium Meetup isn’t just about talks; it is a platform for fostering connections within the Flutter community . Attendees had the chance to participate in lightning talks, technical sessions, and share their own experiences and expertise. We want to thank everyone who attended, making the event a great success! Missed out on the event? Stay tuned for updates on future meetups, and don't hesitate to join us next time. Whether you're a seasoned Flutter expert or a curious beginner, Flutter Belgium Meetups are open to all, fostering a spirit of shared learning and growth! Join the next Flutter Meetup