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FOSDEM
Annual software engineering conference

Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting (FOSDEM) is an annual software engineering conference. It is non-commercial and volunteer-organized with a focus on free and open-source software. Initiated in 2000, it is usually held during the first weekend of February, at the Campus Solbosch [nl] of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in the southeast of Brussels, Belgium.

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History

FOSDEM was started in 20002 under the name Open Source Developers of Europe Meeting (OSDEM) by Raphael Bauduin. Bauduin said that since he felt he lacked the brains to properly contribute to the open-source community, he wanted to contribute by launching a European event in Brussels. Bauduin teamed up with Damien Sandras.3 The team repeated the event. The F (of FOSDEM) was added at the request of Richard Stallman.4

The Free Software Foundation's ceremony for the Award for the Advancement of Free Software was held at FOSDEM from 2002 to 2006 (for the awards for 2001 to 2005).56

The event has been held annually in February since then, with growing numbers of visitors, talks and tracks. It is organized thanks to the help of many volunteers.

The conference attracted about 4,000 visitors as of 2011.7 By 2013 this grew to 5,000 attendees.8 Since 2017, FOSDEM attendance is estimated at over 8,000 visitors.910

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FOSDEM 2021 and 2022 were held entirely online.111213

In the following editions (2023 to 2025) of FOSDEM the main structure comprised keynotes, main tracks, developer rooms,14 lightning talks, stands and Birds Of a Feather (BOF, which is a freer format spread over 3 different rooms). As in previous editions, the activities were held at the Université Libre de Bruxelles using a total of 35 rooms.15

FOSDEM 2023

Source:16

It was organised again in Brussels, celebrating 25 years of open source,17 with a total of 787 speakers spread over 781 events, and 63 tracks. Beyond the core activities FOSDEM also organised the FOSDEM Fringe18 as a set of independent events also related to free and open source. The number of attends was about 8000 for this edition, the two external keynotes speakers of this edition came from the Linux Foundation and NASA open source.19

FOSDEM 2024

Source:20

As usual, it was held in Brussels, with 948 speakers spread over 875 events and 67 themes, using the same infrastructure as the previous edition at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The programme was similar to that of 2023 with a FOSDEM Fringe2122 and a new set of activities named FOSDEM Junior23 designed as workshops for children/teenagers from 7 to 17 years old.24 The keynotes of this edition were about the historical value of women in technology25 by Laura Durieux26 (a recurring topic of keynotes and talks in FOSDEM to improve social diversity in the FOSS communities2728) and the achievements of Outreachy. The Open Source Observatory (OSOR) participated in several activities of the conference,29 among which was a satellite workshop.30

FOSDEM 2025

Source:3132

As usual, it took place in Brussels with 1118 speakers spread over 1074 events and 78 tracks, showing that the size of the event is growing steadily. As usual beyond BoF,33 also FOSDEM Fringe3435 and FOSDEM Junior3637 has been organized. The number of keynotes at this edition has increased compared to 2023 and 2024. Jack Dorsey's scheduled talk representing Block, Inc.38 caused controversy due to Dorsey's involvement in selling Twitter to Elon Musk,3940 together with doubts about the actual background of the speaker in open-source activities,41 as well as, the ethical concerns of Block, Inc. current business.42 The Open Source Observatory (OSOR) of the European Commission43 participates in several developer rooms dedicated to policy and public use of open source.44

See also

  • Free and open-source software portal

Media related to FOSDEM at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Voronova, Arya (2023-03-01). "FOSDEM 2023: An Open-Source Conference, Literally". Hackaday. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://hackaday.com/2023/03/01/fosdem-2023-an-open-source-conference-literally/ ↩

  2. "FOSDEM 2018 – About FOSDEM". fosdem.org. Retrieved 2018-01-27. https://fosdem.org/2018/about/ ↩

  3. "FOSDEM 2007 over". Archived from the original on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2015-02-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20150201141725/http://blog.ekiga.net/?p=53 ↩

  4. "Fosdem 2002: Fosdem organiser interview". Retrieved 2011-03-16. http://www.freehackers.org/Fosdem_2002:_Fosdem_organiser_interview ↩

  5. GNU Project (26 September 2008). "Prior Years' Free Software Award". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 16 March 2011. https://www.gnu.org/award/ ↩

  6. Sullivan, John. "Award for the Advancement of Free Software". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 16 March 2011. http://www.fsf.org/awards/fs-award ↩

  7. "About FOSDEM". FOSDEM. 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110930085757/http://archive.fosdem.org/2011/about/fosdem ↩

  8. "About FOSDEM 2013". archive.fosdem.org. Retrieved 2024-10-10. https://archive.fosdem.org/2013/about/ ↩

  9. "Home - FOSDEM 2017". archive.fosdem.org. Retrieved 2024-10-10. https://archive.fosdem.org/2017/ ↩

  10. "Home - FOSDEM 2024". archive.fosdem.org. Retrieved 2024-10-10. https://archive.fosdem.org/2024/ ↩

  11. "FOSDEM 2021 Online". fosdem.org. Retrieved 2021-02-03. https://fosdem.org/2021/practical/online/ ↩

  12. "FOSDEM 2022 Online". fosdem.org. Retrieved 2022-09-25. https://archive.fosdem.org/2022/news/2021-10-22-fosdem-online-2022/ ↩

  13. Verhelst, Wouter (2022), FOSDEM Conference Infrastructure, Kyle Robbertze, doi:10.5446/57001, retrieved 2025-01-19 https://av.tib.eu/media/57001 ↩

  14. "FOSDEM 2024 - Institute of Citizen Science". Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://icssw.org/en/2024/02/16/fosdem-2024-2/ ↩

  15. Hartmann, Richard; Schubert, Basti (2023), FOSDEM infrastructure review, doi:10.5446/61517, retrieved 2025-01-19 https://av.tib.eu/media/61517 ↩

  16. "FOSDEM 2023 | Interoperable Europe Portal". interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu. 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/event/fosdem-2023 ↩

  17. Vidal, Nick (2023), Celebrating 25 years of Open Source: Past, Present, and Future, doi:10.5446/61499, retrieved 2025-01-19 https://av.tib.eu/media/61499 ↩

  18. "Fringe". archive.fosdem.org. https://archive.fosdem.org/2023/fringe/ ↩

  19. Crawford, Steve (2023), Open Source Software at NASA, doi:10.5446/61586, retrieved 2025-01-19 https://av.tib.eu/media/61586 ↩

  20. "FOSDEM 2024 | Interoperable Europe Portal". interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu. 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/event/fosdem-2024 ↩

  21. "Fringe". archive.fosdem.org. https://archive.fosdem.org/2024/fringe/ ↩

  22. "FOSDEM 2024 Fringe: FOSS license and security compliance tools - Open Collective". opencollective.com. 2024-05-05. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://opencollective.com/aboutcode/events/fosdem-2024-fringe-workshop-on-foss-license-and-security-compliance-tools-ea75e63c ↩

  23. "FOSDEM junior". archive.fosdem.org. https://archive.fosdem.org/2024/schedule/track/junior/ ↩

  24. [email protected], KlasCement (2024-12-16). "Free open source workshops: FOSDEM junior". KlasCement (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://www.klascement.net/innovet/nascholing-of-activiteit/211499/free-open-source-workshops-fosdem-junior/?previous ↩

  25. "Where have the women of tech history gone?". archive.fosdem.org. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://archive.fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-2850-where-have-the-women-of-tech-history-gone-/ ↩

  26. "Where have the women of tech history gone". lordievader's blog. 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://www.oliviervandertoorn.nl/post/where_have_the_woman_of_tech_history_gone/ ↩

  27. "Impact Story Project/Action: Mentor leads developer room at annual FOSDEM in Brussels". TechWomen. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://www.techwomen.org/impact-story-project-action/mentor-leads-developer-room-at-annual-fosdem-in-brussels ↩

  28. Progri, Kristi; Dwomoh, Gloria (2018), Diversity User Research and Women in Open Source: Becoming a Better Listener and Women in Open Source Technologies. Developing a deeper understanding of minorities in tech., doi:10.5446/41983, retrieved 2025-01-19 https://av.tib.eu/media/41983 ↩

  29. "Open Source Observatory Newsletter". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/joinup/newsletter-archives/50631 ↩

  30. "Workshop on Open Source key areas for Digital Autonomy | Shaping Europe's digital future". digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/events/workshop-open-source-key-areas-digital-autonomy ↩

  31. "FOSDEM 2025 | Interoperable Europe Portal". interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu. 2025-02-01. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/event/fosdem-2025 ↩

  32. "FOSDEM 2025". www.apc.org. 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://www.apc.org/en/event/fosdem-2025 ↩

  33. "NLnet; Let's meet at FOSDEM 2025". nlnet.nl. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://nlnet.nl/events/20250201/FOSDEM/index.html ↩

  34. "Fringe". fosdem.org. https://fosdem.org/2025/fringe/ ↩

  35. "FOSDEM 2025 Fringe: FOSS license and security compliance tools workshop". workshop.aboutcode.org. 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://workshop.aboutcode.org/ ↩

  36. "FOSDEM Junior". fosdem.org. https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/junior/ ↩

  37. "FOSDEM and FOSDEM junior 2025". MIT App Inventor Community. 2024-10-28. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://community.appinventor.mit.edu/t/fosdem-and-fosdem-junior-2025/130521 ↩

  38. "Infusing Open Source Culture into Company DNA: A Conversation with Jack Dorsey and Manik Surtani, Block's head of Open Source". fosdem.org. Archived from the original on 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20250118080131/https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-4507-infusing-open-source-culture-into-company-dna-a-conversation-with-jack-dorsey-and-manik-surtani-block-s-head-of-open-source/ ↩

  39. Brockmeier, Joe (2025-01-28). "FOSDEM keynote causes concerns [LWN.net]". lwn.net. Retrieved 2025-02-06. https://lwn.net/Articles/1006351/ ↩

  40. "Statement on planned protests during the upcoming FOSDEM 2025". fosdem.org. Retrieved 2025-01-18. https://fosdem.org/2025/news/2025-01-16-protests/ ↩

  41. Brockmeier, Joe (2025-01-28). "FOSDEM keynote causes concerns [LWN.net]". lwn.net. Retrieved 2025-02-06. https://lwn.net/Articles/1006351/ ↩

  42. Mentioned in the original FOSDEM '25 protest statement by Drew Devault (https://drewdevault.com/2025/01/16/2025-01-16-No-Billionares-at-FOSDEM-please.html) https://drewdevault.com/2025/01/16/2025-01-16-No-Billionares-at-FOSDEM-please.html ↩

  43. "Open Source Observatory (OSOR) | Interoperable Europe Portal". interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu. 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor ↩

  44. "FOSDEM 2025 | Interoperable Europe Portal". interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu. 2025-02-01. Retrieved 2025-01-19. https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/event/fosdem-2025 ↩