I recently returned from eight days of conferences over a ten day trip in Europe. From the policy halls and karaoke bars of Brussels to the innovation hubs and pubs of Dublin, this trip was a fantastic opportunity to connect in person with diverse members of the global open source community. Here is my lightning-fast recap of the events.
CHAOSScon (Brussels) The trip kicked off with high energy at CHAOSScon, where I had the distinct honor of delivering the keynote presentation. The CHAOSS community is a beautiful example of practicing what you preach and their focus on diversity, inclusion, and community health are reflected across all the people who attended the one day event. It wasn’t all hugs and smiles, there were also in depth discussions about metrics and how to measure and sustain open source projects. I was extremely grateful to be selected to win Paloma Oliveira's book “Diversifying Open Source” which is a must read for people who believe open source is key to creating a world that is more connected, secure, and trustworthy. Anyone who is new to open source and wants to connect to a friendly group determined to make positive change, then come join the CHAOSS community.
EU Open Source Policy Summit (Brussels) The vibe shifted dramatically the next day at the Policy Summit, where there were many more suits and the conversation turned to serious regulation. The looming implications of the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) dominated the room and sovereignty was the word of the day. Open source is now recognized as critical global infrastructure, however, governments are considering building national tech stacks to counter the dominance of “American companies”. The power of open source is not in creating duplicative silos, rather it is in creating international solutions that are immune to vendor lock-in and the whims of billionaires and dictators.
FOSDEM (Brussels) Then came the giant 2-day event that inspired so many people to travel to Europe: FOSDEM. I would describe my first FOSDEM as a giant DIY unconference filled with 8000+ friendly expert collaborators. There were over 40 tracks and more than 1000 presenters along with lightning talks, keynote presentations, and loads of tables, food trucks, and more, including a multi-room kids conference. I focused on tracks for funding, open research, community, design, and education and I bumped into many friends and made many new friends and I hope to go back next year.
GitHub Maintainer Unconference (Brussels) In contrast to the FOSDEM crush, the GitHub Maintainer Unconference offered an intimate setting to discuss the key issues still on our minds after FOSDEM. Maintainers opened up about the very human challenges of the job: funding sustainability, challenges accepting AI contributions, and the emotional weight of managing projects. It was a nice reminder that behind every great repo is a community of human beings.
CURIOSS Gathering (Dublin) Hopping across the sea to Dublin, I joined my core open source community at the CURIOSS gathering. This group focuses specifically on OSPOs within university and research settings. The first day of the event was composed of CURIOSS members only and we dove deep into our core concerns around education, research, community building, funding, licensing, tech transfer, and much more. The second day was opened to a broader audience where we focused on collaborations between academia and industry / government and we welcomed potential new academic OSPOs to learn what we do and hopefully become future members of CURIOSS. I feel very fortunate that we were able to visit the Long Room and see the Book of Kells before it closes for three years of renovations.
Ireland Innovation Summit (Dublin) Wrapping up the marathon was the Ireland Innovation Summit. This event zoomed out from pure open source to look at the broader tech landscape in Ireland. It was encouraging to see open source wasn't siloed as a niche topic; instead, it was woven naturally into broader strategic discussions about national competitiveness, AI adoption, and economic growth.
The Takeaway The open source ecosystem feels big and small at the same time. We are simultaneously battling in the policy trenches, refining how we measure our communities, and growing in prominence across academia and research. Global open source leaders are facing many familiar challenges regarding funding, sustainability, and maintainer burnout along with many new challenges introduced by AI and security regulations. Overall, I’m very optimistic about the future of open source after connecting in person with so many passionate open source practitioners. I believe the open source culture of openness, sharing, transparency, inclusion, and community building is the antidote to many of the unjust systems in our world. I am excited to continue to share and collaborate across boarders and I encourage you to join us.