 | This articlerelies excessively onreferences toprimary sources. Please improve this article by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "FOSDEM" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Genre | Software engineering conference |
| Venue | Campus Solbosch [nl] of theUniversité Libre de Bruxelles (ULB),Brussels |
| Country | Belgium |
| Inaugurated |
|
| Previous event | 31 January - 1 February 2026 |
| Website | fosdem |
Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting (FOSDEM) is an annualsoftware engineering conference. It is non-commercial and volunteer-organized with a focus onfree and open-source software. Initiated in 2000, it is usually held during the first weekend of February,[2] at theCampus Solbosch [nl] of theUniversité libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in the southeast ofBrussels, Belgium.
FOSDEM was started in 2000[3] under the nameOpen Source Developers of Europe Meeting (OSDEM) byRaphael 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 withDamien Sandras.[4]The team repeated the event. The F (of FOSDEM) was added at the request ofRichard Stallman.[5]
TheFree Software Foundation's ceremony for theAward for the Advancement of Free Software was held at FOSDEM from 2002 to 2006 (for the awards for 2001 to 2005).[6][7]
The event has been held annually in February since then, with growing numbers of visitors, talks andtracks. It is organized thanks to the help of many volunteers.
The conference attracted about 4,000 visitors as of 2011.[8] By 2013 this grew to 5,000 attendees.[9] Since 2017, FOSDEM attendance is estimated at over 8,000 visitors.[10][11]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, FOSDEM 2021 and 2022 were held entirely online.[12][13][14]
In the following editions (2023 to 2025) of FOSDEM the main structure comprised keynotes, main tracks, developer rooms,[15] 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.[16]
Source:[17]
It was organised again in Brussels, celebrating 25 years of open source,[18] with a total of 787 speakers spread over 781 events, and 63 tracks. Beyond the core activities FOSDEM also organised the FOSDEM Fringe[19] 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 theLinux Foundation andNASA open source.[20]
Source:[21]
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 Fringe[22][23] and a new set of activities named FOSDEM Junior[24] designed as workshops for children/teenagers from 7 to 17 years old.[25] The keynotes of this edition were about the historical value of women in technology[26] by Laura Durieux[27] (a recurring topic of keynotes and talks in FOSDEM to improve social diversity in the FOSS communities[28][29]) and the achievements ofOutreachy. TheOpen Source Observatory (OSOR) participated in several activities of the conference,[30] among which was a satellite workshop.[31]
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,[34] also FOSDEM Fringe[35][36] and FOSDEM Junior[37][38] has been organized. The number of keynotes at this edition has increased compared to 2023 and 2024.Jack Dorsey's scheduled talk representingBlock, Inc.[39] caused controversy due to Dorsey's involvement inselling Twitter to Elon Musk,[40][41] together with doubts about the actual background of the speaker in open-source activities,[40] as well as, the ethical concerns ofBlock, Inc. current business.[42] TheOpen Source Observatory (OSOR) of the European Commission[43] participates in several developer rooms dedicated to policy and public use of open source.[32]
Media related toFOSDEM at Wikimedia Commons
