Conferences and events are a valuable way to grow an open source project. They're a space for software engineers, leaders, architects and open source enthusiasts to discuss ideas, share points of views, identify solutions and introduce new software developments.

For 2021, the organisers of our favourite open source conferences have accommodated the events so everyone can attend safely. The online sessions will be interactive, making it easier for the guests to connect and ask questions.

These events have been a great and enjoyable opportunity for our software engineers and team leaders to showcase their contributions to FOSS and receive relevant feedback from their peers. Codethings have also expanded their knowledge and improved their skills, and they look forward to the 2021 conferences!

FOSDEM

• When: 6-7 February 2021
• Where: Online
• Programme >>
• Live Streaming >>

The event started as a small meeting between engineers 20 years ago, and now FOSDEM is a key free conference about open source. The event brings together software developers, at all levels of expertise, to discuss, share and collaborate on FOSS projects.

FOSDEM is a great opportunity to explore new open source areas, share opinions about the latest developments and learn from exceptional FOSS contributors. Engineers, project leaders and supporters of the open-source community will discuss automotive, safety, cloud computing IaaS, and open-source design, amongst other topics.

This year the event will take place on the 6th and the 7th of February, and it'll be slightly different from the ones we've attended before. It will be entirely online, and we'll still have the opportunity to chat between ourselves and submit questions to the speakers. Like the previous editions, the event's attendance is completely free, and you won't need to register previously.

Codethink employees attend FOSDEM every year and, of course, we couldn't miss this edition! Additionally, for FOSDEM 2021, our engineers will be curating the Safety and Open Source Software devroom on the 6th of February.

The FOSDEM devrooms are spaces where developers can meet, discuss and share ideas about specific topics. At the Safety and Open Source Software devroom, we'll be discussing everything related to using Open Source Software for safety-critical applications. For example there will be talks about safety analysis techniques for complex software systems and the pros and cons of using open-source software in safety.

FOSS Backstage

• When: 10-12 February 2021
• Where: Online
• Programme >>
• Tickets >>

For the last 3 years, FOSS Backstage has organised a conference to discuss and learn about the non-technical aspects of open source community initiatives. FOSS Backstage is a resourceful event where you can find conferences, tools and tips that will help you to lead and manage an open source project.

The attendees will debate and listen to talks relevant to FOSS governance, open collaboration, legal and economics at the three-day event. The speakers have a broad experience and knowledge about different aspects of the open-source scope, from guiding your team to understanding the development of a FOSS project.

We have our eye on some talks and workshops: Managing the Corporate-Community Boundary, Collaborative Leadership: Governance Beyond Company Affiliation, and Creating Belonging in Remote Teams.

The event will take place from the 10th to the 12th of February, and it will be completely online and interactive. Learn more about the event, check the full programme or purchase the tickets here >>

GUADEC

• When: 23-30 June 2021
• Where: Zacatecas, Mexico
• More information >>

GUADEC is the biggest GNOME community event, gathering hundreds of users, contributors, community representatives and passionate advocates for a week of talks and workshops. Every year, FOSS engineers meet and discuss the development of the GNOME desktop environment, and its underlying base software, such as GTK, GStreamer, etc.

At GUADEC 2020, we enjoyed talks and workshops about project organisation, user and development design, application development, and community building. Last year, our software engineer, Valentin David, contributed to the event and talked about 'GNOME OS on real hardware', sharing his experiences of porting GNOME OS to the Pinebook Pro.

The organisation is still finalising the conference details for GNOME 2021, so we'll have to wait a few months to know what talks and workshops are happening. So far, we know it'll be in Zacatecas, Mexico. Save this blog post in your bookmark, and we'll keep you updated with any news!

Open Source Summit EU and Embedded Linux Conference Europe

• When: 28 September-1 October 2021
• Where: Hybrid - Online and presential at Dublin, Ireland
• More information >>

Two premier open source events will take place from the 28th of September to the 1st of October 2021; the Open Source Summit EU and the Embedded Linux Conference Europe (ELCE).

The Open Source Summit EU is a leading event for open-source developers, technologists and leaders that understand the benefits and the growing tendency of using open source. The summit is a great opportunity to exchange information, promote open-source innovations in software development and help create more viable open-source ecosystems.

Secondly, for 16 years, the ELCE has been the leading vendor-neutral technical conference for businesses and developers using Linux in embedded devices. This conference bringings together technical experts working on embedded systems and applications to improve their knowledge, find solutions and cooperate with other professionals.

If you can't join the European Summit, there will also be the Open Source Summit North America (3-6 August 2021) and the Open Source Summit Japan (dates TBC).

These events will bring many benefits and opportunities to your open source projects. Bookmark this blog post to check out any events update.

Blog post last update: 30th of December 2020

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• My experience of the MIT STAMP workshop 2020 >>