FOSDEM 2025: Overview of the Event and Summary of Its Key Topics

Recap the recent FOSDEM 2025 and find out what matters most to the open source community, as well as the controversy that raises critical questions for the industry professionals.

This year, FOSDEM celebrated its 25th anniversary. Traditionally held in Belgium, Brussels, this year’s FOSDEM gathered from 8000 to 10,000 people (according to different testimonies), demonstrating its status as the largest open source event in Europe. The conference provided a platform for industry experts to discuss the future of free and open source software (FOSS), exchange knowledge, and share tips for building projects that thrive.

Key FOSDEM 2025 Highlights

FOSDEM 2025 featured 70 developer rooms (devrooms) and hundreds of talks and workshops covering a broad spectrum of topics, including governance, compliance, funding models, and investment in open source projects.

Several factors contributed to the event’s success:

• Diverse discussions: The event represented a mix of highly technical and non-technical topics, like cultural challenges or the psychology behind communities.
• Collaboration of various groups: The conference was successfully designed to cater to both seasoned professionals and newcomers into the world of open source. That also provided a valuable chance for these varying groups to collaborate and exchange experience.
• Diversity efforts: Despite ongoing concerns about diversity and inclusion, FOSDEM made notable strides. Around 5% of attendees were women, and several events were designed by and for women. That created an even more inclusive environment.

In addition to devrooms dedicated to specific technologies such as Python, MySQL, Kernel, JavaScript, or general topics like security, some other standout devrooms also dragged quite some attention:

• Governance and Legislation: Covered community-driven compliance, the European Commission’s presentation on the Cyber Resilience Act and AI Act, EU digital sovereignty, and the role of open source in policymaking.
• Funding and Investment: Provided practical insights into fundraising for FOSS, venture capital, and the pros and cons of different funding sources.
• Community and Diversity: Emphasised the importance of cultural exchange, localization, mentorship, and inclusion. For example, Laura Durieux’s talk, ‘Where Have the Women of Tech History Gone? 2.0’, underscored the need for more inclusive narratives in tech history and how diversity strengthens open source communities.
• Virtualization & Cloud Infrastructure: This year’s discussions on cloud infrastructure emphasized the importance of simplicity, scalability, and therefore, automation and cost efficiency in open source cloud management. Platforms like FishOS, which provide seamless cloud and workload management, align with these themes, offering enterprises a way to deploy and maintain OpenStack-based infrastructure efficiently.

Controversies and Protests around FOSDEM 2025

Despite the positive vibe of the event and reviews, FOSDEM 2025 was not without controversy. Specifically, a serious dispute arose in connection with one of event’s sponsors. Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, now CEO and chairman of Block, Inc., a financial services company and a FOSDEM sponsor, was scheduled to take part in one of the conference’s panel discussions. That caused serious opposition from segments of the open source community, led by prominent contributor Drew DeVault.

In his blog post titled ‘No billionaires at FOSDEM’, DeVault highlighted two major reasons for this antipathy: his role in the sale of Twitter, which many in the open source community view as a damaging shift away from free expression and open collaboration, and Block’s business operations, which some argue are contrary to the principles of free and open source software (like investing into projects that contribute to climate change).

“His complicity, along with his present-day activities at Block, Inc. and the priorities of the company that he represents as CEO — its irresponsible climate policy, $120M in fines for enabling consumer fraud, and the layoffs of another 1,000 employees in 2024 despite posting record profits on $5B in revenue — are enough of a threat to our community and its ethos to raise alarm at his participation in FOSDEM. We find this compelling enough to take action to prevent him and his colleagues from using FOSDEM’s platform to present themselves as good actors in our community and sell us their new “AI agentic framework”.

Drew DeVault, Software Developer

Supported by a sizeable group, DeVault called for a protest against Dorsey’s talk. FOSDEM organizers acknowledged the protest, stating: “If a peaceful protest were to take place during the talk in question, we will not take action.”

Ultimately, the protest did not take place, since Dorsey’s participation was cancelled shortly before the conference. The situation, however, faces the open source community with a an important question to answer: To what extent should corporate entities (especially those with controversial histories) be welcomed at community-driven events like FOSDEM? On one hand, sponsorship significantly helps support such collaborative events. On the other, such a harsh community backlash against sponsors like Jack Dorsey’s Block suggests that reputation should also be more carefully considered.

Networking, Education, and Future Talent

Despite the tensions around Jack Dorsey and Block Inc., the event went smoothly, and all participants mentioned having a positive experience. FOSDEM 2025 established an atmosphere of networking, learning, and collaborating, bringing together multiple generations of open source contributors. Newcomers and people that first attended the event 20 years ago all noted that FOSDEM gave them a great chance to meet with enthusiastic professionals and commended the FOSDEM’s ability to hold its high standards over 25 years.

Beyond the main tracks, participants collaborated in a wide range of side events under the umbrella of FOSDEM Fringe. That included hackathons, meetups, and specialized workshops.

Finally, FOSDEM effectively addressed a pressing issue of the lack of young talent, a growing concern in the industry. One major initiative was FOSDEM Junior, a collaboration with Code Club, CoderDojo, and developers. It offered workshops and activities for children, sparking their interest in open source technology.

Conclusion

FOSDEM 2025 successfully celebrated 25 years of collaboration and innovation in the open source industry. The event maintained its reputation as a space for discussions, learning, and networking. With its strong lineup of speakers, diverse topics, and a passionate community, FOSDEM remains a key part of the open source movement.