# 25 Years of FOSDEM Celebrating Open Source Community > [! note]- > The content of this page is generated by audio/video transcription and text transformation from the content and links of this source. Source: [https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6729-anecdotes-from-25-years-of-fosdem/](https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6729-anecdotes-from-25-years-of-fosdem/) <video src="https://video.fosdem.org/2025/k1105/fosdem-2025-6729-anecdotes-from-25-years-of-fosdem.av1.webm" controls></video> ## Summary & Highlights: **Introduction to FOSDEM** FOSDEM, the Free and Open Source Developers' European Meeting, is a significant gathering for open source enthusiasts. Over the years, it has grown from a small meeting to a massive event, attracting thousands of participants without any entry fees. This session celebrates its 25-year journey, highlighting the dedication and passion of its volunteers. **The Early Days and Growth** The conference began as OSDEC in 2001, later evolving into FOSDEM. Despite initial challenges like securing a venue and sponsors, it quickly gained momentum, thanks to the spontaneous formation of support teams and the enthusiasm of the open source community. The first edition saw 600-700 attendees, a number that has grown significantly over the years. **Challenges and Innovations** FOSDEM has faced numerous logistical challenges, from managing IPv6 networks to dealing with unexpected infrastructure issues. The event has been a pioneer in adopting new technologies, such as being one of the first major conferences to implement IPv6. This innovative spirit has been a hallmark of FOSDEM's success. **Community and Impact** At its core, FOSDEM is about community building. It provides a platform for developers, hackers, and enthusiasts to share ideas, collaborate, and inspire each other. Many projects and initiatives have found their footing at FOSDEM, making it a crucial event for the open source ecosystem. **Conclusion** FOSDEM's story is one of resilience, innovation, and community spirit. It continues to be a beacon for open source advocates worldwide, fostering a culture of openness, collaboration, and inclusivity. ## Importance for an eco-social transformation FOSDEM's significance in eco-social transformation lies in its community-driven model, promoting open source software as a sustainable alternative to proprietary solutions. This approach supports transparency, collaboration, and shared knowledge, crucial for addressing global challenges. Eco-social designers can leverage open source tools and platforms showcased at FOSDEM to develop sustainable solutions. However, challenges such as funding, volunteer burnout, and technological barriers remain. Addressing these requires continued community engagement and innovative funding models. ## Slides: | | | | --- | --- | | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_001.jpg\|300]] | The first slide introduces FOSDEM 2025 and the session focusing on anecdotes from its 25-year history, highlighting the event's significance in the open-source community. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_002.jpg\|300]] | The second slide explains the evolution of FOSDEM's name, starting as OSDEC, then OSDEM, and finally FOSDEM, reflecting its focus on free and open-source meetings. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_003.jpg\|300]] | The third slide discusses the timing of the conference, initially scheduled to coincide with a commercial Linux conference in Paris, to attract developers and focus on open source software. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_004.jpg\|300]] | The fourth slide recounts the challenge of securing a venue just six weeks before the first OSDEM, illustrating the early logistical hurdles faced by the organizers. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_005.jpg\|300]] | The fifth slide describes the efforts to promote OSDEM by sending posters to universities, highlighting the grassroots marketing strategies employed to increase awareness. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_006.jpg\|300]] | The sixth slide details the financial challenges faced in the early years, with VA Linux sponsoring the first edition and O'Reilly saving the second edition when sponsorship was scarce. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_007.jpg\|300]] | The seventh slide talks about the physical booklet used in early editions, which required a two-week cut-off for scheduling and was a significant logistical effort to produce. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_008.jpg\|300]] | The eighth slide highlights FOSDEM's pioneering role as the first major non-network conference to default to IPv6, a significant technical achievement requiring extensive effort and planning. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_009.jpg\|300]] | The ninth slide describes an incident where Ubuntu's network implementation broke during FOSDEM, leading to a busy booth and a quick bug fix by a former core developer. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_010.jpg\|300]] | The tenth slide discusses the challenges of obtaining IPv4 address space as it became scarce, with RIPE NCC offering temporary allocations for events, requiring meticulous planning and coordination. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_011.jpg\|300]] | The eleventh slide mentions the change in RIPE policies to allow an extra month for IPv4 address space allocation, easing logistical pressures for future events. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_012.jpg\|300]] | The twelfth slide notes the unplanned presence of a Member of the European Parliament speaking in a small room, emphasizing FOSDEM's egalitarian approach to speaker placement. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_013.jpg\|300]] | The thirteenth slide recounts the 2010 incident of pulling a fiber network through various obstacles, resulting in broken fibers and a creative repair with Scotch tape. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_014.jpg\|300]] | The fourteenth slide tells of a mix-up with fiber connections, requiring a ResULB staff member to drive back to Brussels to resolve the issue early in the morning. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_015.jpg\|300]] | The fifteenth slide describes an incident in 2018 where a visitor painted a column blue to engage in dialogue with ULB, serving as a reminder to respect shared spaces. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_016.jpg\|300]] | The sixteenth slide humorously notes the lack of sleep often experienced by organizers, reflecting the intense dedication required to run FOSDEM. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_017.jpg\|300]] | The seventeenth slide reflects on the early days of infrastructure challenges, including hacking government WiFi for maps and providing computers for attendees before laptops were common. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_018.jpg\|300]] | The eighteenth slide discusses the frequent need to replan rooms at the last minute, including an incident where a room flooded, requiring a quick relocation. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_019.jpg\|300]] | | | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_020.jpg\|300]] | The twentieth slide highlights the financial strain of renting specific camera equipment in 2014, which nearly bankrupted FOSDEM, underscoring the importance of careful budgeting. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_021.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-first slide recounts a complaint from ULB about cleanliness in 2013, as the organizers had forgotten to clean one specific area. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_022.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-second slide continues the story of cleanliness issues, emphasizing the importance of attention to detail in event management. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_023.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-third slide notes a repeat of the cleanliness oversight a year or two later, illustrating recurring organizational challenges. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_024.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-fourth slide emphasizes the importance of conversations and networking at FOSDEM, which many attendees find to be the most valuable aspect of the event. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_025.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-fifth slide highlights the social aspect of FOSDEM, where attendees reunite with friends and colleagues, reinforcing the community spirit. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_026.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-sixth slide notes the supportive environment at FOSDEM, where some attendees have felt comfortable experimenting with or coming out as trans. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_027.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-seventh slide encourages attendees to smile for photos, highlighting the tradition of capturing memories at FOSDEM. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Anecdotes-from-25-years-of-FOSDEM/preview_028.jpg\|300]] | The twenty-eighth slide refers to the traditional FOSDEM dance, a fun activity that embodies the event's spirit of camaraderie and celebration. ## Links [Video recording (AV1/WebM)](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/k1105/fosdem-2025-6729-anecdotes-from-25-years-of-fosdem.av1.webm) [Video recording (MP4)](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/k1105/fosdem-2025-6729-anecdotes-from-25-years-of-fosdem.av1.mp4) [Slides](https://fosdem.org/2025/events/attachments/fosdem-2025-6729-anecdotes-from-25-years-of-fosdem/slides/238694/2025-02-0_3nkQHCb.pdf) [Chat room (web)](https://fosdem.org/2025/chat/web) [Chat room (app)](https://fosdem.org/2025/chat/app)