FOSDEM 2026 – Open Source, Digital Sovereignty, and Europes Future
2026-01-31
FOSDEM, the Free and Open Source Developers’ European Meeting, is an annual pilgrimage for open source enthusiasts from all over the world. What started as a small gathering in 2000, originally named the Open Source Developers of Europe Meeting (OSDEM), has grown into one of the most significant conferences dedicated to free and open source software.
In 2026, FOSDEM felt more purposeful than ever. The conference clearly reflected a growing awareness around digital sovereignty and Europe’s technological future.
FOSDEM 2026 - Sovereignity.
Self hosted solutions, open infrastructure, and community driven software were no longer niche topics. They were central to many discussions and presentations. The focus has visibly shifted away from convenience first and centralized platforms and toward systems that put control, transparency, and resilience back into the hands of users and communities. This shift was ily supported by established communities such as the FreeBSD project, which continues to demonstrate how long term, openly governed systems can serve as reliable foundations for sovereign infrastructure. At the same time, smaller but equally important projects showed how grassroots innovation drives real change. Talks like Hyacinthe’s FlipFlap presentation on the DN42 network highlighted decentralized and community operated networking in practice, while Emile’s talk on SmolBSD demonstrated how minimal, purpose built BSD systems can bring clarity, auditability, and long term maintainability back to operating system design. Projects such as BoxyBSD, crafted by gyptazy, showcased how lowering the barrier to learning BSD based systems empowers the next generation of open source contributors. By providing free invite codes during FOSDEM, BoxyBSD made hands on experimentation immediately accessible and reinforced the conference’s spirit of openness and community support.
FOSDEM 2026 made one thing unmistakably clear. Open source is no longer just about software freedom. It is increasingly about independence, sustainability, and Europe’s ability to shape its own digital future.
Arrival at FOSDEM 2026
Like every year, I decided to travel to FOSDEM by car. It’s actually the most relaxed way for me to get there as I can simply drive at any time in the morning, but it comes with one clear disadvantage: you have to arrive very early to secure a parking spot directly on campus. That means starting the journey long before the city fully wakes up. Overall, the travel time is more or less the same as taking the train, so that part doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the flexibility and being able to move around freely and head back home whenever I want. Since I usually only attend the first day of FOSDEM, that flexibility makes the early start worth it.
This year, the effort paid off once again. I ended up being the first car in line at the gate leading to the parking area. Better safe than sorry. Anyone who has attended FOSDEM knows that parking nearby is a small victory that can shape the rest of the day.
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