22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

FOSDEM returns in 2026, once again bringing together thousands of developers, contributors, and Free Software enthusiasts from around the world. Whether this is your first FOSDEM or you are already an expert at navigating the ULB campus, we hope to see you there!Support FSFE: https://my.fsfe.org/support

The FSFE at FOSDEM 2026: connect, learn, and celebrate Free Software with us in Brussels!

FOSDEM returns in 2026, once again bringing together thousands of developers, contributors, and Free Software enthusiasts from around the world. Whether this is your first FOSDEM or you are already an expert at navigating the ULB campus, we hope to see you there!

On the first weekend of February from Saturday 31 January to Sunday 1 February, the Free Software communities come together and travel from all over the world to attend one of its oldest and most well-known conferences: FOSDEM. Every year, this unique event brings together around 8,000 developers at the ULB Solbosch campus in Brussels.

The FSFE is excited to be part of FOSDEM 2026 with our booth, the Legal and Policy DevRoom which we co-organise, and several talks across different tracks. In addition, this year we are also involved in organising two more devrooms: Funding the Free Software Ecosystem, which debuted last year and Free Software Mobile.

If you are planning to attend FOSDEM, we encourage you to join our Matrix FOSDEM 2026 room to stay up to date and connect with us. In our Matrix room you will also hear all about our social gatherings, which you should not miss!

Like many of you, our team will already be in Brussels on Friday evening. If you would like to kick off your FOSDEM experience with good vibes, we would love for you to join us for our first social meeting! It is a great opportunity to relax, meet fellow community members, and reconnect before the conference begins. All the details will be shared in our Matrix room!

The FSFE at FOSDEM 2026

We know how packed these two days will be: countless talks to attend, workshops to learn and improve your skills, and even more people to meet. Still, do not forget to stop by the FSFE booth during FOSDEM! You find us in the K building level 2. Group A - 09.

We will have plenty of goodies waiting for you, including stickers, new T-shirts and socks, hoodies, and much more. You will also find Ada books available in seven different languages, including the new Dutch edition. So come say hello, grab some swag, and have a chat with us at the booth. The FSFE team will be there and happy to meet you, discuss our work, answer your questions, and share more about our activities and our vision for 2048.

Saturday, 31 January

On Saturday, we will have a full day! You will once again find us at the Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom, which we have been co-hosting since 2020. The DevRoom will start at 10:30 (Brussels time) in UB5.230 and will feature in-depth discussions on key legal and policy issues affecting Free Software. There you will meet the organizers: Matthias Kirschner (FSFE President) and Alexander Sander (FSFE Senior Policy Consultant), joined by Karen Sandler and Bradley Kuhn (Software Freedom Conservancy), Tom Marble (Informatique, Inc.), and Richard Fontana (Red Hat).

In addition, running in parallel with this DevRoom, two other tracks co-organised by the FSFE will take place. Funding the FOSS Ecosystem (UD2.218A) brings together developers, maintainers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, donors, and funders to explore sustainable funding models that support the long-term health and security of Free Software projects. The FOSS on Mobile (UB4.132) track focuses on maintaining and strengthening the Free Software mobile ecosystem through research, experimental projects, and new forms of collaboration, fostering innovation while staying true to its core values.

Later on Saturday afternoon, Tobias Diekershoff, FSFE System Hacker and core developer of the Friendica project, will give a concise introduction to the project together with Michael Vogel, a core member of the Friendica development team.

Once again, we will round off the day with our community by meeting for dinner and reflecting on the highlights of a long day at FOSDEM. Join us for a relaxed evening of good food and great conversations! Details will be shared in our Matrix room 🍽️

Our Saturday highlight’s in a glimpse:

09:00h - 19:00h FSFE Booth - Building K level 2. Group A - 09.

10:30h - 19:00h Legal & Policy DevRoom – UB5.230

10:30h - 10:45h Welcome to the Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom

10:45h - 11:30h An Introduction to Law and Free Software

13:00h - 14:00h CRA – Role of Free Software and Q&A

15:30h - 16:30h Interoperability regulation in the EU: Opening iOS and Android for Free Software

18:50h - 19:00h Closing of to the Legal & Policy Issues DevRoom

10:30h – 18:50h. Funding the FOSS Ecosystem - UD2.218A

10:30h - 19:00h FOSS on Mobile - UB4.132

18:00h - 18:10h Friendica - Hidden in plain sight since 2025 - H.2215 (Ferrer)

From 19:00h FSFE’s social gathering: join us for dinner!

Sunday, 1 February

On Sunday, starting at 11:40, you will have the opportunity to join Bonnie Mehring and Øjvind, the FSFE’s podcast’s host and editor respectively, to learn how to produce your first podcast using Free Software. The FSFE has been running its own podcast, the Software Freedom Podcast, since 2019.

Bonnie and Øjvind will share their experience, tools, and techniques, guiding you through the process of creating your own podcast project entirely with Free Software.

If you like the inspiring story of “Ada & Zangemann – A Tale of Software, Skateboards and Raspberry Ice Cream” – which you will find at our booth in different languages-, we recommend you to attend our talk in the main track about it. In it Nico Rikken and Matthias Kirschner will tell the story how the automation developed over time and will share inspiring stories from the community that leveraged the automation and influenced its development. Afterwards, join the book signing for the Dutch edition of Ada & Zangemann at the FSFE booth.

Our Sunday highlights at a glance:

09:00h - 17:00h FSFE Booth - Building K level 2. Group A – 09.

11:40h - 12:05h How to do a Podcast with Free Software? - UA2.220 (Guillissen)

14:00h - 14:50h Automating translation of a bestseller to spark children's interest in coding - K.1.105 (La Fontaine, main track)

We will also close the day with another dinner, for the ones who leave on Monday. As usual, all the details will be shared in our matrix chat!

To best navigate FOSDEM: Plan your schedule, for example with the help of the several Free Software apps that you can find in F-Droid such as Giggity, and make time to stop by at our talks and our booth.

See you at FOSDEM 2026!

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