FOSDEM has also a LinkedIn group. To join the group and show your network you visit FOSDEM click here.

During the event Raphael walked around with a camera and asked some questions to the visitors of the conference. In this compilation he asked "How would you describe FOSDEM to a friend?".

More videos will come in a not to distant future...

Das siebte Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting ist ein zweitägiges Event zur Förderung von freier und Open Source software, durch Freiwilige organisiert. Es findet wie jedes Jahr in der schönen Stadt von Brüssel (Belgien) statt. Die FOSDEM-Veranstaltungen werden als "die besten Events bezüglich freier und Open Source Software in Europa" angesehen.

Mehr Informationen

Mailingliste: fosdem at lists.fosdem.org Dort werden Sie über die letzten Informationen auf dem laufenden gehalten.

Öffentliches Wiki: http://wiki.fosdem.org
RSS-Feed: http://fosdem.org/rss.xml
Planet Aggregator: http://planet.fosdem.org

Was ist FOSDEM

FOSDEM ist eine freie und nicht kommerzielle Veranstaltung für die Community und durch die Community organisiert. Dessen Ziel ist es, Entwickler und Communities von freier und Open Source Software einen Treffpunkt zu geben um

• mit anderen Entwicklern und Projekten in Kontakt zu kommen
• über die letzten Entwicklungen in der Welt der freien und Open Source Software informiert zu werden
• an interessanten Präsentationen und Sessions teilzunehmen, die in großen Hörsaalen stattinden und von Leitern und wichtigen Mitwirkenden von freien und Open Source Projekten in unterschiedlichen Themenbereichen gehalten werden
• die Entwicklung und die Vorteile von freien und Open Source Lösungen zu fördern

Da es sich um ein freies und nicht-kommerzielles Event handelt, ist die Teilnahme gänzlig kostenlos (wobei wir gerne Geldspenden und Sponsoring entgegennehmen). Um die Community zu unterstützen, stellt FOSDEM sogenannte "DevRooms" (Developer Rooms) Projekten zur Verfügung, in denen sie sich treffen und Präsentationen organisieren können. Dort können sie auch diskutieren, entwickeln (hacking sessions) und öffentlich die letzten Ereignisse und strategische Entscheidungen vorstellen. Das FOSDEM-Team ist davon überzeugt, daß es sehr wichtig ist, Software-Entwicklern der ganzen Welt die Möglichkeit zu geben sich zu treffen, und daß es den Projekten zugute kommt. Die übliche Infrastruktur an Internet-Verbindung und Beamer werden von uns zur Verfügung gestellt.

Letztes Jahr fanden in den Developer Rooms rund 140 Präsentationen statt, sowie in den "Main Tracks", die LPI-Prüfungen, Tutorial-Sessions sowie GPG/CAcert Key Signing.

Die Entstehungsgeschichte

Im Laufe des Jahres 2000 hat Raphaël Bauduin, ein Anhänger der Linux-Community in Belgien, entschieden eine kleine Veranstaltung für Open Source Entwickler zu organiseren. Er nannte es "Open Source Developers European Meeting" (OSDEM) und startete eine Mailing-Liste sowie eine kleine Website. Nur ein paar Wochen später tauchten viele Teilnehmer auf, gespannt auf ein aufregendes Event in Brüssel.

Raphaël schickte viele Einladungen an bekannte Persönlichkeiten der Open Source Szene: Rasterman, Fyodor, Jeremy Allison uvm. Alle gaben eine positive Rückmeldung, und OSDEM war auf dem Weg des Erfolgs.

Viele Jahre später ist OSDEM zur heutzutage allen bekannten Veranstalung "FOSDEM" herangewachsen.
Wir versuchen eine breites Spektrum an OpenSource-Projekten abzudecken und OpenSource-Entwicklern und -Anhängern eine Plattform zur Zusammenarbeit anzubieten, im wahren Sinne der Freien Software.
Jedes Jahr begrüßen wir über 3500 Besucher auf dem Solbosch Campus der ULB, während des letzten Wochenendes im Februar.

FOSDEM would not be possible without the generous help of our sponsors.
They really get the Open Source spirit, and thus help us organizing the event year after year.

Thank you very much!

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Cornerstone sponsors

O'Reilly
Once again, we are proud to have O'Reilly as one of our sponsors. They are the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies and communicate the knowledge of experts through our books, conferences, and web sites. Their books, known for their animals on the covers, occupy a treasured place on the shelves of the developers building the next generation of software. Their conferences and summits bring innovators together to shape the revolutionary ideas that spark new industries. From the Internet to the web, Linux, Open Source, and now peer-to-peer networking, O'Reilly puts technologies on the map.
Novell
Novell, Inc. delivers infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise. They are a leader in enterprise-wide operating systems based on Linux and open source and the security and systems management services required to operate mixed IT environments. They help their customers minimize cost, complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com. With more than 35,000 registered members, the openSUSE project is a Novell-sponsored community initiative that promotes the use of Linux everywhere. For more information, visit http://www.opensuse.org. For more information about Novell's efforts in Free and OpenSource Software, please visit http://developer.novell.com/opensource/ as well as openSUSE.org.
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems has held open systems to be the cornerstone of its philosophy since its beginning, and has always been dedicated to delivering hardware and software based on open industry standards. Today, Sun's commitment to Free Software is reflected in it being the single largest contributing organization, public or private, of software to FLOSS projects in the world. Sun is a key contributor to many projects including OpenSolaris, OpenSPARC, OpenOffice.org, GlassFish, NetBeans, GNOME, Mozilla, X.org, as well as its implementations of Java SE and Java ME under the GPL as the OpenJDK and Mobile & Embedded projects, respectively. For more information about Sun's efforts in FLOSS, please visit http://sun.com/opensource.

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Main sponsors

(in alphabetical order)

Benesol
Belgian Network Solutions is the leading housing, colocation and IP transit provider in Belgium. Delivering services in the InterXion, LCL and MCI/Verizon facilities offering over 200 racks of space, fully meshed 10GigE DWDM rings and a fully redundant IP/MPLS infrastructure. Belgian Network Solutions is the partner for all your datacenter solutions. Benesol hosts our server infrastructure.
Google
About Google: Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program, which is the largest and fastest growing in the industry, provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com. Google supports the event financially.
Linux Magazine
Linux Magazine is the magazine for Advanced Linux Know-How. Based in the UK, Linux Magazine serves the international English-speaking Linux Community. Linux Magazine is also published in German, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish. Linux Magazine is donating international subscriptions during FOSDEM 2008, as well as hosting and recording the Live Streaming in Janson.
Linux+DVD
Linux+DVD magazine is a quarterly totally devoted to Linux and Open Source. Linux+DVD is a series of topical issues, which take up the questions concerning effective use of Linux at everyday work, as well as developing advanced technologies based on Open Source software and alternative operating systems. Linux+DVD is donating international subscriptions during FOSDEM 2008.
Linux Professional Institute (LPI)
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is an internationally recognized, vendor-independent organization advocating and assisting the professional use of Linux, Open Source and Free Software, through the certification of Linux professionals. Established as a non-profit organization in 1999, LPI is community based and supported. LPI's certification program is delivered worldwide in multiple languages at over 7,000 testing locations and is supported by an affiliate network spanning five continents. Since the programs inception, LPI has delivered over 155,000 exams and 47,000+ LPIC certifications around the world. LPI's activities involve hundreds of volunteers and dedicated Linux professionals throughout the world in many different capacities, and the group encourages active public involvement through mailing lists and its website at www.lpi.org. LPI offers level 1, level 2, level 3 and Ubuntu certification exams with an almost 50% rebate to FOSDEM visitors and donates 10 EUR to FOSDEM per exam session taken during the event.
Emakina
Emakina is the leading interactive agency on the Belgian market and mostly works for large accounts such as Proximus, Fortis, Wrangler, D'Ieteren, Brussels Airlines or Electrabel Suez. With more than 250 collaborators throughout its European network, Emakina Group is present in Belgium, France and The Netherlands. As a major (and passionate) player in web development, Emakina has developed strong skills in Open-Source frameworks. The latest developments at this level include the successful implementation of Drupal CMS for PIAS and Knauf Insulation. Emakina Group is listed on Alternext Brussels, an Euronext segment for fast-growing SMEs.
Maemo
Maemo provides an open source development platform for Nokia Internet Tablets and other Linux-based devices. It is built from components widely used in open desktop and mobile/embedded systems. The Maemo SDK contains the tools needed to create and port integrated applications, replicating the Internet Tablet environment in a PC. maemo.org offers official tutorials, documentation and repositories of unstable versions for testing. The website enables more services devoted to and maintained by the Maemo community: software catalog, project hosting, documentation wiki, Planet news plus mail and IRC support channels. Maemo is donating 5 Nokia N810 devices as giveaways to FOSDEM donators.
Think Wize
Think Wize is an open source integrator specialized in ERP and business applications. Think Wize will refund the 5 best scoring LPI exams and 3 best BSDA exams through their FOSDEM sponsoring.

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Thanks

Cercle Informatique ULB
The "Cercle Informatique ULB" is a group of students who help us booking and using ULB rooms during FOSDEM.
OpenDomain.Org
Ric Johnson from the OpenDomain.Org organization kindly donated the fosdem.com domain to the FOSDEM organization. OpenDomain.Org registers domain names to prevent them being registered by domain squatters. They then put the domains to good use, by lending them to projects which could benefit from them.

The eighth FOSDEM is a two-day event organized by volunteers to promote the widespread use of Free and Open Source software.

Taking place in the beautiful city of Brussels (Belgium), FOSDEM meetings are recognized as "The best Free Software and Open Source events in Europe".

More information

Mailing list: fosdem at lists.fosdem.org.
We will inform you when news about FOSDEM is available.

Public Wiki: http://wiki.fosdem.org/
RSS feed: http://fosdem.org/rss.xml
Planet Aggregator: http://planet.fosdem.org/

What is FOSDEM

FOSDEM is a free and non-commercial event organized by the community for the community. The goal is to provide Free Software and Open Source developers and communities a place to meet to:

• get in touch with other developers and projects;
• be informed about the latest developments in the Free Software and Open Source world;
• attend interesting talks and presentations held in large conference rooms by Free Software and Open Source project leaders and committers on various topics; and
• to promote the development and the benefits of Free Software and Open Source solutions.

Participation and attendance is totally free, though the organization gratefully accepts donationals and sponsorships.

Developer Rooms

The FOSDEM team thinks it is very important for Free Software and Open Source developers around the world to be able to meet in "real life". To this end, we have set up Developer Rooms (DevRooms) with network/internet connectivity and projectors where development teams can meet and showcase their projects. DevRooms are a place for teams to discuss, hack and publicly present latest directions, lightning talks, news and discussions.

We believe developers can benefit a lot from these meetings.

Last year, there were more than 160 talks in the Developer Rooms in addition to the many main-track talks, the lightning talks and the LPI exams and the PGP/CAcert keysigning events.

Some history...

In 2000, Raphael Bauduin, a fan of the Linux movement in Belgium, decided to organize a small meeting for developers of Open Source software. He called it: Open Source Developers' European Meeting (OSDEM).

Raph created a mailing list, a small website and spread the word to people around him. Only a few weeks later, lots of people were waiting for an exciting event in Brussels!

Invitations were sent to well-known figures in the community: Rasterman, Fyodor, Jeremy Allison and so on. They all gave a very positive response and the OSDEM was on the road to success.

Many years later, OSDEM has grown to the event we now know as FOSDEM.

We now try to cover a wide spectrum of Open Source and Free Software projects, and offer a platform for people to collaborate in the true Open Source spirit. Every year during the last weekend of February we host around 4000 visitors at the ULB Solbosh campus.

Raphael is no longer the only one behind FOSDEM, after 7 years of hard work he left the team for new Open Source plans. A list of the entire staff can be seen here, together with some information on their involvement in the FOSDEM conference.

The Team

in alphabetical order

• Alain Buret
• Christophe Vandeplas
• Dries Verachtert
• Floris Lambrechts
• Gerry Demaret
• Jan Gyselinck
• Jan Van Buggenhout
• Jan-Frederik Martens
• Jochen Maes
• Juan Rial
• Mattias Guns
• Pascal Bleser
• Philip Paeps
• Philippe De Swert
• ...