fosdem-2025

Treasure hunters, we have an update! Unfortunately, some of our signs have been removed or stolen, but don’t worry—the hunt is still on!

To ensure everyone can continue, we will be posting all signs online so you can still access the riddles and keep progressing. However, there is one exception: the 4th riddle must still be heard in person at Building H, as it includes an important radio message.

Keep your eyes on our updates, stay determined, and don’t let a few missing signs stop you from cracking the code! Good luck, and see you at Infodesk K with the final answer!

Update 2025-02-02 15:30: the soundbite is available here.

Update 2025-02-02 19:30: The hunt continues online! When you solve it, let us know on info@fosdem.org with your answer!

Are you ready for a challenge? We’re hosting a treasure hunt at FOSDEM, where participants must solve six sequential riddles to uncover the final answer. Teamwork is allowed and encouraged, so gather your friends and put your problem-solving skills to the test!

The six riddles are set up across different locations on campus. Your task is to find the correct locations, solve the riddles, and progress to the next step. No additional instructions will be given after this announcement, it’s up to you to navigate and decipher the clues!

To keep things fair, no hints or tips will be given until the end of the first day, so participants will have to rely on their own ingenuity to progress.

The first two individuals or teams to arrive at Infodesk K with the correct answer will win a special FOSDEM prize! The prize is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and the answer must be validated by the staff member responsible for the treasure hunt before confirming a winner.

If the responsible staff member is not at Infodesk K when you arrive with your answer, please wait and ask a FOSDEM staff member to contact them.

Good luck, and may the best problem-solvers win!

The regular FOSDEM lightning talk track isn't chaotic enough, so this year we're introducing Lightning Lightning Talks (now with added lightning!).

Update: we've had a lot of proposals, so submissions are now closed!

Thought of a last minute topic you want to share? Got your interesting talk rejected? Has something exciting happened in the last few weeks you want to talk about?

Get that talk submitted to Lightning Lightning Talks!

This is an experimental session taking place on Sunday afternoon (13:00 in k1105), containing non-stop lightning fast 5 minute talks.

Submitted talks will be automatically presented by our Lightning Lightning Talk System, which keeps track of the time limit for the current speaker and the order of presentations.

Presenters who attempt to speak for longer than 5 minutes risk being swept off the stage by our Lightning Lightning Talk Cleanup Crew.

Why?

The FOSDEM lightning talk track contains lightning talks, but they are 15 minutes long and scheduled months in advance. This Lightning Lightning Talk session tries to bring more lightning to FOSDEM, with a faster pace and more spontaneous talks.

If this format works well, we might expand this in future editions (feedback welcome!).

Taking part

To submit your talk for this session, make sure you meet some standards:

• slides created in .pdf format
• no offensive content
• about something FOSDEM attendees would appreciate
• can be presented in less than 5 minutes (very strict time limit!)

Follow these steps:

1. Follow this link and press the "Submit a proposal" button
2. Select session type "Lightning Lightning Talk" and track "Lightning Lightning Talks"
3. Attach your slides in pdf format as a resource
4. Wait for an acceptance notification, which will be sent out periodically as we get closer to the event
5. Confirm you'll be able to attend the session
6. Await further instructions

Final deadline for submission is 18:00 Saturday, the evening before the session.

As in previous years, some small rooms will be available for Birds of a Feather sessions.

The concept is simple: Any project or community can reserve a timeslot (30 minutes or 1 hour) during which they have the room just to themselves.

These rooms are intended for ad-hoc discussions, meet-ups or brainstorming sessions. They are not a replacement for a developer room and they are certainly not intended for talks.

Schedules: BOF Track A, BOF Track B, BOF Track C.

To apply for a BOF session, enter your proposal at https://fosdem.org/submit. Select any of the BOF tracks and mention in the Submission Notes your preferred timeslots and any times you are unavailable.

Reservations can be made in advance or during the event itself subject to capacity.

If your non-geek partner and/or kids are joining you to FOSDEM, they may be interested in spending some time exploring Brussels while you attend the conference.

Like previous years, FOSDEM is organising sightseeing tours.

UPDATE: The tour is now fully booked.

With FOSDEM just a few days away, it is time for us to enlist your help.

Every year, an enthusiastic band of volunteers make FOSDEM happen and make it a fun and safe place for all our attendees. We could not do this without you. This year we again need as many hands as possible, especially for heralding during the conference, during the buildup (starting Friday at noon) and teardown (Sunday evening). No need to worry about missing lunch at the weekend, food will be provided.

Would you like to be part of the team that makes FOSDEM tick? Sign up here! You could really help us out with the following:

• Build-up - Setting up the venue on Friday: this mostly involves carrying tables to their destinations and setting them up, putting up signage, covering the walls in brown paper... in short: transform the campus into a conference venue. We need as many volunteers as possible for this task.
• Network - Deploying the network on Friday: rolling out, neatly securing and crimping UTP cables. People with experience rolling out networks and crimping cables are very welcome!
• InfoDesk - Be available at the InfoDesk during the weekend: help out fellow attendees with their questions, sell t-shirts etc. Proficiency in English is a must, but if you are proficient in other languages as well, it certainly wouldn't hurt.
• VirtuaL InfoDesk - Want to volunteer, but cant be present at the ULB? We also have our InfoDesk on Matrix. Provide technical support for people watching streams, or pic up other questions about FOSDEM as them come in.
• Heralding - Briefly introduce the speakers and the topics of their talks, make sure all talks end on time by giving speakers cues near the end of their time slot. Keep an eye out on room safety and report potential issues such as overcrowded rooms before it becomes more than a "potential" issue.
• Video - Capturing and recording video. Ensure the livestreams to thousands are up and running and all talks are recorded.
• Tear-down - (and cleanup) on Sunday evening: collecting beer bottles, tearing down the network, pulling brown paper off the walls, taking down the signage, stacking the rental tables in neat heaps, broom the floors etc. Basically, make sure we're welcome again next year.
• Upacking the van on Monday - All of our gear needs to come out of the vans and back into storage after the conference.
• And many the many other tasks and ways to volunteer over the weekend.

For more information, please have a look at our volunteer FAQ

If any or all of these sound like your kind of gig, pick your task(s) at our volunteer tool, subscribe to the volunteers mailing list and keep an eye on #fosdem-infodesk on Matrix Feel free to shout out and introduce yourself!