FOSSCOMM 2024 at University of Macedonia - Thessaloniki, Greece

[iosifidis]

We are thrilled to announce that the Open Source UoM team has been entrusted with organizing FOSSCOMM 2024

This prestigious event will take place at the University of Macedonia - Thessaloniki, Greece (map) on November 9th and 10th, 2024.

FOSSCOMM (Free and Open Source Software Communities Meeting) is an annual conference that gathers enthusiasts, developers, and advocates of open-source software. The conference serves as a vital platform for sharing knowledge, networking, and promoting the principles of open collaboration and innovation. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of sessions, workshops, and discussions led by experts in the field.

We are proud to share that the official website for FOSSCOMM 2024 has been developed by members of the Open Source UOM team. For more details about the event, including the schedule, speakers, and registration information, please visit the site.We look forward to welcoming you to the University of Macedonia in November for what promises to be an inspiring and enriching experience.

Sincerely,
Open Source UoM

https://2024.fosscomm.gr/

If you’re interested in going, please click Going on the event topic

[aaronprisk]

Great news!
Could you add this to the community events calendar?

Creating an Event Topic

Are you planning on hosting an Ubuntu event? Follow these simple steps to create your event topic and have it listed on the community events calendar: 1) Getting Started The first step is to create a new topic within the Events category. Be sure to add a helpful title that best represents what your event is all about (e.g. “Ubuntu Pennsylvania Meetup”, “Ubuntu Install Party at GNOME University”) Under optional tags, add the “event” tag along with other relevant tags, as this helps with search…

[iosifidis]

Call for papers

Submit your request here for a talk you would like to give on the days of the conference.

The FOSSCOMM 2024 organizing committee invites the free and open source communities, as well as any interested parties, to submit their proposals for talks and workshops. The official language of the conference is Greek, but we also accept talks in English. The deadline for submission is 15 September, so that the conference programme can be published in time.

Key topics

The main themes of the conference include topics that the organizing committee felt resonate with the audience and can provide interesting talks. If you would like to give a presentation that you feel does not fit into the existing themes, you can suggest a new theme via the submission form or submit your presentation as a “lightning strike” (see below). Presentations will be 30 minutes max and it is advisable to allow 5 minutes for questions. The workshops do not have a predefined duration and scheduling will be done in consultation with the organization after declaring your preference on the platform.

• Artificial Intelligence
• Community Networks
• DevOps
• Open Art
• Open Data
• Open Hardware
• Open Media
• Programming Languages
• Science
• Social / Policies / Legal
• Space
• System Software
• Security
• Web / Mobile technologies
• Metaverse / Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality / Mixed Reality

Submit your proposal here: https://2024.fosscomm.gr/call-for-papers/

[iosifidis]

Announcement of Keynote Speaker for FOSSCOMM 2024: Frank Karlitschek

Frank Karlitschek is a long time open source contributor and former board member of the KDE e.V. He founded Nextcloud in 2016 to create a fully open source and decentralized alternative to big centralized cloud companies. Frank was an invited expert at the W3C to help to create the ActivityPub standard. Frank has spoken at MIT, CERN, Harvard and ETH and keynoted LinuxCon, Latinoware, FOSSASIA, Campus Party and many other conferences. Frank is the founder and CEO of Nextcloud GmbH. He is also a fellow of Open Forum Europe and an advisor to the United Nations regarding Open Source. Frank won the European SFS Free Software Award 2023 and the Acteurs du Libre European Award 2023.

# Topic: The AI revolution: Navigating Challenges and Crafting Ethical Solutions for Open Source Software

Over the past year, we’ve witnessed a surge in AI systems such as ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, and Dall-E, among others. These large language models, exemplified by GPT, have ushered in a wave of groundbreaking features and products poised to reshape our world. However, alongside their promise, these language models present significant challenges that could adversely impact the Open Source and Open Tech community.

For instance, it remains uncertain whether universal access to the same ML models and training data will be attainable in the future. Can students, startups, and open source enthusiasts cultivate innovative products with AI on par with the collaborative ethos of open source communities fostering Open Code and Open Tech? Moreover, how do we ensure that AI systems do not perpetuate discrimination against underrepresented minorities? Additionally, what are the environmental implications, including energy consumption and CO2 emissions, of deploying these massive AI systems?

This talk will delve into the prevailing challenges surrounding AI including the Ethical AI framework, examining its implications for existing SaaS AI solutions versus open source local alternatives.

In its latter half, it will explore the Nextcloud community’s pioneering efforts in developing novel local and open source AI features. Furthermore, the ongoing dialogue to define an Open Source AI standard within the OSI community will be covered.

Register here to watch the talk and other very interesting ones.

[iosifidis]

Announcement of Keynote Speaker for FOSSCOMM 2024: Diomidis Spinellis

Diomidis Spinellis is a Professor in the Department of Management Science and Technology at the Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece. His research interests include software engineering, IT security, and cloud systems engineering. He has written two award-winning, widely-translated books: “Code Reading ” and “Code Quality: The Open Source Perspective ”. In 2016 he published the book Effective Debugging: 66 Specific Ways to Debug Software and Systems. Dr. Spinellis has also published more than 300 technical papers in journals and refereed conference proceedings, which have received more than 10000 citations. He served for a decade as a member of the IEEE Software editorial board, authoring the regular “Tools of the Trade” column, and as the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief over the period 2015–2018. He has contributed code that ships with Apple’s macOS and BSD Unix and is the developer of CScout, UMLGraph , dgsh , and other open-source software packages, libraries, and tools. He holds an MEng in Software Engineering and a PhD in Computer Science, both from Imperial College London. Dr. Spinellis has served as an elected member of the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors (2013–2015), and is a senior member of the ACM and the IEEE.

[iosifidis]

The Panhellenic Free and Open Source Software Conference (FOSSCOMM) is coming to the University of Macedonia on November 9-10, and the University of Macedonia Open Source Software Group invites you to participate!

If you are interested in the world of open-source software and want to learn about the latest advancements, participate in hands-on workshops and presentations, and connect with experts and community members, this is an event you won’t want to miss! FOSSCOMM attracts hundreds of participants each year, providing a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, collaborate on problem-solving, explore new trends, and see how companies and individuals use open-source software to enhance efficiency. It’s also an excellent opportunity to discover new career paths and contribute to the ongoing development of the Open Source community in Greece.

This year, we are honored to welcome three distinguished keynote speakers with significant contributions to the open-source community both in Greece and internationally:

• Frank Karlitschek, founder and CEO of Nextcloud, one of the world’s leading open-source cloud companies.
• Luis Falcon, founder and visionary of GNU Solidario and author of the GNU Health software, used by hundreds of healthcare facilities worldwide.
• Diomidis Spinellis, Professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business, with a longstanding commitment and contribution to open-source software.

Their talks aim to provide valuable insights and highlight the importance of open-source software in today’s technological landscape.

The event will also be live-streamed, allowing remote participation for those who cannot attend in person.

Join us for FOSSCOMM 2024 at the University of Macedonia and be part of an inspiring gathering of open-source enthusiasts!