UbuCon Asia 2026 was a fantastic experience. This year, UbuCon Asia was co-located with COSCUP at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) in Taipei, Taiwan.
This marked my third time attending UbuCon Asia. My first was in Jaipur, India (2024), where I attended as a speaker. I later initiated the bid and led the local organizing team for UbuCon Asia 2025 in Kathmandu, Nepal - my first time organizing UbuCon Asia and my second time speaking. Following the success of the 2025 event, I was invited to join the global organizing team, which brought me back to organize this year’s edition alongside a wonderful group of co-organizers.
Pre-Event Planning & Collaboration
The start of this year’s journey wasn’t smooth. Some initial host bids did not materialize, leaving us searching for a capable local team to carry forward UbuCon Asia’s legacy. Rj Tsiao (@rjhsiao), a fellow global committee member, stepped up and initiated the plan to co-locate UbuCon Asia with COSCUP. We are all deeply grateful for his leadership and hard work in keeping UbuCon Asia going strong.
Organizing alongside the local team felt seamless because I had already met several members ( @rjhsiao and @Buo-Ren_Lin ) back in Jaipur. Their familiarity with UbuCon Asia helped the logistics run smoothly. Furthermore, our collaboration with COSCUP was incredibly fruitful. Their team was supportive, understanding, and responsive during joint meetings. I had previously met a few COSCUP organizers while staffing the GNOME booth at FOSSASIA earlier this year, where they were running the COSCUP booth.
Leaving Nepal
During my previous overseas UbuCon Asia trip, I traveled alone. This time was different: I was joined by fellow Ubuntu Nepal and GNOME Nepal contributor, @saileshsingh . Back in Jaipur, I was the sole Nepali speaker; this year in Taipei, our contingent included five Nepali speakers, which reflects how much the Nepali Ubuntu community has grown since 2024. We took a night flight to land in Taipei early on the day before the event (Day 0) to assist with venue setup and orientation.
Day 0: August 07 – Setup & Welcome Party
We landed in Taipei in the afternoon, checked in, freshened up, and immediately headed to NTUST. The organizing team had planned a 3:00 PM meetup to set up the booths, map out the venue, and then head over to the welcome party together.
Reconnecting with fellow organizers, @rjhsiao after two years and @sukso96100 after a few months, was refreshing. We immediately dove into setting up the UbuCon Asia booth. Along the way, I caught up with familiar community faces: @choo121600 , who was setting up the Ubu4Cut Photo Booth, as well as @ilvipero and @gschiano , who were setting up the Canonical booth.
Note to @ilvipero : Thank you for the orange Ubuntu T-shirt! I know your secret mission is to get me to wear the orange T-shirt you gave me at every conference. Whether the mission was successful or not, you’ll find out next time we meet! (Also, RIP to our failed attempt at setting up the tripod for the video interviews!)
@rjhsiao provided us with our organizer T-shirts, which looked fantastic. Special thanks to the design team for the great work on the quality and artwork.
After finishing up at the venue, @saileshsingh , @aadityabyadav , Nirja Bhurtel , and I grabbed a quick late lunch ( we hadn't eaten anything the whole day ) before heading to the evening welcome party. The welcome party was packed and energetic. Getting a drink coupon was nice, but the absolute highlight was reconnecting with old friends in the community: @aryan , @ronitblenz , Vutukuri Sreenivas, Ananthu C V and Laksh Gambhir.
Day 1: August 08 – Conference Kickoff
Registration went flawlessly thanks to the COSCUP organizers handling entry logistics. Since my presentation was scheduled for Day 2, I headed straight to the booth area where UbuCon organizers and booth volunteers were finishing up setup and welcoming attendees.
The conference opened with a primary session by Rex Tsai. As I was managing social media coverage for the day, I captured photos and posted live updates to signal our official start.
My main responsibility for Day 1 was capturing video content and interviewing organizers, booth staff, attendees, and speakers to capture diverse perspectives. With @aryan assisting as a cameraman (and thanks to @sukso96100 for bringing the camera and microphone equipment), we recorded several attendee interviews that are now published! Later in the day, I stayed at the UbuCon Asia booth to field questions and engage with attendees.
We wrapped up Day 1 with our daily retrospective meeting. We discussed moderation, booth operations, and Code of Conduct compliance (notably, 0 complaints were reported). It was a smooth start that set a positive tone for Day 2.
Day 2: August 09 – Speaker Session & Closing
My session was scheduled for Day 2: “Rebuilding Ubuntu Nepal: A Playbook for Reviving Open Source Communities.”
I arrived at the venue fully prepared for my talk and my organizer duties. I had updated my slides with new insights late the previous night, which I had to finalize early in the morning. I also needed to transfer all the footage from Day 1 to @ilvipero ; once he gave me drive access, I offloaded all the media files to him and resumed booth duty until my talk slot.
During my presentation setup, my laptop battery died due to a plug/charging port mismatch between Taiwan and Nepal power outlets. Huge thanks to @fenris for lending me his laptop to present, and to @aadityabyadav and @saileshsingh for stepping in to help troubleshoot.
Following my talk, I handled session moderation duties in the AU hall after the coffee break. Afterward, the UbuCon team held a final sync meeting before heading to the closing ceremony. We concluded the event with the official conference dinner.
Reflections & Gratitude
Taipei is a wonderful city. I was deeply impressed by the warm hospitality of the Taiwanese people, the peaceful environment, and the vibrant local tech culture.
I am sincerely grateful to Ubuntu and the Community Donations Application (CDA) for empowering contributors to travel, connect, and represent their local communities internationally. Without the CDA’s backing and the dedication of my fellow Ubuntu, UbuCon Asia, and COSCUP team members, this conference would not have been possible for me.
Thank you to all the organizers, booth volunteers, speakers, and attendees who made UbuCon Asia 2026 @ COSCUP a success. Together, we have built fresh ideas, formed new friendships, and renewed our shared commitment to open source!