On Sunday 17 September 2023, the annual Debian Developers and Contributors Conference came to a close.

Over 474 attendees representing 35 countries from around the world came together for a combined 89 events made up of Talks, Discussons, Birds of a Feather (BoF) gatherings, workshops, and activities in support of furthering our distribution, learning from our mentors and peers, building our community, and having a bit of fun.

The conference was preceded by the annual DebCamp hacking session held September 3d through September 9th where Debian Developers and Contributors convened to focus on their Individual Debian related projects or work in team sprints geared toward in-person collaboration in developing Debian.

In particular this year Sprints took place to advance development in Mobian/Debian, Reproducible Builds, and Python in Debian. This year also featured a BootCamp that was held for newcomers staged by a team of dedicated mentors who shared hands-on experience in Debian and offered a deeper understanding of how to work in and contribute to the community.

The actual Debian Developers Conference started on Sunday 10 September 2023.

In addition to the traditional 'Bits from the DPL' talk, the continuous key-signing party, lightning talks and the announcement of next year's DebConf4, there were several update sessions shared by internal projects and teams.

Many of the hosted discussion sessions were presented by our technical teams who highlighted the work and focus of the Long Term Support (LTS), Android tools, Debian Derivatives, Debian Installer, Debian Image, and the Debian Science teams. The Python, Perl, and Ruby programming language teams also shared updates on their work and efforts.

Two of the larger local Debian communities, Debian Brasil and Debian India shared how their respective collaborations in Debian moved the project forward and how they attracted new members and opportunities both in Debian, F/OSS, and the sciences with their HowTos of demonstrated community engagement.

The schedule was updated each day with planned and ad-hoc activities introduced by attendees over the course of the conference. Several activities that were unable to be held in past years due to the Global COVID-19 Pandemic were celebrated as they returned to the conference's schedule: a job fair, the open-mic and poetry night, the traditional Cheese and Wine party, the group photos and the Day Trips.

For those who were not able to attend, most of the talks and sessions were videoed for live room streams with the recorded videos to be made available later through the Debian meetings archive website. Almost all of the sessions facilitated remote participation via IRC messaging apps or online collaborative text documents which allowed remote attendees to 'be in the room' to ask questions or share comments with the speaker or assembled audience.

DebConf23 saw over 4.3 TiB of data streamed, 55 hours of scheduled talks, 23 network access points, 11 network switches, 75 kb of equipment imported, 400 meters of gaffer tape used, 1,463 viewed streaming hours, 461 T-shirts, 35 country Geoip viewers, 5 day trips, and an average of 169 meals planned per day.

All of these events, activies, conversations, and streams coupled with our love, interest, and participation in Debian annd F/OSS certainly made this conference an overall success both here in Kochi, India and On-line around the world.

The DebConf23 website will remain active for archival purposes and will continue to offer links to the presentations and videos of talks and events.

Next year, DebConf24 will be held in Haifa, Israel. As tradition follows before the next DebConf the local organizers in Israel will start the conference activites with DebCamp with particular focus on individual and team work towards improving the distribution.

DebConf is committed to a safe and welcome environment for all participants. See the web page about the Code of Conduct in DebConf23 website for more details on this.

Debian thanks the commitment of numerous sponsors to support DebConf23, particularly our Platinum Sponsors: Infomaniak, Proxmox, and Siemens.

We also wish to thank our Video and Infrastructure teams, the DebConf23 and DebConf commitiees, our host nation of India, and each and every person who helped contribute to this event and to Debian overall.

Thank you all for your work in helping Debian continue to be "The Universal Operating System".

See you next year!

About Debian

The Debian Project was founded in 1993 by Ian Murdock to be a truly free community project. Since then the project has grown to be one of the largest and most influential open source projects. Thousands of volunteers from all over the world work together to create and maintain Debian software. Available in 70 languages, and supporting a huge range of computer types, Debian calls itself the universal operating system.

About DebConf

DebConf is the Debian Project's developer conference. In addition to a full schedule of technical, social and policy talks, DebConf provides an opportunity for developers, contributors and other interested people to meet in person and work together more closely. It has taken place annually since 2000 in locations as varied as Scotland, Argentina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. More information about DebConf is available from https://debconf.org/.

About Infomaniak

Infomaniak is a key player in the European cloud market and the leading developer of Web technologies in Switzerland. It aims to be an independent European alternative to the web giants and is committed to an ethical and sustainable Web that respects privacy and creates local jobs. Infomaniak develops cloud solutions (IaaS, PaaS, VPS), productivity tools for online collaboration and video and radio streaming services.

About Proxmox

Proxmox develops powerful, yet easy-to-use open-source server software. The product portfolio from Proxmox, including server virtualization, backup, and email security, helps companies of any size, sector, or industry to simplify their IT infrastructures. The Proxmox solutions are based on the great Debian platform, and we are happy that we can give back to the community by sponsoring DebConf23.

About Siemens

Siemens is technology company focused on industry, infrastructure and transport. From resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation, and advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to enhance the everyday of billions of people.

Contact Information

For further information, please visit the DebConf23 web page at https://debconf23.debconf.org/ or send mail to press@debian.org.

DebConf23, the 24th annual Debian Developer Conference, is taking place in Kochi, India from September 10th to 17th, 2023.

Debian contributors from all over the world have come together at Infopark, Kochi to participate and work in a conference exclusively run by volunteers.

Today the main conference starts with over 373 expected attendants and 92 scheduled activities, including 45-minute and 20-minute talks, Bird of a Feather ("BoF") team meetings, workshops, a job fair, as well as a variety of other events.

The full schedule is updated each day, including activities planned ad-hoc by attendees over the course of the conference.

If you would like to engage remotely, you can follow the video streams available from the DebConf23 website for the events happening in the three talk rooms: Anamudi, Kuthiran and Ponmudi. Or you can join the conversations happening inside the talk rooms via the OFTC IRC network in the #debconf-anamudi,  #debconf-kuthiran, and the #debconf-ponmudi channels. Please also join us in the #debconf channel for common discussions related to DebConf.

You can also follow the live coverage of news about DebConf23 provided by our micronews service or the @debian profile on your favorite social network.

DebConf is committed to a safe and welcoming environment for all participants. Please see our Code of Conduct page on the DebConf23 website for more information on this.

Debian thanks the commitment of numerous sponsors to support DebConf23, particularly our Platinum Sponsors: Infomaniak, Proxmox and Siemens.

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DebConf23, the 24th edition of the Debian conference is taking place in Infopark at Kochi, Kerala, India. Thanks to the hard work of its organizers, it will be, this year as well, an interesting and fruitful event for attendees.

We would like to warmly welcome the sponsors of DebConf23, and introduce them to you.

We have three Platinum sponsors.

• Our first Platinum sponsor is Infomaniak. Infomaniak is a key player in the European cloud market and the leading developer of Web technologies in Switzerland. It aims to be an independent European alternative to the web giants and is committed to an ethical and sustainable Web that respects privacy and creates local jobs. Infomaniak develops cloud solutions (IaaS, PaaS, VPS), productivity tools for online collaboration and video and radio streaming services.

• Proxmox is our second Platinum sponsor. Proxmox develops powerful, yet easy-to-use open-source server software. The product portfolio from Proxmox, including server virtualization, backup, and email security, helps companies of any size, sector, or industry to simplify their IT infrastructures. The Proxmox solutions are based on the great Debian platform, and we are happy that we can give back to the community by sponsoring DebConf23.

• Siemens is our third Platinum sponsor. Siemens is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure and transport. From resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation, and advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to enhance the everyday of billions of people.

Our Gold sponsors are:

• Lenovo, Lenovo is a global technology leader manufacturing a wide portfolio of connected products including smartphones, tablets, PCs and workstations as well as AR/VR devices, smart home/office and data center solutions.

• Freexian, Freexian is a services company specialized in Free Software and in particular Debian GNU/Linux, covering consulting, custom developments, support, training. Freexian has a recognized Debian expertise thanks to the participation of Debian developers.

• Google, Google is one of the largest technology companies in the world, providing a wide range of Internet-related services and products such as online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, software, and hardware.

• Ubuntu, the Operating System delivered by Canonical.

Our Silver sponsors are:

• The Bern University of Applied Sciences with near 7,800 students enrolled, located in the Swiss capital.
• Collabora, a global consultancy delivering Open Source software solutions to the commercial world.
• FOSS United, a non-profit foundation that aims at promoting and strengthening the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) ecosystem in India.
• The FSIJ, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Free Software growth and development.
• Civil Infrastructure Platform, a collaborative project hosted by the Linux Foundation, establishing an open source “base layer” of industrial grade software.
• Roche, a major international pharmaceutical provider and research company dedicated to personalized healthcare.
• Two Sigma, rigorous inquiry, data analysis, and invention to help solve the toughest challenges across financial services.
• Matanel Foundation, operates in Israel, as its first concern is to preserve the cohesion of a society and a nation plagued by divisions.
• The FOSSEE (Free/Libre and Open Source Software for Education) project promotes the use of FLOSS tools in academia and research. The project is part of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
• Arm: with the world’s Best SoC Design Portfolio, Arm powered solutions have been supporting innovation for more than 30 years and are deployed in over 225 billion chips to date.
• Kerala Vision Broadband is a subsidiary of Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) which provides high-speed internet services in the state of Kerala, India.

Bronze sponsors:

• BigBinary,
• Zerodha,
• passbolt,
• Univention,
• DeepRoot Linux,
• Mostly Harmless,
• hopbox.

And finally, our Supporter level sponsors:

• ETH Zurich,
• Gandi.net,
• evolix,
• Hudson River Trading.

A special thanks to the Infoparks Kerala, our Venue Partner!

Thanks to all our sponsors for their support! Their contributions make it possible for a large number of Debian contributors from all over the globe to work together, help and learn from each other in DebConf23.

Debian Celebrates 30 years!

We celebrated our birthday this year and we had a great time with new friends, new members welcomed to the community, and the world.

We have collected a few comments, videos, and discussions from around the Internet, and some images from some of the DebianDay2023 events. We hope that you enjoyed the day(s) as much as we did!

"Debian 30 years of collective intelligence" -Maqsuel Maqson

Brazil

Pouso Alegre, Brazil

Maceió, Brazil

Curitiba, Brazil

The cake is there. :)

Honorary Debian Developers: Buzz, Jessie, and Woody welcome guests to this amazing party.

Sao Carlos, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Stickers, and Fliers, and Laptops, oh my!

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Brasília, Brazil

Brasília, Brazil

Mexico

30 años!

A quick Selfie

We do not encourage beverages on computing hardware, but this one is okay by us.

Germany

30 years of love

The German Delegation is also looking for this dog who footed the bill for the party, then left mysteriously.

We took the party outside

We brought the party back inside at CCCamp

Belgium

Cake and Diversity in Belgium

El Salvador

Food and Fellowship in El Salvador

South Africa

Debian is also very delicious!

All smiles waiting to eat the cake

Reports

Debian Day 30 years in Maceió - Brazil

Debian Day 30 years in São Carlos - Brazil

Debian Day 30 years in Pouso Alegre - Brazil

Debian Day 30 years in Belo Horizonte - Brazil

Debian Day 30 years in Curitiba - Brazil

Debian Day 30 years in Brasília - Brazil

Debian Day 30 years online in Brazil

Articles & Blogs

Happy Debian Day - going 30 years strong - Liam Dawe

Debian Turns 30 Years Old, Happy Birthday! - Marius Nestor

30 Years of Stability, Security, and Freedom: Celebrating Debian’s Birthday - Bobby Borisov

Happy 30th Birthday, Debian! - Claudio Kuenzier

Debian is 30 and Sgt Pepper Is at Least Ninetysomething - Christine Hall

Debian turns 30! -Corbet

Thirty years of Debian! - Lennart Hengstmengel

Debian marks three decades as 'Universal Operating System' - Sam Varghese

Debian Linux Celebrates 30 Years Milestone - Joshua James

30 years on, Debian is at the heart of the world's most successful Linux distros - Liam Proven

Looking Back on 30 Years of Debian - Maya Posch

Cheers to 30 Years of Debian: A Journey of Open Source Excellence - arindam

Discussions and Social Media

Debian Celebrates 30 Years - Source: News YCombinator

Brand-new Linux release, which I'm calling the Debian ... Source: News YCombinator

Comment: Congrats @debian !!! Happy Birthday! Thank you for becoming a cornerstone of the #opensource world. Here's to decades of collaboration, stability & #software #freedom -openSUSELinux via X (formerly Twitter)

Comment: Today we #celebrate the 30th birthday of #Debian, one of the largest and most important cornerstones of the #opensourcecommunity. For this we would like to thank you very much and wish you the best for the next 30 years! Source: X (Formerly Twitter -TUXEDOComputers via X (formerly Twitter)

Happy Debian Day! - Source: Reddit.com

Video The History of Debian | The Beginning - Source: Linux User Space

Debian Celebrates 30 years -Source: Lobste.rs

Video Debian At 30 and No More Distro Hopping! - LWDW388 - Source: LinuxGameCast

Debian Celebrates 30 years! - Source: Debian User Forums

Debian Celebrates 30 years! - Source: Linux.org

We are pleased to announce that Siemens has committed to sponsor DebConf23 as Platinum Sponsor.

Siemens is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure and transport. From resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation, and advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the everyday for billions of people.

With this commitment as Platinum Sponsor, Siemens is contributing to make possible our annual conference, and directly supporting the progress of Debian and Free Software, helping to strengthen the community that continues to collaborate on Debian projects throughout the rest of the year.

Thank you very much Siemens, for your support of DebConf23!