If you intend to apply for a DebConf18 bursary and have not yet done so, please proceed as soon as possible!

Bursary applications for DebConf18 will be accepted until April 13th at 23:59 UTC. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

You can apply for a bursary when you register for the conference.

Remember that giving a talk or organising an event is considered towards your bursary; if you have a submission to make, submit it even if it is only sketched-out. You will be able to detail it later. DebCamp plans can be entered in the usual Sprints page at the Debian wiki.

Please make sure to double-check your accommodation choices (dates and venue). Details about accommodation arrangements can be found on the wiki.

See you in Hsinchu!

The DebConf Content team would like to call for proposals in the DebConf18 conference, which will take place in Hsinchu, Taiwan, from 29 July to 5 August 2018.

You can find this Call for Proposals, in its latest form at: https://debconf18.debconf.org/cfp/.

Please refer to this URL for updates on the present information.

Suggesting a Speaker

The content team has a (limited) number of spots for invited speakers and is open to suggestions. Priority will be given to speakers who are not regular DebConf attendees, and who are more likely to bring diverse viewpoints to the conference.

Please keep in mind that some speakers may have very busy schedules and need to be booked far in advance. Therefore, we would like to start inviting speakers as soon as possible.

In order to suggest a speaker, please email content@debconf.org; your email should provide the following information:

• The speaker's preferred name
• Their location (for travel budget considerations)
• Their affiliation (institution and/or project)
• The suggested talk topic
• Brief biography (50-100 words) as it relates to the suggested topic
• The topic's relevance to Debian and/or DebConf

Please, note that the Code of Conduct applies to invited speakers and their talks, and coming to DebConf (incl. accepting an invitation) requires them to accept it.

Submitting an Event

You can now submit an event proposal. Events are not limited to traditional presentations or informal sessions (BoFs): we welcome submissions of tutorials, performances, art installations, debates, or any other format of event that you think would be of interest to the Debian community.

Regular sessions may either be 20 or 45 minutes long (including time for questions), other kinds of sessions (workshops, demos, lightning talks, ...) could have different durations. Please choose the most suitable duration for your event and explain any special requests.

While we cannot offer travel funding for all speakers, DebConf has various bursaries for attendees, including a diversity one, and having your event accepted is something that is taken into account.

You will need to create an account on the site, to submit a talk. We suggest that Debian account holders (including DDs and DMs) to use Debian SSO when creating an account. However, this isn’t required, as you can sign up with an e-mail address and password.

Timeline

If you depend on having your proposal accepted in order to attend the conference, please submit it in a timely fashion so that it can be considered (and potentially accepted) as soon as possible.

All proposals must be submitted before Sunday 17 June 2018 to be evaluated for the official schedule.

Topics and Tracks

Though we invite proposals on any Debian or FLOSS related subject, we have some broad topics on which we encourage people to submit proposals, including but not limited to:

• Blends
• Cloud and containers
• Debian in Science
• Embedded
• Packaging, policy and infrastructure
• Security
• Social context
• Systems administration, automation and orchestration

You are welcome to either suggest more tracks, or to become a coordinator for any of them; please refer to the Content Tracks wiki page for more information on that.

Code of Conduct

Our event is covered by a Code of Conduct designed to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort. The code applies to all attendees, including speakers and the content of their presentations. Do not hesitate to contact us at content@debconf.org if you have any questions or are unsure about certain content you’d like to present.

Video Coverage

Providing video is one of the conference goals, as it makes the content accessible to a wider audience. Unless speakers opt-out, scheduled talks may be streamed live over the Internet to promote remote participation, and recordings will be published later under the DebConf license (MIT/Expat), as well as presentation slides and papers whenever available.

Closing note

DebConf18 is still accepting sponsors; if you are interested, or think you know of others who would be willing to help, please get in touch!

In case of any questions, or if you wanted to bounce some ideas off us first, please do not hesitate to reach out to the content team at content@debconf.org.

We hope to see you in Hsinchu!

The DebConf team

Today, Saturday 12 August 2017, the annual Debian Developers and Contributors Conference came to a close. With over 405 people attending from all over the world, and 169 events including 89 talks, 61 discussion sessions or BoFs, 6 workshops and 13 other activities, DebConf17 has been hailed as a success.

Highlights included DebCamp with 117 participants, the Open Day, where events of interest to a broader audience were offered, talks from invited speakers (Deb Nicholson, Matthew Garrett and Katheryn Sutter), the traditional Bits from the DPL, lightning talks and live demos and the announcement of next year's DebConf (DebConf18 in Hsinchu, Taiwan).

The schedule has been updated every day, including 32 ad-hoc new activities, planned by attendees during the whole conference.

For those not able to attend, talks and sessions were recorded and live streamed, and videos are being made available at the Debian meetings archive website. Many sessions also facilitated remote participation via IRC or a collaborative pad.

The DebConf17 website will remain active for archive purposes, and will continue to offer links to the presentations and videos of talks and events.

Next year, DebConf18 will be held in Hsinchu, Taiwan, from 29 July 2018 until 5 August 2018. It will be the first DebConf held in Asia. For the days before DebConf the local organisers will again set up DebCamp (21 July - 27 July), a session for some intense work on improving the distribution, and organise the Open Day on 28 July 2018, aimed at the general public.

DebConf is committed to a safe and welcome environment for all participants. See the DebConf Code of Conduct and the Debian Code of Conduct for more details on this.

Debian thanks the commitment of numerous sponsors to support DebConf17, particularly our Platinum Sponsors Savoir-Faire Linux, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Google.

About Savoir-faire Linux

Savoir-faire Linux is a Montreal-based Free/Open-Source Software company with offices in Quebec City, Toronto, Paris and Lyon. It offers Linux and Free Software integration solutions in order to provide performance, flexibility and independence for its clients. The company actively contributes to many free software projects, and provides mirrors of Debian, Ubuntu, Linux and others.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is one of the largest computer companies in the world, providing a wide range of products and services, such as servers, storage, networking, consulting and support, software, and financial services.

HPE is also a development partner of Debian, and provides hardware for port development, Debian mirrors, and other Debian services.

About Google

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

Google has been supporting Debian by sponsoring DebConf since more than ten years, at gold level since DebConf12, and at platinum level for this DebConf17.