Call for papers - CFP
The call for conferences has been closed since June 24th.
Thank you to everyone who participated! 315 proposals were collected this year.
The Open Source Experience conference program is developed based on a call for proposals. Proposals for presentations are subject to validation by a program committee which will select the proposals that best meet the program's objectives. Themes or tracks are defined each year. The program committee is composed of a pool of experts for each track and coordinated by the Open Source Hub of Systematic Paris-Region.
New this year… This year, we will be organizing, for one afternoon… Lightning Talks: short presentation, between 5 and 10 minutes.
The ambitions of the program
Central theme for 2026: Open source is no longer an option
Open source powers the internet, cloud computing, and AI. The question is no longer about choosing, but about embracing that choice as the backbone of digital sovereignty and ceasing to treat it as a commodity. In a context of increased regulation and costly dependencies, the challenge is now industrial, sovereign, and human. The building blocks exist. What's still lacking is clarity in the offering: the ability to structure complete supply chains, to finance and scale open ecosystems that deliver on their promises.
From this perspective, the program for this sixth edition is structured around the central theme: "Open source in action." No abstract concept, but... concrete choices where each conference addresses a real problem and shows how Open Source provides a credible, deployed, measurable solution.
The program will therefore focus on the use cases, feedback, live demos, customer testimonials, concrete metricsby giving a voice to a diversity of perspectives: CIOs, decision-makers, communities, developers, teachers, startups, large corporations.
Preference will be given to feedback focused on the problems encountered by the user and how they addressed them.Innovative viewpoints from speakers recognized for their expertise are also expected.
Beyond the call for conferences, we will be organizing this year, for one afternoon, Lightning Talks A short presentation, between 5 and 10 minutes. More information at the end of the page.
The 6 themes selected for 2026
Open Source is no longer an option. Towards an industrial, sovereign, and readily available open source.
Selection process
Step #1 – Collecting proposals
The collection of proposals will be open from April 29 to June 24, 2026During this period, participants submit their proposals on the dedicated platform.
Native French speakers are invited to submit in French; other speakers are invited to submit in English.
Step #2 – CFP Closure and Initial Selection
The program committee members review and evaluate proposals within their assigned theme using a rating scale of 1 to 5. This results in an initial selection. Applicants may be asked to clarify a proposal or answer questions during the selection process.
The program committee reserves the right to reassign a proposal to a more suitable theme, and to ask a bidder to adapt their proposal so that it is more in line with the program's editorial line.
Step #3 – Final Deliberation
Early July 2026The program committee members will make their selection from the proposals retained in step #2, based on the editorial line they wish to give to their theme and the number of slots available for each theme.
Conferences within a given theme may be organized into sub-themes. A submitter may be offered the opportunity to join a roundtable discussion instead of submitting their individual conference proposal.
A review of all selected proposals will be conducted to ensure that the program is well balanced, that no organization is overrepresented, and that diversity issues are respected among the speakers.
Once the final list is established, successful applicants will be contacted and asked to confirm their participation in the event. Unsuccessful speakers and those on the waiting list will also be notified.
Step #4 – Launching the program
End of August 2026The program committee will develop the program schedule. Each speaker will then be notified of their scheduled day and time. The program will be available online in early September 2026.
Lightning Talks
This year, we will be organizing Lightning Talks for an afternoon: short presentations, between 5 and 10 minutes.
The goal:
- Quickly share an idea, an open source project or feedback by focusing on a single key message, without going into too much detail.
- Be clear, dynamic, and make people want to know more.
A call for proposals for Lightning Talks will be launched in September 2026.
Of course, nothing is ever perfect, so we are constantly refining this selection process. Despite the fact that the selection is becoming increasingly difficult, our goal remains simple: to offer our participants the best possible program!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at contact@opensource-experience.com and we will be happy to discuss them with you in more detail.