Summary
FOSSASIA proposes to bring an Open Source Hub to Devcon 8 India, creating a dedicated space for developers, maintainers, contributors, and open source communities across the Ethereum ecosystem. The Open Source Hub was previously hosted by FOSSASIA and community partners at Devcon 7 SEA and Devconnect Argentina. Building on these experiences, the Hub will continue to provide an open and accessible environment for technical exchange, contributor engagement, project showcases, and community collaboration.
Motivation and Rationale
Open source is fundamental to Ethereum. The ecosystem depends on thousands of developers and maintainers collaborating openly across clients, infrastructure, developer tools, wallets, protocols, applications, and public goods.
However, the people maintaining this infrastructure do not always have a dedicated space to connect with one another or with the broader Ethereum community.
The Open Source Community Hub addresses this gap by creating an informal, community-driven environment where attendees can:
- Meet open source maintainers and contributors
- Discover projects and opportunities to contribute
- See live demonstrations of open source technologies
- Discuss sustainability, governance, and maintainer challenges
- Share practical knowledge and development experience
- Connect with local and international open source communities
- Start collaborations that continue beyond Devcon
The Hub is designed to make open source contributions visible, approachable, and accessible, particularly for developers and newcomers who may not yet have a clear entry point into the ecosystem.
Implementation
Production Requirements
We aim to create a collaborative and accessible space that encourages dialogue, hands-on participation, and informal engagement. We look for standard provisions such as:
- Chairs, tables, and open seating layout
- TV or LED screen for talks and demos
- Microphones (2 handheld + 1 clip-on/lapel) for speakers
- Reliable Wi-Fi access
- Power outlets and extension
- Wireless headphones for participants
In addition, we plan to source and bring the following:
- Roll-up banners and signage
- Portable camera equipment for content documentation
- Printed materials: self-guide manual, project brochures etc.
Programming
Buckets of topics
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Open Source & Ethereum Infrastructure: Ethereum clients, L2s, wallets, developer tooling, protocols, and the open source infrastructure powering the ecosystem
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Maintaining & Sustaining Open Source: Open source governance, maintainer sustainability, funding, licensing, security, contributor communities, and long-term project health
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Contributing to Open Source: Practical pathways for developers and newcomers to discover projects, find issues, make their first contribution, and become long-term contributors
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Open Source & Public Goods: How open source contributes to digital public infrastructure, public goods, and decentralized technology
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Emerging Technologies & Open Source: AI, hardware, developer tools, and other emerging technologies intersecting with Ethereum and open source
India-specific activities
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Showcasing Indian open source projects and contributors: Highlighting Indian projects, maintainers, startups, and developer communities contributing to Ethereum and the wider open source ecosystem
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Indian developer community meetups: Bringing together local developers, students, open source communities, and Ethereum contributors
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Contributor onboarding sessions: Hands-on sessions hosted by featured projects to help new contributors understand projects, find contribution opportunities, and get started
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Project demos and technical showcases: Live demonstrations of open source projects and technologies developed by Indian and international teams
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Open source collaboration sessions: Connecting Indian developers with international maintainers and projects to explore collaboration and contribution opportunities
Sample daily program (10:00 – 17:00; repeated and adapted across the event)
| Time | Session | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00–10:30 | Welcome, community introduction & networking | Light, engaging |
| 10:30–12:00 | Open Source & Ethereum Infrastructure — talks, lightning talks + Q&A | Heavier |
| 12:00–13:00 | Project showcases & contributor onboarding | Interactive |
| 13:00–14:00 | Community lunch, maintainer networking & project introductions | Light |
| 14:00–15:30 | Maintaining Open Source — governance, sustainability, security + discussion | Heavier |
| 15:30–17:00 | Open hours — demos, contributor sessions, project pitches & community discussions | Light |
All-day: Community board, project showcase area, contributor onboarding desk, and open networking space. We will also host project onboarding sessions and invite open source projects and maintainers to present their work, challenges, and opportunities for contribution.
The final schedule will be developed collaboratively with the Devcon community, participating projects, and local Indian open source communities. We will invite community contributions to the program and crowdsource speakers and sessions across the topic areas above.
Neutrality & Community Representation
All speakers and sessions will be curated based on community value and technical merit, not business incentives. FOSSASIA is an inclusive and diverse organization, with contributors from around the world. We believe in open participation and cross-borders collaboration.
Audience
The Hub is intended for a broad range of participants, including:
- Ethereum developers and protocol contributors
- Open source maintainers and project contributors
- Students, early-career developers, and aspiring open source contributors
- Open source community organizers and technical communities
- Researchers and technical practitioners
- Indian developer communities and universities
- International projects and maintainers looking to connect with the Indian developer ecosystem
A particular focus will be placed on engaging local Indian developer and open source communities, creating opportunities for them to connect with international maintainers, discover projects, and become active contributors to the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
Team
The Open Source Community Hub will be organized by the FOSSASIA Team India. FOSSASIA has been organizing developer and open source events across Asia, Europe, and other regions for more than 15 years.
FOSSASIA is also among the most active open source organizations in India by the number of active GitHub contributors. Our active contributors in India develop and maintain projects across the FOSSASIA ecosystem and contribute to the wider global open source community.
Team Members
The core team for the Open Source Community Hub will include:
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Mario Behling: Founder of FOSSASIA and open source maintainer with nearly 20 years of experience in open source development and community building.
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Hong Phuc Dang: Long-time open source community builder, with extensive experience organizing developer events and building international contributor communities.
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Srivatsav Auswin India-based open source developer and FOSSASIA maintainer, supporting technical programming and project engagement.
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Saksham Sirohi: India-based FOSSASIA event organizer and community coordinator, supporting program development and on-site operations.
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Arnav Angarkar: India-based open source contributor and community organizer, supporting local developer outreach and community engagement.
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Many more local volunteers: Supporting speaker coordination, project onboarding, logistics, and participant engagement throughout the event.
Collaborator welcome
We welcome collaboration with community partners and individual maintainers and contributors who would like to help bring the Hub to life and shape its program and activities. If you are interested, please write to us at office@fossasia.org or ping @hpdang on Telegram.