FOSDEM 2025

Like every year for the past 25 years, thousands of developers and open-source enthusiasts gathered at the Brussels University campus for two days of talks, events, hacking, and discussions.

Open-source has always been a core element in SparkFabrik’s DNA, so we couldn’t miss this fantastic event this year as well.

Drupal is Here and starting to make waves in Europe

The Drupal project has always had a strong presence at FOSDEM: from 2008 to 2012, FOSDEM’s website itself was built with Drupal, and in recent years, there have been interesting sessions such as Mike Gifford’s presentation on accessibility in 2023 or Gábor Hojtsy’s talk on multilingual features in 2024.

This year, the Drupal Association (DA) wanted to push further by having a dedicated stand to promote Drupal, particularly Drupal CMS.

Coordinated by Lenny Moskalyk, Delivery Manager of the DA, a team of volunteers took turns engaging with the many people who stopped by the stand to learn more about the project. Among Saturday morning’s volunteers was our own Luca Lusso, a long-time Drupal developer and member of SparkFabrik’s Drupal Team United.

This initiative is just one of the first that the DA plans to implement, especially in Europe, to increase awareness and adoption of Drupal.

AI, AI Everywhere

Unsurprisingly, Artificial Intelligence is becoming one of the most discussed topics in the open-source world as well.

Nearly 30 talks took place in one of the campus’s largest rooms, which was almost always completely full, demonstrating the community’s strong interest in working on open models and infrastructures.

Indeed, the main themes covered were open-source models and how to run them optimally on one’s infrastructure.

Meanwhile, No PHP

Notable absences included major web frameworks like Symfony and Laravel, as well as all the innovations the language has seen in recent years.

Strange indeed, but perhaps this is because modern PHP is now a mainstream and well-established technology.

Open Source is Alive and Attractive

More than 8,000 participants, overcrowded rooms often impossible to enter, historic projects alongside innovative new technologies, LEDs, electronics, and abundant passion.

All this demonstrates how open-source remains probably the only sustainable model for software production, capable of advancing large projects with communities of thousands of people actively collaborating toward common ideals.

So many fascinating Stands

While entering the rooms is often difficult, wandering around the campus and visiting the stands is one of FOSDEM’s experiences accessible to everyone.

Seeing prototypes in person that could become real products tomorrow is very interesting and often gives an idea of where communities are heading.

FOSDEM 2025 confirmed once again how community-driven events are vital for technological innovation. For SparkFabrik, participating is not just an opportunity to stay updated but a way to immerse ourselves in that collaborative ecosystem that has always inspired our work.

Drupal is moving forward with renewed momentum in Europe, open-source AI is opening unexpected frontiers, and PHP’s absence, though curious, reminds us that every technology has its visibility cycles. But above all, the thousands of faces encountered between stands and sessions speak of a global community that never stops believing in the power of sharing.

We return home not only with new ideas to experiment with but with the certainty that open-source is more than ever an engine of progress. And we’re already looking forward to contributing, next year too, to writing a new chapter in this story made of code, passion, and shared vision.