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Program guide

How to apply to FOSDEM 2027 Main Track Call for Participation

Call for 25- or 50-minute main-track talks on free and open source software at FOSDEM, the free community conference in Brussels (January 30-31, 2027).

Official pageListing details

Step by step

  1. Check that you are eligibleThe published rules: Open to working professionals, researchers, creators and freelancers, students; Talks must relate to free and open source software, in English; recordings/slides published under CC-BY; Code of Conduct applies.
  2. Gather the materialsYou will need: Abstract, Short bio.
  3. Write the answersRead the call for scope, page limit, template and anonymity rules before writing; format violations lead to desk rejection.
  4. Submit on the official pageApply through the official page (Pretalx) before 16 November 2026, and keep the confirmation.
  5. Follow upNote when results are due. If the organiser invites questions, ask once, briefly, after the date has passed.

Timeline

  1. 56 days before the deadlineRead the call and set up accountsCheck scope, page limit, template and anonymity rules; create submission-system profiles for every author.
  2. 14 days before the deadlineRegister the abstractWhere the call has an abstract deadline, register title, abstract and authors before it.
  3. By 11 November 2026Final checksCheck format, anonymity, references and supplementary material against the call.
  4. By 15 November 2026SubmitUpload the final version a day early and keep the submission number.

Questions you will meet, answered honestly

What is the paper's contribution?

State it in one or two sentences in the abstract and introduction, and make sure the experiments support exactly that claim.

Is the submission properly anonymous?

For double-blind venues, remove names, acknowledgements and identifying links, and cite your own work in the third person.

What reviewers of conference calls for papers look for

  • Read the call for scope, page limit, template and anonymity rules before writing; format violations lead to desk rejection.
  • Create your submission-system account and co-author profiles early; some systems take days to approve new accounts.
  • Put every date in your calendar: abstract registration, full paper, supplementary material and rebuttal.
The full playbook for conference calls for papers

How Onward Scout helps

This one is submitted on the organiser's own site, behind your login. Onward Scout prepares every answer and file in the form's order with one-tap copy, so submitting takes minutes; you mark it submitted when you're done.

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Let Onward Scout prepare your FOSDEM 2027 Main Track Call for Participation application

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