Oct 21, 2026, 12:08 PMNot to sound overdramatic but with each passing hour I’m getting more and more saddened by the rejection of the DEIB devroom that we proposed at #FOSDEM (an initiative driven by @RosannaSibora and @Gina)
It would have been so powerful to have a DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) track - to promote the visibility of a different kind of folks in tech AND celebrate them at Europe’s largest open source gathering.
A mini 🧵🥲
Oct 21, 2026, 12:09 PM2/4
I LOVED tinkering with computers in my childhood and teenage years and it never even occurred to me I could have gotten into computer science or engineering. I didn’t have any examples of that. I chose Mass Communication instead.
It’s only now, many many years later, that I have discovered the world of FOSS (thanks to the Fediverse) and self-hosting. I’m having so much fun and I almost wish I could turn back the clock and study to become a sysadmin (my heroes!)
Oct 21, 2026, 12:11 PM3/4
My child is at that age (5 almost 6) when girls start experiencing a confidence gap. I would have been a proud mamma to show her the incredible diversity of presenters in our devroom at FOSDEM.
I’ve been showing her examples of other kinds of excellence (than stereotypical cis white men - sorry no offense) since she was an infant.
But it’s so much more powerful when you discuss people you know IRL and can show actual examples...
Oct 21, 2026, 12:15 PM4/4
The rejection probably hurts a lot because in this new life, I feel like I have finally found my people and I am now looking forward to each edition of FOSDEM, like a homecoming 🥹
Maybe the silver lining in this is that I can turn the disappointment into a new creative project? Maybe a photo + short interview series celebrating underrepresented people in tech, who are brilliant trailblazers?
We really appreciate all your supportive messages today! Thanks! 🥲❤️
@_elena@mastodon.social 10000000% agree
Oct 21, 2026, 12:17 PM@ivan grazie Ivan! ❤️
Oct 21, 2026, 12:19 PM@_elena is a fringe event possible? I 'hacked' a commercial conf once by organizing something right next door. Which brought in ppl from the 'real' event.
Oct 21, 2026, 12:21 PMOct 21, 2026, 12:37 PM
@madbob Well no, if the perception is that people like you aren't as welcome there, you might not go. To get more diversity takes active steps, you can't take the attendance as being reflective of who is actually interested!
Oct 22, 2026, 3:22 PM
I note your lack of understanding; have you made any effort to remedy it?
Oct 21, 2026, 5:06 PM@_elena @ton I think you know that there are a lot of off-site events at FOSDEM. I'd be happy to help out with a Diversity event, before or after the weekend. There are a LOT of people in the FLOSS community who have worked hard on these issues, and you could probably get funding to offset the costs. "DEIB: The Missing Devroom" seems like a great event to have.
Oct 21, 2026, 5:09 PM@_elena @ton @outreachy does great work, and @chaoss has a dedicated working group. @karen and @geekygirldawn might have other suggestions.
Oct 22, 2026, 1:36 AM@evan @_elena @ton @outreachy @chaoss @geekygirldawn
I'll be at FOSDEM and would be happy to participate in a side event! I'll see if I can think up any other suggestions, but it seems like others have come up with some good ones already. I can't speak for the other organizers, but I know I would be interested in a panel or talk proposal to discuss changed/changing policies around DEI and the impact on FOSS in the Legal & Policy Devroom...
Oct 21, 2026, 5:23 PM@evan thank you for the brilliant suggestions and the offer to help! "DEIB: The Missing Devroom" sounds AMAZING 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I'll discuss things with @Gina and @RosannaSibora ❤️
Oct 21, 2026, 8:07 PM@_elena I'd also say that it would be pretty cool to have a panel or other conversation in the Social Web Devroom about diversity on the Fediverse and in Fediverse software development, if anyone were to submit such a proposal...
Oct 21, 2026, 8:21 PM@evan ooooh amazing idea! I'll discuss this with @Gina and @RosannaSibora . Thank you Evan! ❤️
@_elena that seems like it would be a really good fit (Social Web Devroom). We should also have an offsite get together/roundtable-thing while we are all in the same place. Like @evan mentioned upthread or elsewhere CHAOSScon is good but I think there is an entry fee for attendees. OFFDEM (like Evan also mentioned) might be a good place to gather also. @Gina @RosannaSibora
@chillicampari @_elena @evan @Gina @RosannaSibora I like the fringe/offdem idea. I'm curious if a DEI panel on the main track could be possible. Might be a good first step to expose the problem. A bit more subversive of an idea, submitting a bunch of DEI talks to the main track.
@dannycolin I agree it needs to be in the main track. And a dedicated Devroom but in the meantime fringe should work. @_elena @evan @Gina @RosannaSibora
Oct 22, 2026, 2:03 AM@ton @_elena there was OFFDEM:
https://oxygen.offdem.net/pub/offdem-ourstory
Oct 21, 2026, 12:21 PMHi @_elena
I feel you, but found the smaller events much more impactful and rewarding than the mainstream big shots. It's honourable that you pitch the big stages, but if they don't want it, it's less your loss than theirs. Go to smaller events instead, e.g. the https://SFSCON.it and maybe pitch again next year.
Edit: Uh, or maybe do it at the parallel #OFFDEM https://infosec.exchange/@realn2s/117478966165129973
Btw. that's where I fisrt met @tommi
@_elena Was there a particular reason given for why it was rejected? Doesn't it overlap with the Community one?
@_elena is there a way to organise a place in protest close to FOSDEM? With Fronteers, we originally had a side-event "Jam session" which became an official part of the event quickly enough.
Oct 21, 2026, 12:38 PM@Anneke maybe we could do a gathering outside? like a mini march across the campus? what say you @RosannaSibora @Gina ?
@_elena @Anneke @RosannaSibora
Meh, I'd like to see if we can work with the Community devroom to still organize some talks, and maybe plan an inclusive meet-up on campus. With catering, since the food sucks every year 😂
Oct 21, 2026, 1:04 PM@Gina "with catering, since the food sucks" 💀 at the accuracy of this 😂 @Anneke @RosannaSibora
@_elena If you can't get a devroom, maybe you can host a meetup the day before or after (or even during?) the conference in a local café. You could ask the org to announce it somewhere on the site, similar to how they use to announce the beer event?
@_elena may I ask if it seems reasonable to create pamphlets to distribute at FOSDEM explaining that your devroom has been rejected and if there's no reason given, asking people to demand the reason in person?
This may be late for the con itself, ma maybe it would be healthier for the next (2028 maybe?)
@_elena really sorry to hear, it would have been amazing to attend such a devroom!
@_elena Libreplanet maybe? not sure when the next conference is. it's usually in the spring.
@_elena don't lose hope. Next year. You are so legit. I 've been in the floss community for 2 decades and the struggle to get out of niche computer scientist is so fucking hard. We need you so much. You are legit. You should be at home with us. Next year, we gonna do it ✊
Oct 21, 2026, 3:03 PM@lutindiscret thank you for the words of encouragement and all your support throughout the years 🥹
@_elena I really admire being capable to think of a silver lining and an actionable alternative like this! I'm always crushed for quite a while after rejections.
Oct 21, 2026, 3:16 PM@bammerlaan thank you Sebastiaan... it's kind of my MO. I'm even brainstorming ideas of custom apparel as a dig at the rejection. I may design a sweatshirt that reads "this is what a FOSS advocate looks like" 🤗
@_elena @bammerlaan it's cool hearing how you grew up tinkering with computers. I was the first generation in my family to go to college and also had no role models. I ended up in engineering because I asked my high school girlfriend what I should pick while filling out an application. I didn't understand what it actually was until my upper level classes started. Again no role models.
Taking what you know and using it with what you love like this is amazing and inspirational.
Oct 21, 2026, 4:07 PM@_elena @Gina Maybe there is another #OpenSource conference where you could add a few talks about it next year? ;-)
Oct 21, 2026, 4:46 PM
Oct 21, 2026, 7:16 PM@_elena I work with stories, it's my bread and (vegan) butter.
While it's incredibly annoying they won't allow a DEIB devroom telling stories of diversity in this field can be incredibly powerful, especially if you could create a website or dedicated account or something around it.
I never saw examples that even remotely looked like me in the fields that I was/am interested in and it really hampered me. While I do a lot of different things, one key part of my real life work is amplifying voices that aren't often heard and helping people find their voice. It's incredibly rewarding to do and can have a great positive impact on the person and their community.
I'd love for you to pursue this though I recognise it's a fair bit of effort.
Oct 21, 2026, 7:42 PMOct 22, 2026, 2:05 AM@_elena I am so sorry about this. Sadly, it does not surprise me, based on my previous experiences at FOSDEM. :blobcatsad:
Oct 22, 2026, 6:33 AM@rysiek thanks Michał ❤️ the silver lining is that with this rejection we're making some noise and putting the spotlight on the problem of lack of diversity there 🥲 and from the support we've been receiving, it seems that we have so many allies
Oct 22, 2026, 9:34 AM@_elena fantastic! Never waste a good crisis! ✊️
@_elena I think very much if there's no space for DDEI, etc in FOSDEM, we have to make our own spaces. maybe it's with https://linuxchix.org/
Maybe it's support people of colour creators.
Various people including me suggested that a DEIB-themed OFFDEM might be perfect.
Imagine giving this such PR that it becomes a) very well visited, detracting from FOSDEM, with opportunity to have a whole bunch of nice tracks there, including inclusive fedi, and b) rub it in at FOSDEM conf in all kinds of creative ways to attract attention to the fact that DEI deserves way more care in FOSS circles.
Just one way is stickers. FOSDEM is sponsored by Big Tech, Google et al. The organization advised presenters to respect the sponsors and not be overly critical. And in past years mysteriously the FOSDEM became full of stickers like below on the lantern pole. Guess where these stickers could be had in abundance..
@smallcircles @_elena Good to see those in Munich!
@_elena I was planning an ecouraging speech; basically don't get sad. Get better. Make adversity your companion and use it as a tool to get better, sharper, clearer, stronger. But after reading the comments I see that this is an example of how to do just that 😀
Carry on ❤️
That you got a bit sad, means your heart was in it. That's not a bad thing. That is worthwhile.
Oct 21, 2026, 12:20 PM@_elena I just had to read up on that confidence gap.
https://www.girlsschools.org/blog/blog-details/~board/blog/post/the-confidence-gap-myth-what-a-study-of-10000-students-revealed-about-girls-and-confidence
It's pretty shocking. Though I'm not sure whether/how biased this POV presented there is.
Oct 21, 2026, 4:46 PM@_elena My daughter was five or six when I worked for a dot-com company.
We brought her to a team evening at a pub (outside) and she started saying "You do this, you sit there" etc. and the CEO exclaimed "I need someone like her!". It was really sweet.
Not that it helps you right now, sorry. It just reminded me of it.
Oct 21, 2026, 4:51 PM@davep aw I love this story, thanks for sharing ❤️
So far my little one has no confidence problems. Quite the opposite!
One of my favorite recent anecdotes is from when we left a restaurant (where she had done a drawing during dinner) and she asked me if we were going to the Louvre the next day (I'm a member and I can go for free, so I bring her along).
I was like: "Why?"
And she replied, fully serious: "Because I want to hang my drawing there!" 😂😂😂
Oct 21, 2026, 4:52 PM@_elena Aww 😍
@_elena
As I said to my daughter; “stay in STEM as long as you cam.”
I got that from Indra Nooyi, the former boss of Pepsi Co.
She’s now in Civil Engineering & architecture.
@Paul_Harts @_elena #STEM designs out a lot of the human-caring / psychological / moral side and is mostly #mechanical. So #technology ends up working against us + funded by #industrial #state).
#Tech is limited in improving #humans (we need to pioneer #culture not just #tech).
Most people don't know how to socialise or improve trust.
So even the best Mastodon stays *software development* - never *people development* using it's people (incrementing #trust, bettering logic, making friends etc)
@collective_truth @_elena I think tech will safe us and will save humanity. It’s tech that enabled the sanitised water coming from your tap, Its tech that enabled your room to be 22°, it’s tech that allowed us to stay alive unbelievably much longer than 150 years ago. It’s tech that allowed me to place phone calls 20,000 kilometres away from where I was. Its tech that enables us to communicate with each other and try to understand each other a little bit better.
It’s unregulated algorithms that set up people against at each other, because the vast vast vast majority likes stuff that is ‘free’.
Did you already donate to Signal?
We innocently let Big Tech take a turn to the advertisement model, without realising the costs.
So, Its not to late.
I’m from the Netherlands. The country with the cheapest super-high-speed internet AND the country where youngsters meet up in person the most often compared to all of the other EU countries. So those two things can go hand in hand; being high-tech and social.
@Paul_Harts @_elena You miss the point, we had all that before.
Even without todays level of control & luxury, tech and it's control gets us in trouble in many more ways:
- doing things for profit than human sense,
- upsetting climate much sooner / more drastically,
- using tech against humans
I'm not happy about the Tech where we eliminate effective usage like so many cars that we can't drive or roads which needs to reduce nature; what we 100% can't live without.
Wiping nature out faster!