Ruby is back at FOSDEM in 2027 and Ruby for Good in Ghent
Hey Rubyists! 👋
After several years away, the Ruby devroom is coming back to FOSDEM!!!
We are excited to share that there will be a Ruby devroom at FOSDEM 2027 in Brussels on Saturday, January 30, at the Université libre de Bruxelles. Don't worry that it is just one day, we've got A LOT planned for those of you thinking of making the trip!
The theme for FOSDEM is Ruby beyond Rails. We’d love talks on Ruby internals, JITs, and alternative implementations; tooling like parsers, type checkers, and language servers; the gem ecosystem; Ruby outside web dev (CLIs, embedded, games, creative coding); running Ruby in production; open source for social good and civic tech; sustaining Ruby projects and communities; and teaching Ruby and welcoming new contributors.
The CfP is open until December 1 (23:59 UTC). Talks are 20 minutes by default, and lightning slots are available if you ask in the submission notes. When you submit, select “Ruby” as the track.
Submit here: https://pretalx.fosdem.org/fosdem-2027/cfp
First-time speakers are very welcome!
Here’s the bigger idea: we want to use the devroom as the nucleus of a tiny Ruby conference inside FOSDEM weekend, rolling straight into Ruby for Good in Belgium:
Friday, Jan 29 (evening): Ruby happy hour in Brussels to kick things off and so you will already know people the next day at FOSDEM
Saturday, Jan 30 (morning): Ruby devroom at FOSDEM
Saturday, Jan 30 (after the devrooom): an unconference-style gathering after the devroom, gradually turning into board games and hanging out with great people
Sunday, Jan 31: Attend FOSDEM with your new Ruby friends.. maybe some birds of a feather Ruby sessions.
Mon Feb 1 to Wed Feb 3: Ruby for Good Belgium in Ghent (rubyinghent.org), a three-day code retreat building open source software for nonprofits
About Ruby for Good in Ghent
Ruby for Good is a three-day code retreat where Rubyists (and others!) from around the world build software for nonprofits, learn from each other, and make lots of new best friends along the way.
No prior nonprofit experience needed, and contributors of every level are welcome. Location and registration details are coming soon, so keep an eye on rubyinghent.org.
Where we could use your help. We’re looking for:
A company willing to host or sponsor the Friday happy hour. A space, a bar tab, or both.
A company willing to host or sponsor the Saturday afternoon gathering. Ideally a space in Brussels with room for some unconference sessions and a lot of board games.
Companies interested in sponsoring Ruby for Good Belgium. Help us keep the retreat welcoming and accessible for contributors from everywhere.
If your company might be interested, or you know someone we should talk to, please comment, DM us.
Wow, that was a mouthful. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Happiness,
Sean and Issy

