Name: Panel Discusssion: Educating the Next Generation of Open Source Project Contributors - Dawn Foster, CHAOSS; Stephen Walli, Microsoft; Ruth Ikegah, CHAOSS Africa & Abby Crimlis, OpenUK
Start: 2025-08-25T11:20:00+0200
End: 2025-08-25T12:00:00+0200

25-27, August 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Note: The schedule is subject to change.

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Monday August 25, 2025 11:20 - 12:00 CEST

Auditorium

There are so many open source projects and not enough contributors to sustain them all over the long term. With many open source projects desperate for contributors, how do we educate the next generation of open source contributors to grow the contributor base for all of us?

In this panel, we’ll talk about education programs for school children and university students. We’ll discuss the landscape of open source contributors in the different regions along with the motivations for participation in open source and how those differ across regions. Because we want contributors who will continue contributing, we’ll also talk about some challenges that prevent sustainable contributions over the long term.

Our panelists have experience teaching open source to university students, school children in New Zealand, and building new open source communities in Africa. In this panel, we’ll talk about what we’ve learned, what’s worked, and provide tips for you to grow the next generation of contributors from within your local communities.

Speakers

Abby Crimlis

Project Manager, OpenUK

Dawn Foster

Director of Data Science, CHAOSS

Dr. Dawn Foster works as the Director of Data Science for CHAOSS where she is also a board member / maintainer. She is co-chair of CNCF TAG Contributor Strategy and an OpenUK board member. She has 20+ years of experience at companies like VMware and Intel with expertise in community... Read More →

Stephen Walli

Principal Program Manager, Microsof

I'm a principal program manager at Microsoft in the Azure Office of the CTO. I was technical director at the Outercurve Foundation, and an open source software start-up founder. I've been around open source software for 30+ years. I'm presently Microsoft governing board member for... Read More →

Ruth Ikegah

Community Manager, CHAOSS Africa

Ruth Ikegah is an Open Source Program Manager, Technical Writer, GitHub Star, and Public Speaker. She serves as the Community Lead at CHAOSS Africa, working to improve the health of Open Source communities on the continent. She also doubles as a maintainer in the Diversity, Equity... Read More →

Monday August 25, 2025 11:20 - 12:00 CEST
Auditorium

Open Source Leadership

Audience Experience Level Beginner

Open Source Summit Europe 2025

Abby Crimlis

Dawn Foster

Stephen Walli

Ruth Ikegah

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