Call for Participation

The Internet landscape is evermore on it’s steadfast course towards surveillance and centralization. Video content and streaming out of CDNs now account for half of all global traffic; splinternets are now a thing, from China to South Korea, from Russia to Iran; mandatory backdoors on communication platforms are just around the conner with EU’s Chat Control.
In this scenario, where most Internet connected devices have become tools of imprisonment rather than liberation, reviving the old Internet ethos of peer-to-peer (P2P) and private communication is of uttermost importance.

Taking a modest but nonetheless important step, we hereby come to announce the revival of the Decentralized Internet and Privacy Devroom at FOSDEM 2026.
This devroom welcomes talks from all technical projects and initiatives which foster decentralization and privacy on the Internet, or try to replace it for something new altogether. We also welcome those working on securing the devices, operating systems and user-facing software we use to access The Net.

For those new to it, FOSDEM is an annual conference on free and open source software, attended by over 8000 developers and enthusiasts from all over the world. It takes place in Brussels (Belgium) at the ULB (Campus Solbosch). It is a community-driven event and entry is free of charge.
Beyond the main programme, FOSDEM supports dozens of devrooms, mini conferences-within-a-conference, dedicated to discussing a specific theme.

In 2026 FOSDEM will happen on the weekend of January 31st and February 1st. The Decentralized Internet and Privacy Devroom itself will run during the entire day of Sunday, February 1 2026.

Scope of Talks

Presentation topics may include:

  • ad-hoc and mesh networks
  • cryptography-based network stacks
  • anonymous overlay networks

  • community run ISPs and networks

  • decentralized/federated network protocols and platforms
  • cryptography-based network protocols (e.g. public key as identity)
  • decentralized instant messaging, video/file sharing and content storage

  • self-hosting and community-hosting solutions

  • minimalistic browsers
  • privacy preserving browsers and extensions
  • privacy oriented operating systems

Format

Talks are expected to be technical and no more than 20-25 min long. Total time with Q&A and moderation should stay under 30 min.
50 min long talks (plus 10 min for Q&A and moderation) may be accepted on an exceptional basis, if the topic at hand brings enough novelty to warrant a deep technical dive.
Speakers may submit multiple talks.

Requirements

All talks should be held in English.
Talks as well as Q&As will be recorded and later published in the FOSDEM website. They may be also livestreamed. By hosting a talk, you agree to the publication of its recordings, slides and other content under the CC BY 2.0 BE license.

While attending FOSDEM, you are required to adhere to the FOSDEM Code of Conduct.

Submission

https://fosdem.org/submit

Talks should be submitted on the FOSDEM pretalx making sure to select “Decentralized Internet and Privacy” in the Track dropdown.

Use the submission notes to let us know about:

  • the talk duration (25 min or 50 min)
  • links to code, slides or other resources for the talk

Key dates

  • Submission deadline: December 7 2025, 23:59 CET
  • Announcement of selected talks: December 15 2025
  • Devroom day: February 1 2026 (full day)

Contacts

You can reach us at #cdc-public:dod.ngo on Matrix.
This room is bridged to #critical-decentralization on hackint IRC server.

  • Email: c3 at riat dot at