Welcome to the 1st edition of the Blockchain devroom at FOSDEM 2019 (https://fosdem.org/2019/). FOSDEM is an annual conference about free and open source software, attended by over 8000s developers and open-source enthusiasts from all over the world. This is an opportunity for all interested in blockchain technology to come together and chat, hack, and share stories about anything related to the blockchain technologies and associated with the FLOSS ecosystems. The devroom will take place on Sunday, 3 February 2019, at [ULB (Campus Solbosch)](https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/1632534522), in Brussels, Belgium. Blockchain technology is an emerging field of research that has already seen many applications in the private and public sector. The most obvious and visible ones are cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum but many others projects ranging from logistics, supply chain management, identity management, code archive use this technology as basic build block to ensure redundancy, security, immutability. Free Software and Open source plays an essential role in the development of blockchains and it is important to attract the attention of developers and researchers. We invite presentations or discussions around (but not limited to) the following topics: - New and emerging blockchain technologies focusing on FOSS, especially focusing on innovation. - New consensus algorithms: moving on From PoW - How Communities develop and thrive in the blockchain world : + how blockchain technology is used to further the ideals and goals of the Free Software and Open Source community. or to the wider social good (social projects using blockchain) + how money and ICOs influence blockchain and FOSS communities. - Blockchain in the public sector. How FOSS blockchains are used by governments and public entities. - Deployment of blockchains : challenges faced by devops - IDE and compilers for Smart Contract Languages - Applications built on smart contract platforms - Desktop and Mobile wallets development - Demystifying the blockchain: + in what kind of applications is a blockchain useful, and when is it not? + other misconceptions - Security and Privacy + will encrypted data still be secure in a few decades? + is blockchain really private or anonymous? + other concerns Please use the Pentabarf [3] system to submit your proposals. You do not need to create a new account if you already have one. When in doubt, please use the devroom mailing list [4]. If you do not want to give a talk yourself, you may still send suggestions for what else you would like to see, or do in the devroom. Please send your suggestions to the mailing list. The deadline for your proposal is on December the 1st 2018. Make sure to include the following in your proposal: * title of your talk (will be printed in the FOSDEM booklet) * your full name (will be printed in the FOSDEM booklet) * a short abstract (one or two paragraphs) * duration of your talk (please, at least 25 and no longer than 40 min) * a short biography The official devroom schedule (along with the accepted talks) will be announced on December the 15th on the devroom's mailing list and the speakers will be notified via e-mail. The schedule will also be published on the FOSDEM website. About FOSDEM FOSDEM is a two-day event organised by volunteers to promote the widespread use of free and open source software. Taking place in the beautiful city of Brussels (Belgium), FOSDEM is widely recognized as the best such conference in Europe. FOSDEM covers a wide spectrum of free and open source software projects, and offers a platform for people to collaborate. To this end, FOSDEM has set up developer rooms (devrooms) with network/internet connectivity and projectors where teams can meet and showcase their projects. Devrooms are a place for teams to discuss, hack and publicly present latest directions, lightning talks, news and discussions. Besides developer rooms, FOSDEM also offers main tracks, lightning talks, certification exams and project stands. Every year, FOSDEM hosts more than 5000 developers at the ULB Solbosch campus. Participation and attendance is totally free, though the organizers gratefully accept donations and sponsorship. No registration necessary. Important dates recap * 01.12.2018: Deadline for submissions * 15.12.2018: Schedule published and speakers notified of acceptance * 03.02.2019: The devroom takes places Links [1] http://fosdem.org [2] https://fosdem.org/2019/practical/transportation [3] https://penta.fosdem.org/submission/FOSDEM19 [4] https://lists.fosdem.org/listinfo/blockchain-devroom [5] https://twitter.com/BlockchainFsdm [6] https://www.facebook.com/blockchainfosdem See you all at FOSDEM! The organisation committee, Pietro, Martin, Bruno, Bob, Arjan, Aidan