Fedora Project booth at DevConf.IN 2026 (Akashdeep Dhar, CC BY-SA 4.0)
“The best way to learn is to teach. The best way to grow is to step outside your comfort zone.”
The Beginning of Something New
DevConf.IN 2026 marked a special milestone for me, my first time attending a tech conference as booth staff for the Fedora Project. After contributing to the Fedora Project for over two years, mostly behind the screen working closely with Fedora Infrastructure team on different Fedora applications, this was my chance to meet the community face-to-face and represent the project I deeply care about.
Spoiler alert: It was overwhelming, exciting, nerve-wracking and absolutely worth it!
The Journey
This was a two-day conference filled with incredible experiences, meaningful conversations and lots of swag distribution! But before the conference began, there was preparation to be done.
Event Highlights:
- Met Matthew Miller (Ex-FPL) and attended his inspiring 35 Fedora Releases in 35 Minutes talk
- Engaged with 200+ attendees, answering questions and helping onboard new contributors
- Ran Fedora trivia with spin wheel and distributed special swag to winners
- Booth hopped for gaining more insights about different open-source projects
- Community dinners with deep conversations about open source and AI contributions
Key Takeaways & Reflections
What I Learned
Stepping out of my comfort zone pays off - As someone who works primarily on backend systems and infrastructure, talking to people face-to-face was intimidating at first. But the more I engaged, the more confident I became.
Open-source is about people - Behind every commit, every issue, every contribution is a human being with curiosity, passion and a desire to learn and build.
Community matters - Working alongside fellow Fedora contributors, meeting Matthew Miller and connecting with attendees reinforced why the Fedora community is special.
Communication is a skill - Explaining technical concepts like package management, kernel versions, or contribution workflows to diverse audiences sharpened my communication skills.
What’s Next?
This experience has only fueled my enthusiasm for representing Fedora Project at more conferences and events ahead. I’m looking forward to:
- Continuing my contributions to Fedora Infrastructure
- Attending more community events
- Helping onboard new contributors
- Building stronger connections within the FOSS community
Thank You!
A huge shoutout to:
- Akashdeep, Samyak and Yashwanth for being amazing booth companions
- Matthew Miller for visiting India for increasing the community presence of Fedora Project in the APAC region and delivering such an inspiring talk
- All the attendees who visited us, asked questions and showed interest in Fedora Project
- The Fedora Project for giving me this opportunity
And finally, thank you to the organizing team of DevConf.IN 2026 for putting together such a fantastic event!
If you’re interested in contributing to Fedora Project or want to connect, feel free to reach out to me on Matrix or LinkedIn.
