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OpenBao Travels to FOSDEM

· 2 min read

Follow along with OpenBao's travels this week as we attend FOSDEM '25 and State of Open Con!

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Check out Alex's talk at FOSDEM, on Sunday, February 2nd, at 2:05 PM GMT+1 in room UA2.118 (Henriot) as part of the Identity and Access Management track.

If you can't attend in person, it will also be live streamed.

BaoBao-Departs-via-Airplane

From snowy Minnesota, BaoBao took its first ride to London Heathrow to begin its voyage to FOSDEM '25. With a brief layover, it explored King's Cross and the Coal Drops Yard. Rich with history, this area has long been used as a rail hub for the UK and now is connected to Europe via the Channel Tunnel.

BaoBao-Departs-for-France

From there, BaoBao boarded a train to Paris, France for some sightseeing and meetings with community members. BaoBao wishes that secrets management was as easy as traveling via European trains, but, with the help of the community, knows it will improve!

First up, the Eiffel Tower!

BaoBao-Eiffel-Tower

While it was rainy and dark, seeing the structure all lit up in person was very impressive! BaoBao thought the structure loomed larger than life, just like attackers in the shadows, targeting deployments using insecure secrets management practices...

BaoBao-Louvre

The next day, BaoBao explored Paris a bit more, visiting the Notre Dame, the Pantheon, and finally, the Louvre! One of the largest museums in the world, filled with all types of art, from paintings to sculptures to fashion, this museum would take several visits to fully appreciate. BaoBao thinks there's art to open source too, and wishes it would be in its own museum some day!

BaoBao-Colleagues

BaoBao went out for dinner with its colleagues, Julien Cassignol (right), OpenBao TSC representative and CTPO of Wallix, and Dan Ghita (left), OpenBao Maintainer and backup Viaccess-Orca representative. BaoBao thinks its favorite part of open source is the friends you make along the way.

BaoBao-Brussels

On Friday, BaoBao took the train from Paris to Brussels to join the fun that is FOSDEM. At dinner with friends old and new, BaoBao met Jan Martens, OpenBao Maintainer.

And now, BaoBao rests for the conference ahead -- and hopes to see you there!