Keynote highlights at OCX26

The keynote programme at OCX26 addressed the broader context in which open source systems are designed and deployed. Across three days, speakers explored how open source intersects with digital sovereignty, trust, AI adoption, and regulatory change.

These sessions focused on the strategic and systemic challenges shaping modern software ecosystems, complementing the technical depth covered across the main track and collocated events.

 

Key topics discussed at OCX26

Several themes defined the keynote programme:

  • Digital sovereignty and ecosystem control: reducing dependency on external platforms through open source and open standards
  • Trust and accountability in software systems: establishing verifiable, transparent approaches to software development and governance
  • AI and its systemic impact: addressing the implications of AI on systems, careers, and society
  • Regulation and policy in practice: understanding how frameworks such as the Cyber Resilience Act affect open source ecosystems
  • Open source as critical infrastructure: recognising its role in enabling innovation, collaboration, and long-term resilience

 

Collocated events at OCX26

The main track sits alongside the collocated events, each focused on a specific domain within the Eclipse Foundation ecosystem. These tracks explored the same challenges from different technical angles, with a stronger focus on domain-specific implementation and tooling.

 

Day 1 at OCX26: Keynote highlights

State of the union with Mike Milinkovich

Mike Milinkovich outlined the current state of the Eclipse ecosystem and its role in supporting open source collaboration across industries. He highlighted the scale and diversity of the community and the importance of maintaining neutral, vendor-independent governance structures to support long-term sustainability. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: ecosystem governance and neutrality are central to sustaining large-scale open source collaboration.

 

Eclipse Oniro together with OpenHarmony with Yutao Liu

Yutao Liu presented the role of operating systems in enabling connected and intelligent systems. He described how the evolution of intelligent systems requires corresponding innovation at the operating system level, including resource management, security, and privacy.

The session explored OpenHarmony and Eclipse Oniro as open platforms designed to support these requirements, with a focus on architecture, ecosystem development, and cross-device interoperability. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: operating system design is a foundational layer for enabling large-scale intelligent systems.

 

The winning formula: What F1 teaches us about marginal gains, teamwork and data-driven decision making with Ruth Buscombe

Ruth Buscombe shared insights from Formula 1, focusing on how performance improvements are achieved through incremental optimisation, effective communication, and structured decision-making.

The keynote highlighted how data-driven approaches and coordinated teamwork can improve performance under time constraints and uncertainty.

One key takeaway: incremental optimisation and structured decision-making are critical in high-performance environments.

 

Day 2 at OCX26: Keynote highlights

Open source for technological sovereignty with Thibaut Kleiner

Thibaut Kleiner presented the European perspective on digital sovereignty, highlighting the risks associated with dependency on non-European technologies across critical domains.

He described how open source can support strategic autonomy and enable the development of European alternatives, supported by initiatives such as the Open Digital Ecosystems Strategy. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: open source is a key enabler for reducing dependency and supporting regional digital strategies.

 

Now is not forever: Building a career in the age of AI and cybersecurity with Nadia Aimé

This session addressed the impact of AI and cybersecurity on career paths in technology. The speaker emphasised the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and resilience in navigating uncertainty.

The session highlighted that while technologies evolve, core human skills such as problem-solving and persistence remain essential. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: long-term career resilience depends on adaptability and continuous learning.

 

Olympic sailing on Eclipse technology with Axel Uhl

Axel Uhl presented a real-world application of Eclipse technologies in sailing analytics. The session demonstrated how digital twin concepts are used to model and analyse sailing events, processing large volumes of real-time data.

The solution integrates multiple Eclipse components to support simulation, analysis, and visualisation across large-scale events. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: open source technologies enable complex, real-time data analysis across distributed systems.

 

Day 3 at OCX26: Keynote highlights

AI, elections and democracy: Rebuilding trust in the age of algorithms with Juliane Müller

Juliane Müller examined the impact of AI systems on democratic processes, particularly in the context of elections. She highlighted the risks associated with opacity and bias in proprietary systems and the importance of transparency and accountability.

The session emphasised that open source technologies and open standards can support trustworthy, auditable systems that align with democratic values. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: transparency and openness are required to ensure trust in AI systems used in public contexts.

 

Designed for one: The collective cost of AI's deepest assumption with Leïla Maidane

Leïla Maidane explored how AI systems are designed with individual users in mind, and how this design choice has broader societal consequences. She highlighted the fragmentation of collective knowledge and the erosion of shared understanding as systemic outcomes of these design assumptions.

The session argued that these challenges originate at the architectural level and must be addressed before deployment. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: architectural assumptions in AI systems have systemic societal impacts.

 

The Cyber Resilience Act in practice: One regulation, many ecosystems with Lola Fernández, Maika Föhrenbach, Johan Klykens, Mike Milinkovich, and Juan Rico

This panel explored how the Cyber Resilience Act is being implemented across different ecosystems. The discussion highlighted the complexity of aligning regulatory requirements with diverse technical environments.

Speakers addressed the challenges of translating policy into practice and the need for collaboration between policymakers, industry, and open source communities. You can watch the recording on our OCX YouTube channel.

One key takeaway: effective implementation of regulation requires coordination across multiple stakeholders and ecosystems.

 

What this means in practice

Across three days, the keynote programme at OCX26 addressed the broader forces shaping open source ecosystems, from governance and sovereignty to AI and regulation.

Several implications are consistent across the keynote sessions:

  • Open source plays a central role in enabling digital sovereignty and reducing dependency on external technologies
  • Trust in software systems depends on transparency, accountability, and verifiable processes
  • AI systems introduce both technical and societal challenges that must be addressed at the design level
  • Regulatory frameworks such as the Cyber Resilience Act require coordination across diverse stakeholders and ecosystems
  • Long-term sustainability depends on both technical infrastructure and the people who build and maintain it

These themes position open source not only as a development model, but as a foundational component of modern digital infrastructure.

If you missed one of the sessions from the main track, you can now see them on our YouTube channel.

 

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