CFP closed at  April 08, 2023 06:59 UTC
  (Local)

Upstream is a celebration of open source, the people who use it, and the humans who create and maintain it.

This is the third year we’re hosting Upstream, which is totally virtual and free. Over 2,200 have watched last year’s sessions, and speakers included industry experts and community advocates from Indeed, American Express, Fannie Mae, AWS, Microsoft, GitHub, Google, Red Hat, JFrog, and more.

This year’s theme: The accidental supply chain.

Over the past several years, the demands on open source maintainers to level up the maintenance and security practices around their open source projects have substantially increased. For good reason—security incidents like Log4Shell have dramatically illustrated the importance of heightened security and maintenance measures.

There’s one problem: the volunteer open source maintainers who create the code most organizations rely on did not sign up to be a part of anyone’s supply chain, and in many cases aren’t being paid to do the work they are being asked to do.

How do we fix the accidental supply chain that open source has become in a way that benefits both the open source creators and the organizations that rely on their work?

That’s the subject of this year’s Upstream! Do you have thoughts on this subject or other ideas for talks that you think might help us gain better insight into how we make open source work better for everyone? Please submit your talk by April 7!

CFP Description

Upstream is a virtual event for application developers, open source maintainers, and the extended network of people who support developers and open source maintainers.

Our core audience will consist of developers, open source maintainers, software architects, open source licensing experts, open source program offices, and application security professionals.

Upstream, hosted by Tidelift, is on June 7, 2023. There is time allotted for simultaneous tracks with 30 minute sessions. Attendance is 100% free and online.

Where: Streamed live, online to the global open source software community.

Who: The conference is organized by Tidelift, the company that helps organizations effectively manage the open source behind their applications and pays the open source maintainers to keep it secure and up to date.

We are looking for developers using open source to build applications and open source maintainers who want to tell their story. Make sure you understand the speaker guidelines before submitting your session.

Something to consider when submitting

We are looking for practical, real world stories. While presentations may mention tools and services in passing as part of an integrated solution, they may not contain pitches for those products or services. The presentation may include one screen introducing the speaker and their affiliation with a company, but this should not include a veiled offer of a product or service. There should be no other visual company logo other than on the title slide, the speaker introduction slide and the closing slide.

Please get approval BEFORE submitting

Check with your legal department. Check with your marketing department. Check with your manager. Let them know you will be presenting live, online and the session will be recorded for viewing after your presentation. Get their approval before submitting.

Session times

Most sessions run 30 minutes, although there may be lightning talks and panel opportunities as well. After your presentation, you’ll be moved over into the public Tidelift chat channel where you can have a live Q&A with your audience. We have found this to be so engaging, many speakers actually stay for hours afterward for the live interaction with participants and other speakers.

Agreement to record and distribute the session

If your presentation is selected, you agree we may record your session. (More on this below.) The sessions will be delivered over YouTube Live Stream. Upon conclusion of the sessions, they will be automatically saved on YouTube. We will be promoting your session after the conference through creation of playlists and various social media promotions.

Presentation deck and your profile

If your session is confirmed, you agree to send us your slide deck at the same time as your recording.

A brief bio is included as part of your submission. We will also be asking for a large headshot if your submission is accepted.

Pre-recorded session

This is a live, online conference; however, we will be airing pre-recorded sessions due to time zones and potential technical difficulties. We’ll need a copy of your session no later than May 10. You will be expected to join your session live so you can answer questions.

Presentation platform

The presentation platform for this event is Zoom.

Promotion of the event

Marketing campaigns are set up to help promote the conference and your session starting a month and a half before the event. This will include your name, your presentation and anything else we can fit that will encourage people to attend your session. We want your session to get the attention it deserves!

Support for your presentation

You won’t be left alone to “sink or swim” during your presentation. Your track hosts and moderators will be there to help with any technology glitches and to support you with audience involvement and participation.

Live interaction with your audience

Speaking of audience involvement and participation, we’ll have live chat set up so you can exchange messages with your audience during your session, as well as afterward to answer any questions that might have come up.

Terms and conditions

By submitting materials and requesting a speaking slot, you: (a) agree that you have all necessary permissions to participate; (b) that the Event Organizer will be able to use, re-use, publish and republish your presentation materials and any and all photographic, digital, audio, video and other images of you with respect to your presentation at the conference, whether in its entirety or as edited or otherwise modified by the Event Organizer, for any other purpose whatsoever, including inclusion in book format; and (c) authorize the Event Organizer to use your presentation materials, in whole and in part, and your name, voice, actions, appearance and likeness in connection with any and all promotional, advertising and marketing activities with respect to the conference and your presentation, all without compensation; and (d) release and relinquish any right that you may have to examine or approve the completed product or products or the advertising copy or printed matter that may be used or developed in conjunction with such presentation materials, images or your name, voice, actions, appearance and likeness, or the use to which such presentation materials, images or your name, voice, actions, appearance and likeness may be applied. If all that works for you, let’s get started with your CFP.