FOSDEM PGDay 2025

For several years there is a PGDay in Brussels on the Friday before FOSDEM organized by PostgreSQL Europe.

The talks that I attended have been good. Only that it the speakers have not been very diverse.

That was alike the audience. I have only counted four women, and three of them are members of the PostgreSQL Europe Diversity Committee.

And all three members of the Diversity Committee gave a lightning talk.

My Lightning Talk

For the first time ever I gave a lightning talk at a conference. The idea is based on the Books paragraph in a blog post I wrote about sources where to learn PostgreSQL.
The idea came from Claire Giordano and Karen Jex enouraged me, to submit it.
A big thank you goes to Floor Drees for bringing lightning talks to Brussels.

https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/postgresql/ I extended the book list on the blog with some additional infos, you can find the slides on GitLab.

FOSDEM

FOSDEM is the biggest open source conference in Europe scheduled on the first weekend of February each year. It takes place in Brussels at the UNIVERSITÉ LIBRE DE BRUXELLES (ULB).

This year was the 25th birthhttps://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/postgresql/day of the conference, and it had overall more than 700 talks on two days.

Devroom

For several years now there is a so called devroom, where PostgreSQL Europe organizes talks and manages the audience. There is a video host, a room host, several room bouncer aka Elephant Herders.

Stand

In addition a stand has to be maintained where people ask questions and one could by PostgreSQL merchandise stuff.

Everything has to be taken to Brussels, that has been handled by Andreas Scherbaum and Ilya Kosmodemiansky. They both came by car packed with shirts, hoodies, pins, stickers, small plusch Sloniks.

Slonik

Not to forget that there is a Sloinik costume that has to be worn by people. And as one doesn’t see a lot through from inside the costume, another person is needed to guide Slonik.

Conclusion

As you made it down here, I only want to thank all people involved in organizing both, FOSDEM PGDay and FOSDEM. A lot of people have been needed make all that available.

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Author: Stefanie Janine Stölting