Join us for a day of exciting talks and an interactive barcamp on March 18th, 2026, at bUm Berlin!
We’ll start the day with three curated sessions and will then continue the program with our interactive barcamp after the lunch break.
The #fossdesign barcamp is a great opportunity to discuss relevant topics in a relaxed atmosphere, network with other attendees, or get feedback on your latest project you’ve been working on.
Doors open: 9:00 am
Begin: 10:00 am
End: 5:00 pm
Imani Joy is a senior UX designer and longtime advocate for inclusive, people-first design. Through her work with Mastodon, she explores what it looks like to apply human-centered practice to a platform where the community, not the algorithm, calls the shots. She’s based in Lisbon, loves creative writing, and is always plotting her next slow travel adventure.
Andy Betts is a long time KDE contributor. Andy leads the Visual Design Team at KDE and is also a member of the Community Working Group. Additionally Andy has been a KDE Board member and currently assists in many capacities involving graphic design.
Andy’s work involves reviewing graphical changes to the system, providing improvements, maintaining visual conventions and developing new concepts for Plasma.
In his professional life, Andy is a Manager of User Testing for a large cloud services provider. Andy resides in the United States.
Lahari Chowtoori is a Technical Program Manager at AWS working on open source AI and Machine Learning projects. With a background in Data Science and ML, she’s interested in making AI more accessible and learning how open source communities build together. Lahari has spoken at Open Source Summit (NA and EU), PyTorch Conference, JupyterCon, SCaLE, and All Things Open, sharing what she’s learned about AI, open source collaboration, and building sustainable ecosystems.
Dalai is head of product of Blender. He started as a development volunteer in 2008, and have since migrated into design and product. His background in architecture helps him navigate both the artistic and technical worlds. He comes from sunny Rio, Brazil, and now happily lives in the gray rainy Amsterdam.
Pablo is a senior product designer at Blender and has been involved in the project since 2008. Ever since, he worked as a light artist, movie director, and designer. His face is a staple of communication with his popular Blender Today YouTube show. He is originally from Patagonia in Argentina and now lives in Amsterdam working from Blender HQ.
Following the three keynote sessions, the barcamp will commence. This is an event format where the schedule is decided on the spot. It is driven by the interests and goals of those who attend, allowing the audience to actively shape the program and discuss the topics most relevant to them.
The sessions at a Barcamp are usually interactive and closer to a workshop then a conference talk. They can also consist of a Impuls talk and a discussion. But in the end it’s all up to the participants to decide how they want to tackle a topic. Get involved by leading a session, by giving some insights, by asking some great questions, or maybe just by sharing your enthusiasm.
With the end of the barcamp we will also have reached the end of the event at around 17:00.
We are excited that Eriol Fox will be hosting the barcamp.
Eriol has been working as a designer for 10+ years working in for-profits and then NGO’s and open-source software organisations, working on complex problems like sustainable food systems, peace-building and crisis response technology. Eriol now works at Superbloom on design, research, open-source and technology projects.
At previous editions of FOSS Backstage Design, we have welcomed leading design experts from a variety of backgrounds and specialisms. Last year, Martin Keary, also known as Tantacrul, shared his 20 years of experience in achieving excellence in open source software design; Marta Marczykowska-Górecka offered valuable insights on effectively communicating design to developers; and Tobias Bernard provided a personal perspective on the current state of design in free software, drawing on his work with GNOME and related projects.
We put together a selection of talks from past editions to give you an impression of FOSS Backstage Design:
