Hello Fedora Friends! Phew, it’s been over a year of living with COVID and everything that has gone with it. Although living in a pandemic has been stressful (to say the least), Fedora has thrived through this time, and we have been connecting more than ever. So it is with mixed emotions that I am announcing that our yearly contributor conference will be virtual: Nest with Fedora 2021 edition. 

Although I will sorely miss the time spent with Friends, there are a lot of benefits to virtual events. At Flock to Fedora we are usually able to accommodate around 180-200 people(based on budget). At Nest with Fedora we had almost 500 attendees. The F33 Release Party had more than 170 attendees. We had a virtual Fedora Women’s Day and we also can’t forget the impromptu New Year’s Eve Party! Matthew Miller, Fedora Project Leader, and I have been running a weekly virtual social hour. 

The Fedora community has been incredibly active. We have seen new contributors popping up left and right with inspiring enthusiasm. I believe that a big part of the reason we are seeing an influx of new contributors is all of the virtual events that Fedora has put on in the last year. New contributors to Fedora are crucial to sustaining the health of the community, and we value all contributions (small or large, coding or not!). If you see new folks in your Fedora hangouts, make sure to welcome them and point them in the right direction. 

How to participate

We had an amazing conference last year. I will work to incorporate the feedback we received to make Nest even better this year. Look out for a Call for Papers and Registration in the upcoming months. If your organization is interested in sponsoring Fedora’s contributor conference this year, feel free to reach out to flock-info@fedoraproject.org.