London called, and the world answered: creating a Summit without borders

When we announced that the Ubuntu Summit 25.10 would be a remote event, we knew we were taking a big step. We asked ourselves: how can we capture the spirit of an in-person community event and convey its energy through a screen? How can we connect the circle of friends from all over the world? We certainly had an ambitious quest with the Quokka edition of the Ubuntu Summit!

The digital hallway track

If you have been to an in-person event, you most likely have enjoyed the moments between talks. Those unscripted, unplanned parts of a conference create the hallway track experience. And while presentations bring valuable knowledge the hallway track creates connections, opens the door to collaboration and community building. Our quest was noble but challenging: we wanted to ensure that no matter where you live, you had a front row seat to the future of open source. And what we saw from you was incredibly inspiring. You tuned in, engaged with the speakers, and really created the most welcoming and fun remote hallway track. The Ubuntu Discourse exploded with activities! We loved seeing the lovely UbuPets, your awesome screenshot showcase, and the engagement with the polls. We also embarked together on an easter egg hunt throughout the event, with all sorts of Ubuntu related logos hidden in the stream.

Open source, open music

We know that every quest needs an epic soundtrack! In our case, the soundtrack had to be as open source as the event. The amazing folks at Lorenzo’s Music took on the challenge and put together the Creative Commons stream that  kept the energy high throughout the event. 

This was an incredible experience that took a lot of work and coordination between talented artists, and we’re not just talking about music. Sylvia Ritter provided her fantastic artwork for an amazing visual experience. Ryno crafted the stream for both days and piped it through to the Lorenzo’s Music YouTube channel, together with song metadata. Last but not least, Creative Commons artists played live sets at the end of each day. Want to tune in and relive the sounds of the summit? Check out day one and day two Creative Commons music streams.

The extended effect

This year, the Ubuntu Summit was about global connection, going beyond London and the main stage. The event also connected us to the local Ubuntu circles from all over the world. The Ubuntu Summit Extended events are what turned a remote conference into a global celebration of the spirit of Ubuntu: “I am because we all are”.

The great thing about the extended events was that each community put their own spin on the event. In Uyo, the Nigerian community gathered 40 developers, celebrated the release of Ubuntu 25.10, and hosted their own set of talks. The Ubuntu Portugal community did not just watch the stream. They synced up between Porto and Lisbon, shared meals, discussions, sightseeing, in a true representation of the spirit of Ubuntu. In Windhoek, the Namibian community organized a gathering of local open source enthusiasts and embraced the spirit of the new Ubuntu Summit experience. Over in Thessaloniki, the Greek community transformed the University of Macedonia into a buzzing hub of discussion and discovery.

From university halls to hackerspaces, you proved that while the signal was digital, the connection was human.

Talks that took us to the stars… or was it Mars?

The Ubuntu Summit is a showcase for the innovative and the ambitious, and Ubuntu Summit 25.10 delivered some of our most audacious talks yet. If you missed the live stream, do not worry! You can find the Ubuntu Summit 25.10 playlist on YouTube covering Life, the Universe, and Everything!

If you don’t know where to start, we have a few suggestions for you:

• DOOM in Space: We always say Ubuntu is everywhere, but Ólafur Waage proved it by running DOOM on the European Space Agency’s OPS-SAT satellite. This talk perfectly captured the spirit of the Ubuntu Summit.
• Elevating The Linux Desktop with COSMIC DE: Victoria Brekenfeld and Carl Richell inspired us with the impressive COSMIC desktop environment, showing us how Rust is elevating the Linux desktop experience.
• Are We Stuck with the Same Desktop UX Forever?: Scott Jenson challenged us to think bigger about our interfaces. His talk was a masterclass on breaking free from old paradigms, and why open source is the perfect playground for the next generation of desktop UX.

Thank you to our global circle of friends

Whether you were organizing a watch party in Lisbon, debating the future of AI on Discourse, or just enjoying the stream with a cup of tea at home, thank you! 

You proved that the Ubuntu Summit is more than a venue; it is a community. By going remote, we didn’t step back, we reached out. And because of you, we empowered more voices and sparked more ideas than ever before.

The Ubuntu Summit 25.10 is a wrap, but the clock is already ticking for the Ubuntu Summit 26.04 adventure. Until then, keep the conversation going on Discourse, enjoy the playlist, and if you are feeling innovative and ambitious, submit a talk!