OpenChain & Friends: Stuttgart Success, Eastern Europe Expansion

Following our initial recap, we're excited to share a more detailed look at the recent OpenChain & Friends event hosted by Bosch in Stuttgart. While the first article highlighted key takeaways, this piece delves into the specifics that made the event so successful. For those who couldn't attend in person, please find all the slides shown here and additionally we're planning follow-up webinars with the speakers. Stay tuned for details!

Many thanks to everyone who made this event possible. We extend our gratitude to the individuals who made significant contributions: Sussan Dehghan Manschadi and Josef Holzmayr for their work with the Yocto Community in Stuttgart; Dirk Targoni for sharing his expertise on the cyberlegislation panel, representing both the internal Bosch Security Guild and the Automotive Security Research Group; and Benjamin Petri for his invaluable support on the process expert panel and his role as chair of the Informatik-Forum Stuttgart.

One of the biggest challenges was designing an event that catered to both newcomers and seasoned experts in open-source management. The FOSS-LÄND community's target audience, SMEs often with limited OSS experience, needed introductory information, while experienced attendees sought deeper insights. Thanks to a larger-than-expected turnout of experts, we were able to deliver excellent deep dives, including interactive "Ask Me Anything" sessions and engaging panel discussions.

Contributions of time, effort, funding, and enthusiasm ensured a free and enriching experience for all attendees, focused on practical expertise in open-source and security management, and SBOM handling.

Energized by the discussions at the OpenChain & Friends event in Stuttgart, we're excited to share an initiative brewing in the OpenChain community: Vladimir Slavov from Bosch Digital and Ivo Emanuilov, are establishing an OpenChain regional working group for the eastern part of Europe. With several years of experience navigating the open-source software landscape, both recognized the crucial role eastern Europe plays in the global open-source ecosystem and the increasing importance of secure and compliant software supply chains. This initiative aims to build a vibrant local community dedicated to promoting and driving the adoption of key open-source standards like ISO/IEC 5230 (open-source license compliance) and ISO/IEC 18974 (open-source security assurance).

This nascent working group is currently gathering momentum and seeking enthusiastic participants. Are you based in Eastern Europe and interested in contributing to a stronger, more secure open-source ecosystem? Connect with Vladimir on LinkedIn to learn more and get involved!