WILMINGTON, DE — The Apache Software Foundation will use its Oct. 11-14 Community Over Code conference in Glasgow to focus on pressures reshaping open source software, including artificial intelligence, project funding and the expanding economic role of interactive technology.
The foundation’s three keynote speakers will address those issues as open source communities contend with changes in how software is developed, maintained and financed.
Stephen Walli, an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, will open the conference with a keynote examining software engineering education as AI changes development practices.
Walli’s presentation draws on six years of work with Semesters of Code, a program that places undergraduate students inside large open source projects as mentored contributors. His keynote will consider how that model changes as AI becomes more prevalent in software development.
Vlad-Stefan Harbuz, executive director of the Software Stewardship Lab, will focus on the financial sustainability of open source ecosystems. Harbuz directs the Open Source Pledge, which has raised more than $7.27 million for open source maintainers, according to the foundation.
Brian Baglow, chief executive officer of the Scottish Games Network, will address the economic role of interactive technology. Baglow is the lead architect of Scotland’s National Games Action Plan and previously worked on the original Grand Theft Auto development team at DMA Design and Rockstar Games.
His keynote will argue for treating interactive technology as economic infrastructure extending beyond the traditional games industry, bringing a public-policy dimension to a conference primarily centered on open source technology.
Community Over Code will also host Airflow Contributor Days during the main conference. The track will bring together contributors and users of Apache Airflow, the foundation’s open source workflow-management platform, without requiring separate registration.
A separate Lakehouse Day will be held Oct. 10, immediately before the main conference, bringing together Apache projects associated with the lakehouse data architecture ecosystem. Standalone registration costs $85, with a discounted option available for attendees registering for both events.
General registration for Community Over Code costs $750, while Apache Software Foundation committers can register for $250.
Registration is available at https://communityovercode.apache.org/events/glasgow-2026/register.
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