OSSConf 2026: Where Czech and Slovak (free) open-source enthusiasts gather

For the past three years, Pavel Stříž had been nudging me to present my work on free and open-source software at the OSSConf conference in Žilina, Slovakia.

This year, I finally gave in and decided to present three technologies I have been working with for the past several years – LaTeX3, LuaTeX, and Markdown – and compare their approaches, strengths, and trade-offs; see also my presentation slides.

The conference had a rich program, with three to four parallel sessions running throughout each of its three days. The topics included open data, open AI, open hardware, open-source software in education, open GIS, TeX, R and related tools, citizen science, and much more. At any given time, there was always at least one interesting talk to attend – and often several.

Martin Budaj explains how TeX and MetaPost are used to typeset cave maps in Therion
Image: Martin Budaj explains how TeX and MetaPost are used to typeset cave maps in Therion
Patrick Zandl prepares to discuss the current state of (open-weight) large language models for computer programming
Image: Patrick Zandl prepares to discuss the current state of (open-weight) large language models for computer programming
Richard Fabo compares Typst with LaTeX
Image: Richard Fabo compares Typst with LaTeX

If you live in Czechia or Slovakia and are interested in these topics, OSSConf 2027, which will take place from June 30 to July 2, 2027, at the same location, is well worth keeping an eye on.

Written on September 1, 2026
Last updated on September 3, 2026