Open Source Summit + ELC North America 2020

How well are we, as an open source movement, prepared to continue the legacy when the “first generation” retires?

We want to have an open dialog with the audience about how the open source movement, not just individual projects, can continue. Ideally, we would like to see us carry forward the lessons learned, not repeat mistakes, and build on the foundation we have today. Much knowledge is available across blog posts, mailing list discussions, and implicitly embedded in “how things are done”, but that knowledge is almost as inaccessible as implicit knowledge. We should be worried about losing critical expertise, experience, and the network of the first generation in open source.

The panelists will share their personal experiences with succession planning in open source, good and bad, and discuss implications. In an open dialog with the audience, we want to discuss training and nurturing future leaders, increasing diversity of leaders, ensuring that next-generation leaders have a strong network, avoiding the reinvention of the metaphorical wheel. The goal is not to remove anyone but ensure that the open source movement is prepared for the first generation to retire.