Learning Language with Manisha Khetarpal

Manisha Khetarpal at EO26

Greetings from the end of Everything Open 2026 at University of Canberra. The conference traditionally ends with short light heated talks. Manisha Khetarpal gave us a short dynamic lesson in learning words in another language. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I volunteered to talk in Manisha's Microlearning Series. on "Keep Calm and Carry Online".  

Open Source Volunteers Are Like the Allen Key in a Flat-pack Bookcase: Vital But Unappreciated

Emma Davidson at EO26

Greetings from day three of Everything Open 2026 at University of Canberra. Emma is Program Director of IDEATE & started with a plea for industry to support their open source workers, describing them as like the allen keys in a flat-pack bookcase, pointing out that IKEA depends on open source software: She went onto propose 0.3% of the AUKUS funding be put into open source internships. Emma described AUKUS as a project for "imaginary nuclear submarines". She went on to praise the work of the Open Source Institute at University of Canberra, before outlining ANU Techlauncher program. Emma then moved on to the main theme of her talk about how to get a more diverse technology workforce and IDEATE's role in creating a more diverse university student body.

This being a Linux conference, apart from geopolitics,  Emma was asked which font she used for her slides. ;-)

My picks for the rest of the day:10:45AM  RepRapMicron - The Next Small Thing In 3D Printing, Vik Olliver

11:40AM So You've Decided to Build It Yourself, Leesa Ward

1:30PM Abstracting FPGAs in Python for fun and radio astronomy, Andrew Bolin

2:25PM Open Australia: Who we are, what we do, and what's in it for you., Donna Benjamin

3:45PM Everything Open Everywhere All At Once, Steven De Costa
4:45PM Lightning Talks

We do not want truth to become a luxury good in a sea of slop

Greetings from day two of Everything Open 2026 at University of Canberra. Keir Winesmith, Chief Digital Officer of the National Film & Sound Archive of Australia is arguing we are at the end of a golden age for creative arts online and the beginning of another using AI. The Archives will be sharing more. He used as an example of technology sparking creative the first filming of the Melbourne Cup: filmed in Melbourne, developed in the air on its way to Sydney and shown shortly after.

In a sobering conclusion he argued those working for open access to cultural knowledge had provided the raw material for creating false narratives via AI. He ended by saying "We do not want truth to become a luxury good in a sea of slop". This is particularity relevant on the National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack​. 

My pick of day 2 of EO:

10:45AM I accidentally became a FOSS maintainer and all I got was this lousy insight into librarianship, Hugh Rundle

11:40AM A University Library's journey in making technology training resources FAIR, Stéphane Guillou

1:30PM Reclaiming the open web: a story about big tech, platforms and millennial dreams of a connected web, Milly Schmidt

2:25PM By Design: CAUL’s Vision for an Open Future in Australasian Higher Education, Ash Barber, Rebecca Barber

3:45PM Effective Coaching, Nicola Nye

4:40PM When something has gone wrong in your neighbourhood, and they're calling you... whatcha gonna do?, Rachel Bunder

Encouraging Democratic Participation with Software

Greetings from "Encouraging Democratic Participation with Software" by Vanessa Teague from Democracy Developers. They make open-source software to support democracy. However, this seems to be about explaining how the electoral system works and contacting MPs. However, this is a very narrow view of the democratic process and leaves out policy development. Policy is developed in a complex messy process involving political parties, lobbyists and others.

As a member of a professional body, I am occasionally asked for input to policy documents to be presented to MPs. Occasionally this works very well. In one case a senior Public Servant accused me of plagiarizing the name of a government initiative. But I pointed out the name was in the title of the submission I helped write, long before the policy was announced.

But not everyone is part of an organisation with lobbying skills. I asked Vanessa if we could provide open online forums for those who are not a member of a party, or a lobby group, where they could find like minded individuals and develop what they want.

Everything Too Open?

Greetings from Everything Open 2026 at University of Canberra. This is Linux Australia's annual conference. The opening keynote presentation is by Kylie McDevitt, former Technical Director at the Australian Signals Directorate. Kylie is discussing security analysis of internet connected devices. This is very topical, with the ACT Government checking if their electric busses can be remotely sabotaged. 

Comping up today, my picks are:

10:45AM Encouraging democratic participation with software, Vanessa Teague

11:40AM Using open source strategies to enable medical data exchange at scale, Christopher Skene

12:25PM Lunch 

1:30PM The unreasonable cost of open source contribution, Rob Norris

2:25PM I hope this email talk finds you well., Jemma Bradshaw

3:10PM Afternoon Tea

3:45PM The nineteenth century smartwatch, Kit Biggs

4:40PM The next generation Big Data Radio Telescope for Astronomy, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, Juan Carlos Guzman