Free Software and Hackers in Madrid with Philippe Lardy

Does Linux have anything to do with hacking? With that question I open this conversation about free software, community and an event that is already a classic in Madrid. To answer it I’m joined by Philippe Lardy, the man behind OpenExpo Europe.

Philippe arrived in Spain about fifteen years ago and, alongside his web development agency, set up what began as monthly meetups of ten or fifteen people talking about open source. In 2013 he made the leap to an annual event, first at Plaza Castilla and today at La Nave, a former elevator factory in the south of Madrid. He tells me anecdotes like Microsoft showing up as a sponsor with little-hearts t-shirts when nobody expected it, or the unconditional love with Chema Alonso, whom he calls his godfather. This tenth edition revolves around four verticals, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud and digital transformation, with more than seventy talks in a single day and names like Iker Jiménez, Cristina Aranda, colonel Pedro Baños and Carlos Azaustre.

Between the 3D-printed Open Awards, the odd carnival-prize Tesla and the promise of closing out with beers (now alcohol-free and gluten-free), Philippe makes clear why he loves the in-person format: seeing each other’s faces. It’s worth stopping by.