Maintainer Summit

The CNCF Maintainer Summit is an exclusive event for the people behind our projects to gather face-to-face, collaborate, and celebrate the projects that make “Cloud Native.” Programming will be focused on sharing best practices, diving into contributing processes, and solving common problems across projects to enrich our great community of maintainers.

This is not an event for general attendance. See the “Eligibility” section for guidelines. To attend, you must be registered for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon.

Sponsorship details are coming soon!

Submit a proposal to speak! Submissions are being accepted through Wave 1*: Sunday, 8 Dec | Wave 2: Sunday, 12 January. (23:59 CEST).

*We recommend you submit during wave 1 if you need to apply for scholarship funding and/or need additional time for company travel approvals. Keep in mind that scholarship opportunities will close before wave 2 speaker notifications are sent.

To submit a talk proposal, you must be one of the following:

• TOC Representative
• Graduated Project Maintainer or Org Member
• TAG Lead
• Incubating Project Maintainer

Maintainer Summit topics include:

• Kubernetes
  Kubernetes is the foundation for Cloud Native and many CNCF projects. This is a track focused exclusively for Kubernetes SIGs and project-wide discussions to keep Kubernetes running.
• Growing Contributors
  What powers projects? It’s people! This track is focused on stories and strategies to grow a project’s contributor base. Share ideas on how to run workshops, present data on the best way to bring in new contributors, or grow people to become future maintainers.
• Project Meeting
  Do you want to get the members of your project together to discuss a feature or issue? Or perhaps plan the work for the next major release? Project meeting submissions can be used to book a space for your project to get together and take advantage of the face-to-face time to get things done!
• CI / CD / Distribution
  Every project has builds, tests, and some means to distribute artifacts, but there is no standard solution. Many converge on GitHub (via Actions/GHCR/Packages), but there is a wide variety of problems in this space, and stories to tell.
• Open submission
  Want to discuss standards for production readiness? Or API design? Submit ideas that don’t align with the above topics here. Anything, from how to run a project, to the role of a maintainer, is valid. Think Big!

Submission Types:

• Presentation: 35 minutes with 1 or 2 speakers presenting on a topic
• Panel Discussion: 35 minutes of discussion amongst 3 to 5 speakers
• Workshop: 35 minutes workshop with 2-4 presenters and/or workshop facilitators
• *Any submission type with more than two presenters/facilitators must include at least one non-male identifying presenter/facilitator

When is the Maintainer Summit taking place?

Monday, 31 March 2025, one day prior to KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe.

Where is the Maintainer Summit located?

Excel London | Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL, United Kingdom

Regsitration

Who can attend the Maintainer Summit?

• Sandbox Project Maintainers (as listed in project-maintainers.csv)
• Incubating & Graduated Project GitHub Org Members
• CNCF TAG Leads & the CNCF TOC

Why do I need to be a CNCF Project GitHub Org member to attend?

We welcome everyone to start contributing to a project, but with 7,500+ CNCF Project Org members and limited space, we’ve decided to limit attendance to those who are already actively engaged a project.

I’m not listed as someone who could attend, but I contribute, what should I do?

We encourage you to continue to contribute and pursue your project’s path for becoming a GitHub Org member or climbing the contributor ladder to become a listed maintainer. Till then, there are plenty of other opportunities to get involved at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon. Check out the schedule and get involved.

What is a sponsored attendee?

• If you are a Maintainer, TAG Chair, Tech Lead, K8s SIG Lead, or WG Lead, and there is someone who is not yet a GH org member, you can sponsor them to attend the summit. If you are sponsoring an attendee, proactively contact ProjectsAtKubeCon@linuxfoundation.org with the individual’s name, company, and community participation details.
• The sponsored attendee must indicate that they are a sponsored attendee during registration and share the name of the individual sponsoring them.
• Sponsored attendees will be reviewed weekly, note not all sponsored attendees will be granted registration.

How will I know if I’m registered for Maintainer Summit?

After registering, your registration will be placed into a pending queue for review. Once a week, CNCF staff will validate that you meet the criteria to attend and will either approve or deny your registration. If you believe a mistake was made, please contact ProjectsAtKubeCon@linuxfoundation.org.

If I’m accepted as a Maintainer Summit speaker – do I also have to purchase registration for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon?

No, all CFP-submitted accepted maintainer summit speakers will be provided with an “All-Access” pass for CNCF-hosted co-located events and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon programming.

I’m leading an unconference session at the summit. Do I need to purchase registration for KubeCon and CloudNativeCon?

Yes, due to the short time frame for planning unconference sessions, complimentary registration will not be provided.

Can I attend virtually?

Unfortunately, no, there is not an opportunity to attend virtually.

Do I need to register for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon to attend the summit?

Yes, to attend The Maintainer Summit, you must be registered for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon.

Is there maintainer support for attending?

Please apply for the Dan Kohn Maintainer Scholarship. Scholarship information is coming soon!

Will there be a registration option only to attend the Maintainer Summit and not KubeCon + CloudNativeCon?

No, there is NOT a single-day Maintainer Summit-only pass available.

CFP Process

Who can submit a talk for the Maintainer Summit?

• Incubating & Graduated Project GitHub Org Members
• CNCF TAG Leads & the CNCF TOC

When should I submit a talk?

• Wave 1 of submissions are due Sunday, Dec 8
  • We recommend you submit during wave 1 if you need to apply for scholarship funding and/or need additional time for company travel approvals. Keep in mind that scholarship opportunities will close before wave 2 speaker notifications are sent.
• Wave 2 of submissions are due Sunday, January 12

I have an idea for a session but missed the CFP deadline:

Most of the Summit will be unconference-style, so you will have an opportunity to propose a session closer to the Summit itself.

Sponsorships

Why are sponsors needed for a Maintainer Summit?

Community partners ensure that the Maintainer Summits are financially sustainable. Sponsor support helps cover event hard costs and provides opportunities for sponsor companies to engage as a thought-leader in the community.

Who can we reach out to about sponsorship opportunities?

Please email sponsor@cncf.io.

Misc

Will the sessions be recorded? If so, where will they be posted?

All but the unconference sessions will be recorded. From previous experience, the more open & discussion-oriented unconference talks are, it is difficult to capture when recording. For those sessions, we encourage attendees to keep a shared notes doc and make those available after the event. For the sessions that are recorded, they should be posted within two weeks of the event.

I have a question! How do I contact the event staff?

Email us at ProjectsAtKubeCon@linuxfoundation.org or ask a question on the #maintainer-summit Slack channel.