Maintainer Summit Speaker Guide

Thank you for speaking at the CNCF Maintainer Summit at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026, taking place Sunday, 22 March. This event is happening in person at RAI Amsterdam in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Please bookmark this page for easy reference and continue to check back as the event gets closer as we will be adding additional speaker information as it becomes available. If you have any questions, please email us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Timing of sessions and room locations are subject to change.

• Schedule Announcement: Wednesday, 21 January
• Speaker Registration Deadline: ​​Tuesday, 3 February
• AV Requests Due: Friday, 20 February
• Upload Presentation Slides: Friday, 20 March

Please review the sections below to find more information about the above dates and deadlines.

To confirm your participation and secure your speaking slot, it’s important to complete your registrations by Tuesday, 3 February using the details you received in your notification email. If you require this information again, please reach out to us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org. Be sure to submit any accommodation needs when registering. Failure to register by the deadline may result in your slot being given to someone on our waitlist.

If you have already registered for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon and are now a speaker listed on the Maintainer Summit schedule, please reach out to our registration team to be issued a refund.

Complimentary registration is also extended to co-speakers or panelists from the original CFP submission. Please ensure their participation format aligns with yours before registering. For example, you cannot present in person if your co-speaker can only participate virtually.

Speaker registration vouchers are nontransferrable.

If you require a visa letter, please register for the event first, and then complete the visa letter request form.

Venue

This year’s event will take place at RAI Amsterdam located at Europaplein 24, 1078 GZ Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Hotel Details

We have several discounted room blocks that we invite you to view on our Venue + Travel page. Rooms may sell out in advance of the room block close date, so we encourage you to book early to secure a room at the conference rate.

The schedule will be announced on Wednesday, 21 January and will be posted on our website using Sched.com.

IMPORTANT: Please note the following durations for session formats:

• Presentation: 35 minutes, 1-2 speakers presenting on a topic
• Panel Discussion: 35 minutes of discussion amongst 3 to 5 speakers
• Workshops: 35 minutes
• Project Meetings: Between 35-55 minutes (please check the schedule for your allotted time)

If you have a conflict with the timing of your talk, find that it conflicts with the content of another talk, or are having problems uploading your bio and photo, please contact us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org.

Please note the following technical requirements:

• All speakers must supply their own computers and HDMI adapters to use during their talk.
• Presentation slides should be formatted in 16:9. 
• Conference wifi will be available in all breakout rooms. If you’re planning on doing a demo, we strongly recommend pre-recording it as a best practice. Be sure to have a copy on your local drive.
• The room will include a screen, projector, and (1) microphone for each speaker or shared microphones for panelists.
• Presentations will be recorded.

If you require any additional AV or have any questions, please email us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org by Friday, 20 February. Our team will make every effort to accommodate additional AV needs; however, final approval for additional AV requests will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Project Meetings

• The rooms will not include any AV equipment and sessions will not be recorded.
• Speakers should be prepared to use the space for collaborative discussions, not presentations.
• (1) Whiteboard and markers will be available.

Presentation Details

All speakers presenting slides are encouraged to submit a PDF-format version of their final presentation ahead of the event to Sched.com. We find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session. The deadline for presentations is Friday, 20 March.

To upload slides:

• Log in to your speaker profile through Sched.com or via the mobile site
• On the top of the page click “Manage and Promote Your Session”
• Click “Add Presentation”
• Click in the “Select a File” box and add the PDF document (note: there is a 50MB size limit)
• Click “Upload” and your slides will automatically be saved

Branded Powerpoint

An optional PowerPoint template is available to download. Use of the template is not required, but we do welcome you to use it for your convenience.

Please read and abide by our Code of Conduct, which is strictly enforced. We ask that speakers especially review and are careful to be inclusive in the words and images used during their presentation.

If you have any other venue, speaker, or schedule-related questions, please contact us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org.