Our manifesto
European education faces a growing dependency on proprietary solutions. Students’ data escapes institutional control. Budgets are held hostage by giants who lock up our pedagogical resources. Innovation is constrained.
The alternative exists.
Across Europe, teachers create educational content and use free software. Developers build open tools. Researchers explore new pedagogies. Policymakers engage transitions. Artists share their creations.
But these initiatives remain isolated. ÉducaLibre brings them together.
An annual gathering for these energies to converge. For experiences to be shared. For collaborations to emerge. For public policy to draw on proven successes.
A pivotal moment
In 2026, Europe stands at a turning point. National and regional initiatives are multiplying: the state of Schleswig-Holstein is migrating massively to free software, France is structuring its public policy around sovereign solutions, India continues its leadership with the IT@School project in Kerala.
These experiences need to be shared, analysed and amplified. ÉducaLibre is where that amplification happens.
A heritage to honour
In 2013, Brussels hosted the Rencontres Mondiales du Logiciel Libre (RMLL), a major event that brought together the international free software community. Thirteen years later, ÉducaLibre positions itself as the heir to that spirit, with a specific focus on education and public policy.
Brussels already hosts the FOSDEM each year — the largest free software technical conference in Europe. ÉducaLibre complements that ecosystem by adding the educational and political dimension, making Brussels the European hub for free software year-round.
ASBL EduCode
Founded in 2018, ASBL EduCode has established itself as the reference organisation for educational events around digital technology in French-speaking Belgium.
Major achievements
- RMLL 2013 — World Free Software Meeting at ULB
- EduCode 2018 — BOZAR, Brussels — 1,200 participants, conferences, workshops, hackathons
- EduCode 2019 — Haute École Bruxelles-Brabant — 300 participants, focus on teacher training
- EduCode 2020 — online edition — COVID adaptation, hybrid format experimentation
- Click Éthique workshops and continuing education — ongoing support for teachers and institutions
Governance
- Nicolas Pettiaux — President, mathematics teacher at Athénée Royal de Ganshoren, scientific collaborator at ULB
- Dany De Bontridder — Treasurer
- Olivier Debeir — Board member, ULB professor, LISA Laboratory
- Jean-Yves Jeannas — Board member, AFUL, University of Lille
- Erick Mascart — Secretary General
- Serge Smeesters — Board member
- François Dossogne — Board member
ÉducaLibre 2026 steering committee
- Nicolas Pettiaux — General coordination, scientific programme
- Olivier Debeir — ULB relations
- Alain Reul
- Jean-Yves Jeannas
- François Dossogne
- Serge Smeesters
- Divine Saidi — ÉducaLibre in Bukavu, local organisation and video link (Congo)
- Charles Khahinda — ÉducaLibre in Bukavu, local organisation and video link (Congo)
Contact
ASBL EduCode
Nicolas Pettiaux — nicolas@educode.be — +32 496 24 55 01
175 avenue Léopold Wiener — 1170 Watermael-Boistfort
This project is published under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0