We’re hosting the Maintain-a-thon at UN Open Source Week

The free and open source software ecosystem underpins all digital infrastructure, the components used in all software. For nearly 50 years, people have run, studied, modified, and shared their code, creating the open technologies that form the backbone of modern society. Behind every line of code is a maintainer keeping the digital world running. These experts fix vulnerabilities, review contributions, and ensure compatibility as technologies evolve. The reality is stark: without sustained maintenance, even the most groundbreaking software becomes unstable, insecure, or obsolete. At the Sovereign Tech Agency, we see it as part of our mission to ensure these technologies exist and thrive, by fostering international collaboration, addressing systemic challenges, welcoming the next generation of maintainers, and increasing diversity across open source communities.

UN Open Source Week is an ideal setting for this drawing attention to these open technologies, bringing together developers, maintainers, policymakers, government officials, researchers, and other stakeholders in one global forum. The UN itself is a symbol of international cooperation, much like open digital infrastructure itself: built by people around the world. To sustain these critical technologies, we need to work together as a global community. To organize the maintain-a-thon, we're glad to be partnering with Alpha-Omega, whose work with open source maintainers on sustainable security improvements has targeted critical projects globally.

At the maintain-a-thon on 16 June 2025, we're creating a space where maintainers can share what approaches have worked for them, and build this knowledge into practical playbooks to make projects more sustainable. Our goal is for every participant to walk away with both new knowledge and concrete next steps: valuable insights about open source maintenance ("Today I Learned"), and specific actions they can implement to strengthen their project's sustainability ("Tomorrow I Will"). Together with Alpha-Omega, we've created a collaborative format focused on real-world impact. Participants will work in parallel groups, addressing themes through a framework that encompasses full open source project lifecycle:

• Starting an Open Source Project
• Scaling an Open Source Project
• Sustaining an Open Source Project
• Sunsetting an Open Source Project

The maintain-a-thon will use an unconference format, where participants suggest specific topics they're interested in. During three time blocks, they'll form multiple breakout groups around the different session topics. Each breakout will discuss a topic with the goal of producing a document summarizing the insights and actions from the breakout. Each session will end with a brief readout from each breakout.

We are bringing together 12 maintainers (from Germany, the UK, and the US) to form the core of our “maintain-a-thon.” These are highly experienced experts who have been responsible for one or more critical projects and bring critical, hands-on experience into international conversations on digital public goods, security, and innovation. They'll be joined by over 70 people who have registered for the maintain-a-thon. Much like the open source communities themselves, these events are driven by the knowledge, expertise, and interest of those who are engaged. Here are some of the sessions that they're proposing, more will be published onsite at the event:

Open Source for Beginners by Thilo Borgmann

This session will cover the basics of launching your own open source projects and how to begin contributing to existing ones.

Good First Issues by Sarah Hoffmann

How to identify good first issues and how to attract and onboard new contributors.

Internationalization by Minh Nguyen

A session on managing internationalization and localization in a global open source project, including aspects of multiculturalism.

We’ve got funding, now what? by Adrian Vovk

This session will address the question of what happens after a project secured funding, starting with the example of GNOME and the effects on accessibility, on security, and on the ability for maintainers to address some long-standing sore points.

Care Work in Open Source Software by Qianqian Ye

Discuss how contributing and maintaining Open Source software can be considered care work, and how to sustain those efforts.

Security for the Long-Haul by Seth Larson

A session on low-energy security maintenance for projects which are feature-complete or have fewer maintainers.

Building a Contributor Community by Matthias Klumpp

How to keep contributor frustration levels low and create consensus in larger projects.