Inclusive participation

Beyond technical discussions, COSCon has long emphasized diversity as part of its community culture. Since its first edition in 2016, the conference has featured a women's forum, following common practices at international open-source events.

"In a field often perceived as male-dominated, it is important to recognize that women have long been contributing to open source," Jiang said.

For Fu Fenju, a project operations specialist, COSCon is a place where research, reflection, and practice intersect.

She pointed to the broader history of computing, noting that women were among the earliest practitioners — from pioneering programmers to operators of the first large-scale computers.