In Codee we continue working with the Fortran community to empower developers with better tools, documentation, webinars, etc… and as a next step we are interested in getting involved in the organization of FortranCon!
First, we would like to contribute to FortranCon 2025 but we have not found any evidence of the event to happen this year. Do you know if there are any plans for FortranCon 2025?
Second, we would like to organize and host FortranCon 2026. Our idea is to lead its organization in close collaboration with the Fortran-lang community. For the event to be successful, we believe FortranCon 2026 should be a community-driven event, and we want to contribute to making it possible.
Initial proposal for FortranCon 2026:
Format: Hybrid (in-person + virtual)
Location:A Coruña, Spain
Date:February-March 2026
Institutional Support: University of A Coruña (UDC), Galician Supercomputing Center (CESGA), Galician ICT Cluster, A Coruña City Council.
Organization: We are fully committed to carrying the organizational responsibility while working closely with the Fortran-lang community to set up technical and organizational committees.
Our goal is to ensure that FortranCon remains a collaborative and community-led event, benefiting all members of the Fortran ecosystem.
We Need Your Feedback!
Is there already a plan for FortranCon 2025?
Would the community support this initiative for FortranCon 2026?
Are organizers of previous FortranCon events willing to connect with us and share past experiences?
Any suggestions, concerns, or ideas on how to make this a successful event?
We greatly appreciate any feedback, input, or contacts that could help move this forward. Our intention is to work together with the Fortran-lang community to revitalize FortranCon and ensure it continues as a valuable event for the Fortran community.
Thanks for advocating and seeking support for the concept. I’d only reemphasize that the (additional) virtual format would greatly aid the participation of those who cannot attend in person.
Thanks @manuel.arenaz for stepping up. As you said, the goal should be to provide a neutral platform and get the Fortran community better connected, improve collaboration, etc. Thank you for reaching out here, let’s get people on board and let’s do it.
FortranCon in the past was organized by @tiziano.mueller, Tiziano, do you have any plans for FortranCon 2025 and 2026? If not, would you be ok if @manuel.arenaz takes the lead on FortranCon 2026?
I asked something similar a while ago but waaay more vague than Manuel. It would be nice maybe if 2025 is fully virtual and we work towards an in person one for 2026!
I might be wrong, but I vaguely remember that @tiziano.mueller was on the ETH Zürich when organizing those events (I participated on one of the pre-cursor events 2018), and probably he left academics by now already.
Anyway, I think, it would be a very good idea to organize a FortranCon event with live participation. One could also offer virtual participation, but that is – in my experience – not such a big gain. Putting the talks and tutorial materials online after the workshop might have a bigger impact.
As somehow who has not attended a previous event, I would be interested (albeit virtual attendance is the only option for most of the year). A few thoughts on format, community building, etc.:
I would strongly recommend making it hybrid, because it sends a stronger signal to Fortranners everywhere that it is an inclusive community, and it makes the Fortran community come across more welcoming. I think this is important, given that “Fortran is niche”, “there is no community”, “it’s difficult to connect to others using Fortran” are comments we still hear. Making it hybrid seems more in the spirit of the recent community-building efforts (incl. this discourse group). With a hybrid format, little can be lost, but a lot can be gained.
I agree that putting talks and tutorials online after the workshop is very valuable. However, doing that and making it hybrid aren’t mutually exclusive. Why not both? Hybrid allows virtual attendants to interact and it instills a sense of community that watching videos post-workshop does not.
Sure, making it hybrid absolutely makes sense, provided, one has the appropriate equipment on-site which ensures a smooth interaction between the hybrid and on-site participants. (I have seen very good but also very bad examples for hybrid formats in the past.) But even then, the problem of eventual time-zone difference, as well as the typically more “passive” role of virtual participants remains.
Nevertheless, whichever form is chosen at the end, I really support the idea of a FortranCon26. We should make sure, that the program is generic / relevant enough allowing people to ask their boss / supervisor for financial support. For example, one could think about hands-on Fortran workshops on modernization, best practices, introduction of the newest innovations of the most recent Fortran standards, etc… Having those alongside regular talks might lower the barrier for possible participants to find travel support.
About the more “passive” role of virtual participants: I don’t see that as an issue if the alternative is no role at all. In the worst case scenario (no participation), you just have those participating who’d participate anyway in-person. In my experience, the participation of virtual attendees correlates with how well they are integrated. When the online crowd is treated as second-class participants (which is pretty much the default), or forgotten about altogether (chat questions/raised hands ignored), the enthusiasm is understandably lower.
Sure, hybrid isn’t the solution for including everyone, but you include a lot more. Also, keep in mind many within a similar time zone may not have the time of financial means (or health condition) to travel all across Europe. I don’t think I’ll be able to cover travel and accommodation costs for my PhD student, for example, which leads to your second point, which I strongly agree with. Having at least parts of it be more general or about best practice, may allow some to secure funding for attendance. I think that’s particularly true for people from the natural sciences, who make up a good portion of Fortran’s user base, but may not be able to justify expenses if it’s only about language development, for example. Chances to secure funds may still be low, but certainly increased.
Thank you all for your feedback and for the interest in the organization of FortranCon 2026!!
Our team at Codee has been processing your insights and we will follow up in a new chat thread with more topics related to the organization of FortranCon 2026!
Exciting to move forward with this initiative in close cooperation with the Fortran Community!