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COSCon (China Open Source Conference) themes by year
Research note, 2026-11-03. Evidence levels per METHODOLOGY.md §4. KAIYUANSHE's blog posts and annual reports are self-published primary texts. They count as A for event facts (date, venue, theme), and their self-reported figures count as C. Scope: a light pass with about 25 sources. Track lists are complete only where noted.
1. Editions
| Ed. | Year | Date | City / venue | Official theme (主题) | Tracks / key topics found | Source | Ev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | 15–16 Oct | Beijing, Beihang Univ. | 源力觉醒 (per Qwen, 3 Nov; not found on the archived page, level D) | first edition under the COSCon name, after the 2015 Apache Roadshow China | https://kaiyuanshe.github.io/tags/COSCon/ (coscon-2016-summary) | A (event); theme: gap |
| 2 | 2017 | 18–19 Nov | Shanghai, SJTU Minhang | 社区经营与项目贡献 per Qwen (D) ("Community Loves Contribution" caption, not confirmed as the theme) | community, contribution | same, coscon-2017-summary | A; theme D |
| 3 | 2018 | 21 Oct | Shenzhen | 桥接东西，Open Source 源力不息 ("Bridging East and West") — verified 3 Nov on kaiyuanshe.github.io Activity page 2 (summary post 2018-10-26) | keynotes, 5 university lightning talks, 3 workshops; forums on open-source education and open hardware | same, coscon-2018-summary | A |
| 4 | 2019 | 2–3 Nov | Shanghai, ECNU | 开源无疆、携手出航 / "Let's Cross the Boundaries Together" | open-source software, open hardware, community operations & governance, education | same, coscon-2019 | A |
| 5 | 2020 | 24–25 Oct | hybrid online/offline, joint with the ASF Apache Roadshow-China (city not confirmed) | 开源向善 / "Open Source for Good" | co-run with the Apache Software Foundation; tech-for-good framing | https://blog.csdn.net/kaiyuanshe/article/details/111189126 ; https://segmentfault.com/area/coscon-2020 | A |
| 6 | 2021 | 30–31 Oct | online main venue + 8 cities (Beijing sub-venue lost to COVID) | 开心开源 / "Happy Hacking" | open-source risk governance forum (compliance), community | KAIYUANSHE 2021 annual report: https://kaiyuanshe.github.io/document/kys-report-2021/2021%20%E5%BC%80%E6%BA%90%E7%A4%BE%E5%B9%B4%E5%BA%A6%E6%8A%A5%E5%91%8A.pdf | A |
| 7 | 2022 | 15–16 Oct | online + multi-city | Open the World / 打开新世界 | globalisation framing | https://blog.csdn.net/kaiyuanshe/article/details/126203868 | A |
| 8 | 2023 | late Oct (verify) | Chengdu, 菁蓉汇 | 开源：川流不息、山海相映 | tracks include open hardware (H); AI/LLM and governance (verify) | https://blog.csdn.net/kaiyuanshe/article/details/134086306 ; https://blog.csdn.net/kaiyuanshe/article/details/133956372 | A (theme, city) |
| 9 | 2024 | 2–3 Nov (closed 3 Nov) | Beijing; combined with KAIYUANSHE's 10th-anniversary carnival | Open Source, Open Life / 开源新生活 | 10-year review, community, AI | https://blog.csdn.net/kaiyuanshe/article/details/144151303 | A |
| 10 | 2025 | 6–7 Dec | Beijing, Haidian (丽亭华苑 hotel) | 众智开源 / Open Source, Open Intelligence | open-source AI ("open intelligence"), 开源集市 (open-source marketplace) with partner booths | https://www.pingwest.com/a/309504 ; https://cloud.tencent.com/developer/news/1226793 | A/B |
| — | 2026 | not found as of 2026-11-03 | — | — | — | — | gap |
The 中国开源年度报告 (China Open Source Annual Report) has been released at or around COSCon since 2015. The 2024 edition is the 10th: https://kaiyuanshe.github.io/2024-China-Open-Source-Report/preface.html (A).
2. Comparison: OpenAtom flagship events (state-backed)
| Year | Event | Theme / focus | Source | Ev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 开放原子全球开源峰会 | not fetched this pass | — | gap |
| 2024 | 开放原子开发者大会暨首届开源技术学术大会 | developers + academia | http://paper.ce.cn/pad/content/202501/01/content_306857.html | B |
| 2025 | 开放原子开源生态大会, 23 Jul, Beijing | 8 new project donations covering AI, embodied intelligence, basic software and blockchain; "全栈协同" (full-stack coordination) | http://www.news.cn/sci-tech/20250725/fad2cf09702c410985ce5318d5c587cf/c.html | B |
| 2026 | 开放原子开源生态大会, 25 Jun, Beijing | 开源赋能产业，生态共筑未来; AI-agent Skills dataset 源图; Anolis (龙蜥) recast as an AI-native OS community; Mulan licence family donated | https://www.news.cn/info/20260625/a9b84c78ac8946c6a7e37bbae91513af/c.html | B |
3. Trend analysis (INFERENCE)
- Topics change from community to AI. 2016–2019 topics were community, education, open hardware and "crossing boundaries". 2020–2022 brought "for good", "happy" and "open the world" during COVID. 2025 made AI the theme itself ("Open Intelligence").
- COSCon keeps an international frame; the state events stress industry. COSCon partnered with the ASF in 2020, and its 2019 and 2022 themes are about crossing borders. OpenAtom's 2026 theme is "empowering industry", and the Xinhua report on it does not mention international cooperation.
- Governance and compliance are recurring tracks (2019 community governance, 2021 risk governance). This parallels EU OSPO and supply-chain-compliance work (CRA, OpenSSF, Eclipse ORC WG).
- The event is moving to Beijing (2024, 2025). This may bring it closer to the policy centre; that is speculative.
- Gaps: we have no full track lists for most years and themes for 2016–2017 are only from Qwen (D); 2018 verified (A). Next pass: fetch each year's 议程 page on kaiyuanshe.cn from a CN IP.