By Brigitte Heijkoop
Building a conference like WICCON takes a lot of late nights, endless cups of coffee, and a passionate team of volunteers. But to truly summon this event into existence and keep it accessible, we need partners who don’t just understand our vision - they actively help us make it happen.
Today, we are absolutely thrilled to announce our official Diamond Sponsor for this year’s edition: the Open Home Foundation!
If you have ever played around with smart home automation, chances are you already know their work. Founded in 2024 as a Swiss non-profit, the Open Home Foundation owns and governs over 250 open source projects - including the legendary Home Assistant (the brain of over 2.7 million smart homes worldwide), ESPHome, and Music Assistant.
For WICCON, this partnership is a match made in tech heaven. The Open Home Foundation was built on three core principles that we deeply respect: privacy, choice, and sustainability.
They firmly believe that our homes should be private spaces where we can truly be ourselves, rather than sources of data for Big Tech to monetize. By keeping their code open source and legally shielded from corporate buy-outs, the foundation ensures that the hardware we build, the music we stream, and the data we generate stay exactly where they belong: under our own control.
This privacy-first, community-driven, and slightly rebellious attitude against big corporate gatekeepers is exactly the energy we celebrate at WICCON. Having them back our mission to highlight women's technical achievements in cybersecurity is incredibly inspiring.
“Privacy and security sit at the heart of everything we do at the Open Home Foundation, and both are shaped by the people who show up, share what they know, and build things together. WICCA has built a passionate community that inspires and empowers women, and creates a safe space to learn, grow, and share their knowledge. That reflects the values we care about, and it’s why we’re proud to support WICCON this year and help create even more opportunities like this!” says Open Home Foundation.
Of course, the magic of WICCON is built in layers, and we cannot talk about our amazing sponsors without giving a massive, heartfelt thank you to Rabobank!
To the team at Rabobank: thank you so much for believing in WICCON and helping us make our vision come true. Your outstanding and continuous support is what keeps our engine running, our community growing, and our stage open for the most badass technical talks. We are incredibly proud to have you on this journey with us!
With the Open Home Foundation shining as our Diamond Sponsor, Rabobank as our Platinum+ powerhouse and our first Gold Sponsor Confider leading the way, the foundations for WICCON 2026 are stronger than ever.
Our volunteers are working hard behind the scenes and the countdown to October 29-30 in the Lichtfabriek has officially begun.
Are you ready to meet the minds behind these amazing projects, hear groundbreaking talks, and connect with the best community in cyber?
Our tickets are available, and we cannot wait to welcome you. Come make some magic with us!