Speaker Guide

We are excited to welcome you as a speaker for OpenSearchCon China 2026, taking place in Shanghai, China, on March 17-18.

This is your official speaker guide. Please bookmark this page for easy reference, and continue to check back as the event gets closer for additional speaker information. If you have any questions, please email Carolyn Ingalls at cfp@lfopensource.com.

• Schedule Announced: Wednesday, January 28
• Speaker Registration Deadline: Tuesday, February 10
• Additional AV Requests Deadline: Friday, February 13
• Slides Upload Deadline: Monday, March 16
• Event Date: Tuesday, March 17 – Wednesday, March 18

Please review the sections below to find more information about the above dates and deadlines.

To confirm your participation and secure your speaking slot, it’s important to complete your registration by Tuesday, February 10, using the details you received in your notification email. If you need those details again, please contact Carolyn Ingalls.

If you require a visa letter, please register for the event and then complete the visa letter request form.

We also ask that you please note the following:

• Provision of a visa letter by The Linux Foundation does not guarantee visa approval as final approval is made at the sole discretion of the government of the event’s host country.
• The Linux Foundation strongly recommends requesting a visa letter at your earliest possible convenience and to contact your local Embassy/Consulate with any visa questions you may have.
• The Linux Foundation processes most visa letter requests in (3) business days.

If you are applying for travel funding and have not submitted your request, please do so as soon as possible. The deadline for travel funding applications is Tuesday, February 3, at 23:59 China Standard Time (UTC+8) / 10:59 AM EST.

You can access the form here. 

Please note: Talk acceptance does not guarantee travel funding.

OpenSearchCon China 2026 will take place at:

Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao
上海虹桥祥源希尔顿酒店

1116 Hongsong Rd (E), Minhang District,
Shanghai, China, 201103

Please visit the Venue & Travel page for more information.

The schedule will be announced on Wednesday, January 28, and posted on our website using Sessionize.com. Sessionize is the platform you used to submit your talk to the CFP. You can use your existing account to login and make changes to your speaker profile.

If you have a conflict with the timing of your talk, find that it conflicts with the content of another talk, or are having problems updating your speaker profile, please contact Carolyn Ingalls.

Deadline to upload slides: Monday, March 16

All speakers are required to submit their final presentation slides ahead of the event. In addition to providing a hard copy for accessibility purposes, we find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session.

Please note that your presentation slides should be submitted as a PDF and must be formatted in 16:9. A branded presentation template is available to download. Use of the template is optional.

To upload slides, follow these instructions (guide with screenshots):

• Log in to your Sessionize account: https://sessionize.com/login. 
• On the “Overview” page, you will see a list of Upcoming Sessions sorted by event. Click on the name of your session. 
• On the next page, click on the “Edit Session” button.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate the last field called “Presentation Slides”.
• Drag and drop your presentation in the box, or click on “browse” to upload it from your computer.
• In the upper right corner of the page, click on the “Save Changes” button. A pop-up in the upper right corner will confirm the file was saved successfully.

Please Note:

• If you have any difficulties, you may also send the presentation to cfp@lfopensource.com, and we will upload them on your behalf. 
• Do not change or alter information in any of the other fields. If you need to make changes to your talk title, description, or speakers, please reach out to cfp@lfopensource.com.  

Please note the following technical requirements:

• All speakers must supply their own computers and HDMI adapters to use during their talk.
• Presentation slides should be formatted in 16:9. A branded presentation template is available to download. Use of the template is optional.
• The room will include a screen, projector, and (1) microphone for each speaker or panelist.
• Please be advised that overseas network stability in China can be unreliable and subject to interruptions. To ensure a smooth presentation without access issues or connectivity delays, all slides and demos must be downloaded and run locally from your desktop. Do not rely on cloud-based or in-browser applications (e.g. Google Slides, Figma, etc), even though internet access will be available.
  • Google is known to be blocked in China, so please download files and materials before traveling.
• The room will include a screen, projector, and (1) microphone for each speaker or panelist.

If you require any additional AV, please email Carolyn Ingalls by Friday, February 13. The Linux Foundation will make every effort to accommodate additional AV needs; however, final approval for additional AV requests will be made on a case-by-case basis.

If you would prefer to present your talk in Mandarin, please notify Carolyn Ingalls at cfp@lfopensource.com by Friday, March 13. Real-time captioning will be available for attendees through Wordly, with instructions in each breakout room.

Presentation slides, videos, and any other materials displayed during the talk should still be written in English.

Join us for a special Speaker Reception in appreciation of your contribution! Enjoy an evening of great company and delicious food.

Event Date: 2026 March 16

Event Location: Big Bamboo Restaurant
Address: No.20, Laowaijie, No. 3338 Hongmei Road, Minhang District

Event Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Round-trip transportation will be provided to and from the venue.

We look forward to connecting and celebrating your insights and expertise!

Please RSVP by Friday, March 6

We’re excited to provide you with an official speaker marketing kit that includes dynamic social media posts and graphics. Take a look, and feel free to post to any of your social channels.

The Linux Foundation, in collaboration with the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), has created an online course designed to teach the viewer about inclusion, diversity, and unconscious bias. We highly recommend all of our speakers watch the course to learn tips/tools to use when speaking to encourage inclusivity in presentations and messaging.

Please read and abide by our code of conduct, which can be found here. Our code of conduct is strictly enforced. We ask that speakers especially review this code of conduct and are careful to be inclusive in the words and images used during their presentations.

Do you have a speaker or schedule-related question? Please contact Carolyn Ingalls at cfp@lfopensource.com.