WHY2025: where tech magic meets real impact

Picture this: you're greeted by a "Data Gnome" monitoring temperature and humidity as you arrive at what's arguably Europe's most unique tech gathering. Welcome to WHY2025, where brilliant minds come together for a weekend that's equal parts festival, conference and social experiment.

More than just another tech event

WHY2025 isn't your typical corporate conference with expensive tickets and dreary presentation rooms. This is a volunteer-driven celebration where Europe's tech community gathers to share knowledge, discuss big ideas and yes – make pancakes for hundreds of hungry visitors.

The atmosphere perfectly captures what makes the tech community so special. Musical carts roam the grounds using GPS to play different tunes based on location, whilst karaoke bars echo with (admittedly off-key) singing and the main stage pumps out beats that keep everyone energised. It's organised chaos at its finest.

Real tech, real discussions

Serious conversations happen between the festivities. Visitors proudly carry colourful tetrapods they've crafted in workshops, but the real treasure is the knowledge being shared. Take Bert Hubert's fascinating talks on DNA and biology – a brilliant example of how tech minds think beyond their day jobs.

But perhaps most importantly: WHY2025 tackles questions that genuinely matter. This year's "Great Cybersecurity Debate" brought together six politicians with proper tech credentials to discuss how the Netherlands should handle data security and protection. These weren't career politicians speaking in soundbites – these were people like Erik Kemp, doing a Cybersecurity master's whilst serving as Volt's group leader in Enschede council, and Astrid Oosenbrug, founder of the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure. Though with upcoming elections, they've got a vested interest in visibility, it also emerged that a ministry for digital affairs is certainly up for discussion.

The central question they debated? Should policymakers or tech experts make decisions about our digital future? It's a conversation every democracy needs to have, and WHY2025 provided the perfect forum.

Cutting through the AI buzz

Tech conferences often get tangled up in buzzwords, but WHY2025 cuts straight through the noise. Satu Korhonen's talk on "Securing AI" illustrated this approach perfectly – starting by explaining what AI actually means before diving into security implications. As any seasoned developer will tell you: “half the battle is getting past the marketing speak to understand what we're really dealing with”. Everything starts with correct data, and AI is based on 'vectors' – if you take a wrong turn somewhere, you'll end up completely off course.

Have you ever asked Google whether the Titanic's swimming pools are still full? The answer shows that technology isn't always 'clever'. And here's another good one to ponder: do we want 'large models' for the general public or 'small models' for specific purposes? A useful tip from Satu: think about your AI model's lifecycle. At some point, it'll be outdated and can be switched off.

This no-nonsense approach extends to media coverage too. NPO Radio 1's live broadcast from the event asked tough questions about political commitment to data protection, bringing these crucial discussions to a wider audience.

Community in action: the Pancake Village philosophy

This is where Cyso's involvement – one of the main sponsors this year – really comes into its own. Our Pancake Village became the heart of community spirit – not through corporate sponsorship or flashy displays, but by simply feeding people. After two and a half hours of non-stop pancake making for visitors from across Europe, you realise something deeper: technology thrives on human connections. All this with musical accompaniment from our colleague Stanley, who picks up his guitar each day to entertain those waiting in the queue.

The "last pancake" rule (a guest from our village wearing a sign on his back announcing the end of the queue, to prevent infinite queues) and our plans for next year's entertainment requirements for second helpings show how even the most technical communities are held together by simple human interactions and a good sense of humour.

The bigger picture

When darkness fell and Prins S and De Geit performed whilst bread flew through the air (don't ask – it's a tradition during the 'De Duck' number), the "Symphony of Fire" light show began. Explosions and lightning created musical tones whilst rainbow lights streamed from yurts filled with half-costumed visitors, with techno beats as the soundtrack.

It sounds chaotic, but it's actually genius. WHY2025 proves that the best innovation happens when you combine serious technical expertise with creative freedom, community spirit, and just enough controlled chaos to keep things interesting.

Why sponsorship matters

In an era of AI hype, data breaches and digital divides, events like WHY2025 are essential. They remind us that behind every algorithm is a human being, behind every security protocol is someone trying to protect real people, and behind every innovation is a community willing to share knowledge freely. (The biggest reason for Cyso to build the Cloud platform with open source solutions.)

The fact that this entire weekend runs on volunteer energy, remains accessible to everyone regardless of budget, and attracts participants from across Europe says something fundamental about the tech community's values. Open source isn't just about code – it's about open minds, open discussions and open doors.

Still more than a day to go before we pack up the Pancake Village and store it away for the next edition. One thing became clear to me: the future of technology isn't just about what we build – it's about how we build it together.

Martijn Wokke is Business Developer at Cyso Cloud and a proud pancake-maker at WHY2025. When he's not networking, he helps organisations navigate the cloud landscape.