A free conference for people who build and sell software. Engineers, designers, product people, founders, and the incurably curious dreamers and visionaries. Any programming language, any stack.
An excuse to hang out with like-minded people and learn from folks sharing their current best. In Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 3–5 June 2027.
The call is open, with no strict deadline, and it is for more than talks. Every slot is one hour, and you choose what happens in it: a talk, a panel, a workshop, or something else, like live coding, a hands-on lab, a fireside chat or a debate. Half an hour is fine too: short sessions may be paired into one hour.
First-time speakers are welcome, from any part of building and selling software: engineering, AI/ML, data, UX/UI, product, research, the business of software, and leadership. You do not need to write code to speak here, but the audience is technical. Bring something they can use or build on, from your own work, not a pitch.
Sessions are picked for their quality, never for who is paying.
How to propose a session
Read the call, then send your idea through the short form. It takes about fifteen minutes.
We read your session first, your name after.
You hear back, whatever the answer, with no fixed reply time.
The talks are in English, at IPI Academy, Kulina bana 2, in the centre of Tuzla. Coffee and lunch are in the cafés on Freedom Square, under five minutes' walk away. The old town, the Korzo and the lakes are all a short walk from there.
Tuzla is named for salt: tuz is Turkish for salt. People have made salt here since the Neolithic, and next to the lakes a park rebuilds the village they lived in on stilts, thousands of years ago.
The goat on GoatConf's seal is Tuzla's too, and still a city symbol: see why a goat.
The Pannonian Lakes are three salt lakes in the middle of town, with salt waterfalls and a beach. The season opens on 1 June, and many people go around 17:00 or 18:00, so the lakes fit after each day's talks. A small train runs there from Freedom Square.
Tuzla International Airport is about 15 km from town, with Wizz Air flights from across Europe. From Sarajevo, the bus takes about three hours.
Meal and cappuccino: Numbeo, 2 October 2026. Lake tickets: adults, summer 2026.
23Freedom Square24The salt lakes25The Korzo26The old town27Tuzla from above28The Neolithic village
Eat and drink, with or without meat
Bosnian food is meat-heavy, and it is good. There is plenty without meat too: most of the dishes below have none. No food or drink is provided: you buy your own, or a supporter treats everyone at a café.
The travel page maps places near IPI with vegetarian dishes on their menus: pizzerias, one that also sells krompiruša and zeljanica, and a Bosnian restaurant with a vegetarian platter. None is fully vegetarian or vegan, so ask each place.
Ask for posno: it means made without meat, and often without eggs or dairy too, so check if you are vegan.
29Grah, bean stewVegan if made without meat3–6.50 €30Punjene paprikeStuffed peppers, usually with meat and rice3–7 €31Begova čorbaChicken soup3–4.50 €32ZeljanicaPita with cheese and spinach1.50–2.50 € a portion33SirnicaPita with cheese1.50–2.50 € a portion34KrompirušaPita with potato, often vegan1.50–2.50 € a portion35BurekPita with meat1.50–3 € a portion36Tuzlanski ćevapiMeat, in lepinja dipped in broth3.50–5 € for five37SarmaCabbage rolls with meat and rice3–7 €38Bosnian coffeeVegan if black1–3 €39TufahijaVegetarian, apple with walnuts inside2–2.50 €40HurmašiceSweet, syrup cakes1–2 €
Prices are what a portion costs in Tuzla, from menus on the Korpa.ba delivery app and Bosnian news reports, checked on 13 October 2026. Coffee prices are from Sarajevo.
Propose an event
Anyone can propose an event, like a meetup, a hackathon or a dinner. You run it and pay for it. If we accept it, it becomes part of GoatConf 2027 and is shared with everyone who comes. It follows the charter and the code of conduct.
GoatConf is free to attend. Companies help keep it that way by supporting it online: a logo and link on the site, one social post and a mention in the emails to everyone registered. The money pays the event's costs. Supporters never buy talks, stage time or the attendee list.
When Austria-Hungary ruled Tuzla, it ordered every goat gone. One man hid his. Word got around, and soon the whole town was buying milk and cheese from that one goat.
The whole of Tuzla milked one goat.A saying people in Bosnia and Herzegovina still use.
That goat is GoatConf's mark: the one that feeds the community. It first appeared as the mascot of EuRuKo 2024, the first Ruby conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina. GoatConf is not only about Ruby or any one stack: Ruby is welcome, and so is every other language and framework.
Saturday has a slot for a goat hunt through town: clues, teams of people who just met, and the goat statue at the end.
Who's organising
GoatConf is organised by Muhamed Isabegović, who founded and organised EuRuKo 2024, the first Ruby conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and RubyConf Austria. GoatConf is not only about Ruby or any one stack: Ruby is welcome, and so is every other language and framework.
IPI Academy in Tuzla is the host and partner, and gives GoatConf its rooms. The first edition expects 120 to 300 people.
62speakers hosted at EuRuKo 2024 and RubyConf Austria
Conferences run before
EuRuKo 2024Sarajevo, 11 to 13 September 2024
The first Ruby conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Speakers included Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, José Valim, Dave Thomas, Xavier Noria, Koichi Sasada, Jean Boussier and Obie Fernandez.
Two days at Haus der Musik and Das MuTh. Speakers included Chad Fowler, Dave Thomas, Obie Fernandez, Charles Oliver Nutter, Bozhidar Batsov and Andrzej Krzywda, with José Valim and Armin Ronacher on a panel.
GoatConf 
Host and partner: the rooms at IPI Academy
Funding and organising the BH Professionals Meetup on Saturday 5 June
Christoph Lipautz's travel
EuRuKo 2024 Sarajevo, 11 to 13 September 2024
RubyConf Austria 2026 Vienna, 29 and 30 May 2026
