WCEH Keynote: Evan Prodromou

Welcoming Evan Prodromou to WordCamp Canada 2025

We’re thrilled to announce that Evan Prodromou will be joining us as a keynote speaker at WordCamp Canada 2025 this October in Ottawa.

Based in Montréal, Québec, Evan has been at the heart of Canada’s open tech ecosystem for more than two decades — and his latest work has exciting implications for the future of WordPress.

In the late 2000s, Evan co-founded the first federated microblogging platform. His groundbreaking work with microblog architecture set the stage for today’s fediverse.

Evan has been involved with the W3C’s Federated Social Web Community Group (@socialcg@w3c.social) and Social Web Working Group, advocating for open standards in online interactions. He is a driving force behind integrating ActivityPub — the W3C standard powering federated social networks — into WordPress. As co-creator of the protocol, he has led efforts to build full ActivityPub support in WordPress.

Curently, Evan is Director of Open Tech at the Open Earth Foundation and Research Director at the Social Web Foundation, which he founded in 2024 with Mallory Knodel and Tom Coates. The SWF is backed by Automattic, Fastly, Ghost, the Ford Foundation, Medium, Meta, Mastodon, and a variety of other federated platform organizations. Its mission is to support a growing, healthy, sustainable and multi-polar Fediverse.

Father of the Fediverse

Evan Prodromou’s name is closely tied to some of the most important movements toward decentralization on the internet.

Sometimes called “The Father of the Fediverse,” he founded Identi.ca, which launched in 2008 as the world’s first federated microblogging platform. Identi.ca was the driving force behind a series of early open alternatives to centralized social media, like StatusNet, that helped shape what would become the Fediverse, a network of independent platforms connected by open standards.

Evan co-authored the OStatus specification and the Activity Streams 2.0 data format, which then led to ActivityPub. ActivityPub evolved from Identica’s lineage and now powers decentralized services like Mastodon, PeerTube, Pixelfed, WriteFreely, and many others.

ActivityPub is becoming a cornerstone of the new worldwide web — a web closer to the one Tim Berners-Lee created and envisioned. It’s not owned by any one company, but instead it’s made up of people and platforms working together. For example, Automattic’s Tumblr and Meta’s Threads are exploring or implementing ActivityPub support.

Today, Evan is bringing ActivityPub to WordPress — bridging two of the most powerful ideas in modern web development: open publishing and federated social networking. This work stands to dramatically expand the reach of WordPress, enabling seamless integration with platforms across the Fediverse while staying true to the values of openness and autonomy.

Innovation in the Canadian Context

Throughout his career, Evan has championed Canadian innovation with a practical, inclusive, and collaborative spirit. He’s advised international standards bodies, led startups, contributed to countless free software projects, and advocated for an internet that is more ethical, more human, and more free.

Evan’s story is a great example of Canadian innovation in action. Grounded in practicality, inclusivity, and collaboration, his work reflects the very themes we’re exploring at WordCamp Canada this year. Whether he’s helping shape international web standards or mentoring local devs in Montreal, Evan’s focus has always been on building sustainable, people-first technology that empowers users — not platforms.

In a time when artificial intelligence, platform monopolies, and algorithmic bias dominate headlines, Evan’s voice is a reminder of what truly matters: open access, ethical technology, and human-centered design. As we ask ourselves what the future of WordPress looks like in a world increasingly shaped by AI and automation, Evan helps bring us back to the core principles of the open web.

Join Us in Ottawa

At WordCamp Canada 2025, we’re gathering folks from across the country and around the world to reflect, connect, and build together. Whether you’re a seasoned contributor, a first-time site owner, a plugin developer, or an advocate for digital rights, Evan will offer thoughtful insight — and practical inspiration—for the path ahead.

We can’t wait to all get together!

Get your tickets, bring your curiosity, and join us in Ottawa this fall for an unforgettable celebration of WordPress, community, and the open web! 🌐

🎟️ Tickets are on sale now, and we’ve secured discount rates for you at area hotels. 🏨

Further Reading:

• ActivityPub 2025 Roadmap: Building the Future of WordPress Federation
• What’s the W3C and what’s a web standard?
• The Social Web Incubator Community Group