fwd:cloudsec Europe 2024

Know Before You Go

We are glad you are attending the inaugural fwd:cloudsec Europe! To help you make the most of your time, we’ve put together a document with some practical things to know.

The location and getting there

The conference takes place in the NHow Brussels Bloom Hotel. You will find the registration at the ground floor. Please pick up your conference badge before making your way downstairs to the conference.

Address: Rue Royale 250, 1210 Bruxelles

We highly recommend using public transport in Brussels, the nearest train station (Bruxelles-Nord/Brussel-Noord) is 12 minutes (less than a kilometer) from the hotel. The closest Metro stop (Botanique/Kruidtuin) is less than 200m (3 minutes) away.

Flying on Brussels Airport (BRU)

There are up to 8 trains per hour between the airport and the city, and you can take the train at level -1 of the main airport building (the same building as the departure and arrival halls).

You want to take any train that stops in “Brussels Nord” (this might also be called “Brussel Noord” or “Bruxelles Nord”). Both third-party planning tools and the official NMBS/SNCB website and apps can be used for this. You can buy a ticket either online, with the mobile app, or at a ticket machine at the station.

High Speed Rail (Eurostar)

If you’re coming from France, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, or Germany, the Eurostar (including what used to be Thalys) might be a very convenient option. Be aware that you need to pre-book a ticket on this train (if you do not mind going a bit slower, you can also take a “regular” international train).

The Eurostar stops at the “Brussels Midi / Zuid” station (sometimes also called “Brussel Zuid” or “Bruxelles Midi”). From there you can take the Metro line 2 or 6 towards “Elisabeth” and get off at the “Botanique” (aka “Kruidtuin”) stop. Tickets can be bought by using a contactless payment card (when entering/exiting the station), or at a ticket machine.

Flying on Charleroi Airport / Brussels South (CRL)

Even though it’s sometimes called “Brussels South”, Charleroi airport is not in (or around) the city of Brussels. After landing in this airport, you can take a shuttle bus to Brussels Midi.

From there you can take the Metro line 2 or 6 towards “Elisabeth” and get off at the “Botanique” (aka “Kruidtuin”) stop. Tickets can be bought by using a contactless payment card (when entering/exiting the station), or at a ticket machine.

By Car

There is a small car park under the Hotel, parking costs 29 euro for a full day. The entrance is in a one-way street at the back of the hotel, use “Rue Musin” or “Musinstraat” as the address you navigate to (maps link).

The conference

The latest schedule can be found on our website.

We open registration at 8:00, and we will have coffee and tea available for early birds. The first talk starts at 9:00, and the last talk ends at 17:00. Lunch is provided.

From 17:00 to 19:00 we will have our official happy hour with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. During that same time slot, we will also facilitate “birds-of-a-feather sessions”, which are informal (unrecorded) discussions about the topics you think are the most valuable to discuss (see below for a longer explanation).

All these activities are considered part of the fwd:cloudsec conference, and thus covered by our code of conduct.

Sponsors

We cannot have fwd:cloudsec without the support of our wonderful sponsors. They’ll have tables setup outside the conference rooms, and are looking to engage with the top minds in cloud security (that’s you). They also help us cover the cost of meals and drinks, and you will see their names there too.

Birds of a Feather and Hallway Con

Part of the fwd:cloudsec experience is networking with each other. We’ve reserved plenty of space for our attendees to congregate. We’ll also be facilitating the Birds of a Feather sessions.

All Birds of a Feather sessions will follow three basic rules:

If you’re interested in hosting a Birds-of-a-Feather session, there will be a sign-up board at registration. You’ll be able to propose topics and attendees can vote which topics resonate with them.

Tickets and hotel

If you have not booked a hotel already, you can book a room at the nHow using the conference’s link. Of course you are free to stay in any hotel that you like.

If you can’t make it to the conference, we can change the name on the ticket so you can pass it to a co-worker or friend. Please send us a message at tickets-eu@fwdcloudsec.org.

Your room booking is directly with the hotel (whether you used the link above or found a hotel on your own hotel), so do not forget to also follow their procedures and rules. Reach out to them directly if you need to cancel your room, or have any special requests.

Slack

Are you a member of the Cloud Security Forum Slack? If not, you should join. There are a number of channels related to fwd:cloudsec including:

Things to know about Brussels / Belgium

A quick reference for all things Brussels is the Visit Brussels website. We especially like the “Getting around” page. The only mode of transport not mentioned on that page is Uber, which is only available in Brussels (in which case you are probably better taking public transport anyway)

Visiting other cities

Other cities are a short train-ride away. The only thing to keep in mind is that the public transport options that are not trains (bus, metro, tram), differ between regions, so your “3 day pass” for Brussels will not work in Antwerp. The regions and providers are:

If you want to visit cities outside of Belgium, Amsterdam, Paris and London are reachable by Eurostar

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do things have two names?

In Belgium there are 3 official languages, Dutch, French and German (depending on the region). Brussels is bi-language and uses both Dutch and French. In some cases the difference is minimal (Brussel-Noord and Bruxelles-Nord), in other cases completely different words are used, even for street names (e.g Rue de la Loi en Wetstraat).

How can I pay for things?

Belgium uses the Euro, so if you are from a place that also uses that currency, you won’t have much trouble.

Contactless payments and paying by card are commonplace in Belgium. Visa and Mastercard will be accepted in most places, especially bigger places in the center of a city. Some places will have a sticker on the window to indicate the payment methods they accept, otherwise it never hurts to ask before ordering. Some supermarkets used to only accept debit cards, and while we believe most of them will now also accept Mastercard Credit Cards, we have not tested this.

It is usual to use a PIN when paying by card, it might be worth it to check if your card has one (and what it is). If it does not have a PIN, you can probably still get it working, but you might have to explain to the server what “swiping” is in this context.

Do I tip?

Service is always included in the price. Some people like to round up the bill, or tip for good service. In that case tips usually vary between 5 and 10 %.

Some (public) bathrooms will have bathroom attendants that you are expected to pay, but even here the price to use the bathroom will be indicated

How do I use the internet?

If you already have a plan with a provider within the European Union, you should be able to use your normal subscription without any roaming charges.

If you are traveling from outside of the EU, you can: use a travel-sim or local prepaid plan. Both of these options usually are available as an eSim or sim card. If you want to use a Belgian sim, you will have to visit a shop to buy it.

Major places in Brussels will also have the “wifi.brussels” free network available, but we have not tested quality or coverage.

What local things should I try?

If you like sweet, we highly recommend the waffles (Brussels or Liegeoius) and the chocolate (especially the pralines). They will be available with different toppings, but your local guide thinks that less is more (which translates in sugar and whipped cream for the Brussels variant, and plain for the one from Liege).

For savory food, Belgian’s pride themselves in making fries (try to avoid calling them “French Fries” while you are visiting). Typical things that go with fries are Mussels and Flemish stew or “Stoofvlees”.

And of course there is Belgian Beer. There are a lot of options, so it’s hard to give general recommendations. The one thing to keep in mind for all of them is that they might be more alcoholic than you expect (or can taste). Don’t drink a specialty beer at the same speed as you would drink a can of lager! In the last few years non-alcoholic beers have been getting more attention too, giving you more options in case you want to try lots of different flavors, without risking a headache.

There are even more specialities listed on the visit Brussels website (like vol-au-vent, endive, and prepare). The only super-local thing that we didn’t read about there is a “frituur” or “friterie”, which you can read more about on wikipedia.

Should I carry my passport everywhere?

It is a legal requirement in several European countries, Belgium included, to carry a recognised form of government ID on you at all times. For non-EU citizens, that means carrying your passport. You probably won’t ever get asked for it once you’re through immigration, but it’s a legal requirement nonetheless.