September 2025 - SFD-discuss - lists.mailman3.com

Re: Seeking Advice for Organizing SFD in Syria (Aleppo)

by Maren Hachmann

Hi Fares, I'm Maren from Kiel, Germany - so our conditions here are likely also very different from yours, but perhaps some of our ideas from Kielux (2.5 day Linux and Open Source conference in Kiel) can still be useful. Tech talks, an exhibition, a support corner are also parts of our event here. Q1: For keeping up a good energy throughout the event: Food / beverages: We have / had multiple kinds of those: 1. Sale of stuff we bought in advance (disadvantage: you need to have the money for that and you need to know how many will come) 2. Food stalls / food trucks: advantage: it's the owners' risk whether they will sell something; and there may be a larger choice (disadvantage: in our case, the food we bought to sell did not sell well, but also, it turned out that the food truck's food was not good - but it looked better at first, so people bought that, rather than ours) 3. Having a barbecue and also a breakfast together. Everyone brings something, and we have fun as a community, chatting away about open source things. Some things, like bread rolls, were provided by us, but other food, like salads and fruit and marmalade, were brought by the community. A fun event: What we had was an 'active break', meaning that there was an offer of taking part in a fun sports routine in the lunch break. Some of us dressed up as penguins, and everyone was invited to do some light kickboxing. We were all sweating and laughing. Games: We put some computers there where people could play Tuxracer / Supertuxcart. A riddle: One of us designed a multi-part riddle for people to solve, and we bought prizes for the winners A raffle: As our event is sponsored, we are lucky to have our sponsors provide prizes that we can give to participants. Merch sale: (may be out of scope for your event at the current stage) T-Shirts, penguins, mousepads, ... Q2: For the local impact: Jobwall: allowing local businesses to find their next IT person via a small poster on a pinboard Check out whether open source is being used in schools / governmental institutions near you and invite them to talk about it. In the past, we also had LPI exams. Offer some kind of maker thing that is useful to people in your area. Or offer a course for children/adolescents to learn programming (e.g. with Scratch). Q3: venue This is difficult for us, too. We're cooperating with a local startup center, which has a presentation room for the talks, and meeting rooms for workshops and a large hallway for the exhibition. But it's always too small, and one of the rooms we had was really difficult to find, because it's only reachable via multiple stairs and hallways and bridges in a different building...We also have a tent, but haven't used that, because it often rains in September and we have no place to let the thing dry afterwards, so it won't smell / mould. Maybe a school or a part of the university could be used in Aleppo? If you do your event at a time when there's no school, it could work. If you're really running out of options, maybe even something like a shopping gallery or a market hall could work? For the shopping places, it could even be useful if there are more people around... although that may make the talks really difficult. Or perhaps you know someone (who knows someone) who has a café / restaurant? --- For our support corner, we've 'dressed that up' as a doctor's office, which is kind of fun. A penguin figure with a bandaged wing, some lab coats, a stethoscope, and then some printed decorations.(Let me know if you'd like a printable penguin skeleton or an eye test poster with fish instead of letters/symbols... ). We also printed flyers that were meant to help people install Linux on their computer. What also really helps is having a good team of people who organize it, so if you can get some of your most enthusiastic friends to help (even family), that will be good. Wishing you good luck and lots of fun with your event! Maren Am 25.09.25 um 10:57 schrieb Fares Alkhaled: > Hello SFD Community, > > My name is Fares, I’m based in Aleppo, Syria, and I’m currently working > on coordinating a Software Freedom Day event here. This will be one of > the first SFD events of its kind in Aleppo, and I’m really excited about > the opportunity to bring people together around free and open-source > software. > > The event is planned to include four main activities: > > 1. > > *Technical Talks* – on digital freedom, open-source software, and > their role in developing both the technical and civil society sectors. > > 2. > > *Interactive Exhibition* – showcasing open-source software across > different sectors. > > 3. > > *Support Corner* – offering technical help to install FOSS software > from the exhibition and providing guidance for visitors. > > 4. > > *Hackathon* – where young people can participate in solving 3–4 > technical challenges using open-source tools, with clear > participation rules. > > Right now, the main challenge I’m facing is finding a suitable venue. > I’ve been looking for theaters or halls that can host the event, but so > far it’s been difficult. Because of this, I may need to push the date to > October 2nd instead of the official day. > > I’d love to hear your advice on: > > 1. > > *Program design* – What have you found most effective in engaging > participants and keeping the energy high across multiple activities > in a single-day event? > > 2. > > *Maximizing local impact* – From your experience, what strategies > can help make SFD more meaningful in regions where the FOSS > community is still in its early stages? > > 3. > > *Flexibility* – If I cannot secure a large hall, what creative > approaches (smaller venues, hybrid formats, outdoor spaces, etc.) > have worked for you? > > I want this to be a strong and inspiring start for the FOSS community in > Syria, and I’d be grateful to learn from your experiences. > > Thank you in advance for your support and guidance. > > Best regards, > Fares > Aleppo, Syria > > > _______________________________________________ > SFD-discuss mailing list -- sfd-discuss(a)mailman3.com > To unsubscribe send an email to sfd-discuss-leave(a)mailman3.com

Sept. 30, 2025

Register your events

by Jurgen Gaeremyn (Digital Freedoms)

Hey all, have bumped into two Software Freedom Day events that happened, just by coincidence... that weren't registered on our map. If we want to make a stand that Software Freedom (and our digital freedoms in general) is important for our global society... it's essential that we collect as many events as possible. Still planning an event? Don't hesitate to put it on the map too! Having trouble registering your event? Please get in touch with me, and I'll be happy to help you out. Greetings, Jurgen

Sept. 30, 2025

WSIS +20 Zero Draft feedback by Global South Actors : Call for Endorsements

by 'Kayode Akanni

WSIS +20 Zero Draft feedback by Global South Actors : Call for Endorsements Dear Colleagues, We hope this email finds you well. We are contacting you to ask whether you could be interested in participating in the endorsement of a policy making process of United Nations' WSIS +20 review this contains some elements in policy-making that will eventually help the implementation of use of free and Open source software, open standards ,etc globally. It was part of our programme SFD celebration this year as it was stated on our SFD 2025 Team page. So Please do well by reading,editing and endorse. The deadline for submissions for various inputs of stakeholders into WSIS Zero draft review has been extended to October 3, 2025. Please take some time to go through the document and sign on. You can access the document here:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IjmMPxa9bJJx9tiHy_E6QqtWOVhs3PpWIm… The document is open for sign-ons until October 2 at 7 pm GM+1. Please share this invitation with the appropriate representatives that could be interested in participating in our endorsement. 'Kayode Akanni,Executive Director,Knowledge House Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Tue, 16 Sep 2025 at 13:13, Marcos Marado<mindboosternoori(a)gmail.com> wrote: Hi there, On Mon, Sep 15, 2025, 20:03 LM <lmemsm(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Only 5 days left until Software Freedom Day 2025. Is your event on the map? > If not, now's the time to add it: > https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/archive?view=list > > Today's Free Software sharing topic, what's your favorite FLOSS media > player? Do you prefer vlc, mplayer, mpc, xine, smplayer, kodi? Have > another program you'd recommend? I've been a regular user of xine and vlc, but later and for many years mplayer. Recently I switched to mpv, a "more modern" mplayer, compatible with the 'old mplayer' but with a faster paced development and new features, particularly useful for streaming use cases. mpv is the new mplayer :-) https://mpv.io/ -- ~marado _______________________________________________ SFD-discuss mailing list -- sfd-discuss(a)mailman3.com To unsubscribe send an email to sfd-discuss-leave(a)mailman3.com

Sept. 29, 2025

Re: Seeking Advice for Organizing SFD in Syria (Aleppo)

by Jurgen Gaeremyn

Hello Fares, thanks for reaching out - I hope the wider community also shares their experience, because the situation where I live (Belgium) is very different from the one in your Aleppo. From your mail, I have the impression that you're expecting hundreds of people. It looks like you have a very ambitious project outlined! From what I heard, good potential partners were libraries and schools. I don't think there is a hackerspace in Syria or more specific in Aleppo. For sure, if nothing else works and you have enough volunteers... you could do a "tour of digital freedom" (pick a name that may be more accessible for your area if needed) where different home living rooms get turned into an ad hoc place. If the speakers are willing to give their talk a few times, this might also be a way to distribute the people load - even offering the opportunity for more interaction with your audience. Others have also used coffee shops or cafés as venue, given they might sell drinks to the visitors. Anyway, wishing you best of luck, and looking forward to hearing more from you and your event! Greetings, Jurgen Op 25/09/2025 om 10:57 schreef Fares Alkhaled: > > Hello SFD Community, > > My name is Fares, I’m based in Aleppo, Syria, and I’m currently > working on coordinating a Software Freedom Day event here. This will > be one of the first SFD events of its kind in Aleppo, and I’m really > excited about the opportunity to bring people together around free and > open-source software. > > The event is planned to include four main activities: > > 1. > > *Technical Talks* – on digital freedom, open-source software, and > their role in developing both the technical and civil society sectors. > > 2. > > *Interactive Exhibition* – showcasing open-source software across > different sectors. > > 3. > > *Support Corner* – offering technical help to install FOSS > software from the exhibition and providing guidance for visitors. > > 4. > > *Hackathon* – where young people can participate in solving 3–4 > technical challenges using open-source tools, with clear > participation rules. > > Right now, the main challenge I’m facing is finding a suitable venue. > I’ve been looking for theaters or halls that can host the event, but > so far it’s been difficult. Because of this, I may need to push the > date to October 2nd instead of the official day. > > I’d love to hear your advice on: > > 1. > > *Program design* – What have you found most effective in engaging > participants and keeping the energy high across multiple > activities in a single-day event? > > 2. > > *Maximizing local impact* – From your experience, what strategies > can help make SFD more meaningful in regions where the FOSS > community is still in its early stages? > > 3. > > *Flexibility* – If I cannot secure a large hall, what creative > approaches (smaller venues, hybrid formats, outdoor spaces, etc.) > have worked for you? > > I want this to be a strong and inspiring start for the FOSS community > in Syria, and I’d be grateful to learn from your experiences. > > Thank you in advance for your support and guidance. > > Best regards, > Fares > Aleppo, Syria > > > _______________________________________________ > SFD-discuss mailing list --sfd-discuss(a)mailman3.com > To unsubscribe send an email tosfd-discuss-leave(a)mailman3.com

Sept. 25, 2025

Seeking Advice for Organizing SFD in Syria (Aleppo)

by Fares Alkhaled

Hello SFD Community, My name is Fares, I’m based in Aleppo, Syria, and I’m currently working on coordinating a Software Freedom Day event here. This will be one of the first SFD events of its kind in Aleppo, and I’m really excited about the opportunity to bring people together around free and open-source software. The event is planned to include four main activities: 1. *Technical Talks* – on digital freedom, open-source software, and their role in developing both the technical and civil society sectors. 2. *Interactive Exhibition* – showcasing open-source software across different sectors. 3. *Support Corner* – offering technical help to install FOSS software from the exhibition and providing guidance for visitors. 4. *Hackathon* – where young people can participate in solving 3–4 technical challenges using open-source tools, with clear participation rules. Right now, the main challenge I’m facing is finding a suitable venue. I’ve been looking for theaters or halls that can host the event, but so far it’s been difficult. Because of this, I may need to push the date to October 2nd instead of the official day. I’d love to hear your advice on: 1. *Program design* – What have you found most effective in engaging participants and keeping the energy high across multiple activities in a single-day event? 2. *Maximizing local impact* – From your experience, what strategies can help make SFD more meaningful in regions where the FOSS community is still in its early stages? 3. *Flexibility* – If I cannot secure a large hall, what creative approaches (smaller venues, hybrid formats, outdoor spaces, etc.) have worked for you? I want this to be a strong and inspiring start for the FOSS community in Syria, and I’d be grateful to learn from your experiences. Thank you in advance for your support and guidance. Best regards, Fares Aleppo, Syria

Sept. 25, 2025

Thank You

by LM

I wanted to thank everyone who helped make #SoftwareFreedomDay2025 a success this year. We couldn't have done this without you. We had 61 events, up from last year's 55. We even have some scheduled for later this year. There were more virtual options than ever before. You'll find highlights and recordings here: https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/software-freedom-day-2025-whats-goi… Hope you'll join us for our next event #DocumentFreedomDay2026 in March, 2026.

Sept. 21, 2025

Please share your multimedia

by LM

Want to save your graphics, presentations, videos, posters or other memorabilia from your #SoftwareFreedomDay2025 event for posterity? Consider sharing them to the Wikimedia Commons! https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Software_Freedom_Day Thanks to Marado for this great idea: As an added benefit, there are no paywalls or logins required to view them. Hope everyone is having an enjoyable Software Freedom Day 2025.

Sept. 20, 2025

Happy Software Freedom Day 2025

by LM

Happy Software Freedom Day 2025. Hope you've found a celebration in your area to attend. If not, there are a few online events today including one I'm hosting. See the DFF blog posts for links to virtual events and recorded talks and all the latest news on Software Freedom Day 2025: https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/software-freedom-day-2025-whats-goi… You can find some of us on matrix on the #SoftwareFreedomDay channel if you want to live chat or ask questions. Please let us know how your celebrations are going. Let us know if you have any blog posts or recordings or videos to share of your event and we'll add them to our page. Hope you have fun today. On behalf of the board of the Digital Freedom Foundation, have a great Software Freedom Day 2025! Best wishes. Laura

Sept. 20, 2025

Tomorrow is Software Freedom Day 2025

by LM

It's almost here. Just one more day and then Software Freedom Day 2025 will kick off all around the world in different time zones. Be sure to keep tabs on our blog page with highlights to get the latest news about Software Freedom Day: https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/software-freedom-day-2025-whats-goi… I'll be summarizing resources and event news on that page. I'll also be tracking Mastodon, BlueSky and the other social media outlets where the DFF has accounts and boosting #SFD2025 posts. You can also check out #SoftwareFreedomDay on matrix if you want to chat with others live. If you have any virtual events or anything you'd like to share online, please let me know. I'd like to get the word out on those so people everywhere can participate. I'm summarizing virtual events on the blog page in hopes that we can reach more people and give people without a local Software Freedom Day event a chance to celebrate with us. Also, if you make recordings of any panels or talks, please send the links so I can share them as well. My last question on favorite software for the countdown, what are your favorite sites that list Free, Libre and Open Source software available to anyone? It could be a specialized list on a particular topic or a site that lists what you can use in place of commercial programs. What Free Software recommendation sites or web pages do you recommend to new (or experienced) users? Here are some I like to share: Libre Projects is an older list but a good starting point to introduce newcomers to Free Software when they can't install programs on their own systems. https://libreprojects.net/ PortableApps is my favorite site to introduce Windows users to the benefits of Free Software. Extra bonus, these programs avoid the Windows registry and you don't need to be an administrator on a Windows system to run them. http://portableapps.com/ Here's my list of educational games: https://codeberg.org/lmemsm/delightful-educational-games Some of them can even be played online. F-droid's a wonderful resource for Free Software for phones. Unlike smart phones with commercial apps stores, you can even create your own F-droid repository. Thought I'd highlight this repository which adds even more app choices to F-droid: https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/ There were even some articles on removing more proprietary software from Android phones at the izzysoft.de site. How can I not mention the K.Mandla blog which is the place to go to find lightweight software that works well on older computers? https://kmandla.wordpress.com/software/ Plus, the great Inconsolation site by the same author: https://inconsolation.wordpress.com/index/ Don't forget sites like https://alternativeto.net/ I'll be sharing my own list of favorites at my Software Freedom Day event. Have you created your own lists or do you have sites that you recommend when you want to share Free Software with others? Please share your favorite Free Software lists. Have a wonderful Software Freedom Day 2025. If you have any last minute questions or want to find events or share resources with others, feel free to reach out to us. Best wishes. Laura

Sept. 19, 2025

virtual SFD 2025 from NOSK

by LM

An opening talk for SoftwareFreedomDay2025 will be delivered virtually by none other than our own Jurgen Gaeremyn, DFF Board member and FreeSoftware advocate. Register for the Software Freedom Day 2025 Virtual Edition from NOSK to attend: https://luma.com/e1gz9zpy #SFD2025

Sept. 19, 2025