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Happy Halloween
by LM Oct. 31, 2025

Oct. 31, 2025

Wanted to wish those who celebrate it a fun and Happy Halloween. Here are some FLOSS resources for Halloween: https://www.libhunt.com/topic/halloween https://github.blog/open-source/gaming/hackable-halloween-games-mmxxiii/ https://github.blog/open-source/gaming/thirteen-tiny-terrific-and-terrifyin… https://identicalsoftware.com/everythingattacks/ Public domain media for Halloween: https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/tag/halloween https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/autumn-and-halloween/ There are more FLOSS, public domain and CC resources listed on our Halloween thread on Mastodon: https://fosstodon.org/@dff I also have an older blog post I made that lists FLOSS to create your own which-way style adventures: https://lmemsm.dreamwidth.org/17224.html It includes a link to my Halloween Holiday Tour which has some more suggestions for public domain Halloween resources at the end of it. If you have any FLOSS, CC or public domain resources, you'd like to share, please post about them. Hope you enjoy the day.

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Design the Software Freedom Day 2025 Mascot with Free Software – Huion Challenge now open!
by LM Oct. 26, 2025

Oct. 26, 2025

Greetings. Do you love creating with Free,Libre, Open Source Software (FLOSS)? Here’s your chance to show the world what digital freedom looks like: help us design the official Software Freedom Day (SFD) 2025 mascot--built entirely with FLOSS tools and released under CC BY-SA 4.0 or CC BY 4.0. Whether you model in Blender or paint in Krita, 2-D or 3-D is welcome. --- What’s in it for you? --- Huion is back with fantastic prizes for the top entries: 1 - Kamvas Pro 16 (4K) pen-display 2 - Kamvas Pro 12 pen-display 3 - 2 × Inspiroy Frego M tablets --- How to take part --- 1. Create your mascot in any FLOSS graphics tool (Krita, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, MyPaint, ...). 2. Add a short back-story (≤ 1000 characters). 3. Submit both the source file (.kra/.xcf/.svg/.blend…) and a web-ready image (.png/.jpg, 1920 × 1080). 4. Make sure your work is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 or CC BY 4.0. 5. Deadline: 20 October 2025. One entry per person, worldwide. --- Need inspiration? --- Last year Janka (Hungary) soared to first prize with a Krita painting, while Deffy (USA) wowed us with a Blender animation and Yue Xin (Malaysia) lit up the canvas in Krita. Their success shows how powerful - and fun - FLOSS creativity can be! --- Why join? --- * Celebrate software freedom and show what’s possible without proprietary constraints. * Get international exposure and feedback from the FLOSS community. * Win Huion hardware to push your art even further. --- Your mission right now --- Forward this challenge to all your creative friends! More entries mean a richer, more colourful mascot showcase for everyone. Thanks for spreading the word and for championing free software creativity. Happy drawing--and good luck! Free-spirited regards, Jurgen, Jan, Chris, Mostafa, Marcos, Ruwan, Laura Digital Freedom Foundation Board

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WSIS +20 Zero Draft feedback by Global South Actors : Call for Endorsements
by 'Kayode Akanni Oct. 20, 2025

Oct. 20, 2025

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 WSIS +20 review this contains some elements in policy-making that will eventually help the implementation of the AI and digital public infrastructure. 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 3 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 Akanni,Olukayode,https://www.about.me/kayodeakanni "Help and have account"DesignIT

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SFD 2025 Aleppo Success – 250+ Attendees! Verification & Next Steps?
by Fares Alkhaled Oct. 13, 2025

Oct. 13, 2025

Dear SFD Community, I’m Fares from Aleppo, Syria, and I’m thrilled to share that our first major Software Freedom Day 2025 event, hosted at the University of Aleppo, was a huge success! Over 250 participants—students, developers, and locals—joined us for a day of open-source celebration, organized by Sanad Youth with Digital Freedom Foundation support. Your advice on program design, local impact, and venue flexibility was instrumental, and I’m deeply grateful. *Event Highlights* - *Talks*: Mohammed Babelly’s “Contributing to Open Source” and Dr. Fadi Farha’s “Open Source in IoT” inspired action with practical insights. - *Activities*: Our InstallFest, interactive FOSS exhibition, and mini hackathon (3–4 challenges) empowered attendees with hands-on skills. - *Impact*: Many installed Linux/FOSS tools, joined our new Telegram group, and connected with Aleppo’s growing tech scene. (See more: https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/events/software-freedom-day-2025-aleppo ) *Questions for You* As we wrap up, I’d love your expertise: 1. *Verification*: Is submitting the DFF post-event report (with photos/feedback) enough to “verify” our event? Any tips for a strong submission? 2. *SFD Branding*: We used some SFD logos on posters—is this optional, or should we lean in more for future events? 3. *Next Steps*: What have you done post-SFD to sustain momentum (e.g., meetups, press)? We’re launching a local FOSS group—any advice or resources? We’re excited to keep building Syria’s FOSS community and share our report soon. Thank you for inspiring us—let’s stay connected! Best, Fares

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SFD2025 goal surpassed
by LM Oct. 11, 2025

Oct. 11, 2025

Thanks to Linux Italia https://www.linuxday.it/2025/ combining their events with ours and to all the others groups that participated in Software Freedom Day 2025, and to everyone on this mailing list, we have surpassed our goal of 100 events: https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/archive We have not reached the end of 2025 so there's still time to put a new event on the map and join us in celebrating if you haven't yet. Don't forget the Huion Challenge https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/sfd-mascot-huion-challenge-2025 has been extended to November 9, 2025. There's a good chance of winning if you want to participate. Please join us next year for #SoftwareFreedomDay2026 and #DocumentFreedomDay2026. We hope to reach even more people and locations in 2026.

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Writing Month
by LM Oct. 11, 2025

Oct. 11, 2025

Want an alternative to National Novel Writing Month that lets you write whatever length project you want? Check out Writing Month 2025: https://writingmonth.org/ Plus, the site is FOSS with a GPL license. November could be a great month to add to the Creative Commons or share some FOSS related blog posts. Hope you'll let people know about this FOSS and Creative Commons friendly project.

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Huion Challenge - There's Still Time to Enter
by LM Oct. 7, 2025

Oct. 7, 2025

Haven't created your #SFD2025 mascot submission for the Huion Challenge? Great news! The deadline has been extended to November 9th. I hope you'll consider creating a submission. There are good chances for winning. https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/sfd-mascot-huion-challenge-2025

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Seeking Advice for Organizing SFD in Syria (Aleppo)
by Fares Alkhaled Oct. 1, 2025

Oct. 1, 2025

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

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Register your events
by Jurgen Gaeremyn (Digital Freedoms) Sept. 30, 2025

Sept. 30, 2025

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

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5 days and counting
by LM Sept. 29, 2025

Sept. 29, 2025

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? Have a great Software Freedom Day 2025.

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