The FSFE at 38c3
The Free Software Foundation Europe, along with over sixteen thousand attendees, took part in the 38th Chaos Communication Congress with a booth, several talks and a lot of stickers. It was a great pleasure to join, once again, the Chaos family for another impressive four-day congress. Thank you all for coming!
From 27 to 30 December the Congress Center in Hamburg turns into an alternative universe full of unicorns, rockets, colourful lights, lots of technology, and mate! It is the time of the Chaos Communication Congress. This iconic annual gathering remains one of the most significant technology conferences globally, attracting developers, activists, artists, and thinkers from all over the world. The Congress serves as a vibrant space for exchanging ideas and discoveries, and exploring innovative approaches to technology and society. Did you manage to make it to 38c3?
As in previous years, the FSFE was part of the Bits & Bäume habitat, where our staffers and volunteers spread the word about Free Software, our work, and our activities. At our booth, we were surrounded by our new hoodies, Ada & Zangemann books, t-shirts, socks, magnets, and stickers. Countless individuals from diverse backgrounds stopped by to learn more about Free Software, get some of our merchandising, and share their own experiences and thoughts with us. Many attendees from across the globe stopped by to expand their sticker collections, ask questions about our current activities, support us, and help spread our message of software freedom.
But there was more: our activities were shown in a short video on the main 38c3 screens; as part of the Bits & Bäume habitat, we took part in a 2024 timeline, and we also challenged some participants to make a "There is no Cloud" blinking badge. It was a great pleasure to guide participants through the process of soldering and assembling the badges. There was great enthusiasm for the project, and we and the participants acquired new skills along the way.
The FSFE hosted several activities, including a FSFE Women meetup, a screening of the Ada & Zangemann movie, a talk at the Community Stage, two lightning talks, a reading of the Ada & Zangemann book, and a Fediverse fishbowl discussion.
- The Bits & Bäume Workshop Area was opened by a meetup of the FSFE Women group organised by its coordinator and volunteer, Liv Dywan. The workshop area was filled up by members of the group and curious passers-by. After a short introduction, the group shared and discussed topics related to diversity and education.
- The screening of the "Ada & Zangemann – A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream"was full of children and parents excited to watch the recently premiered movie. The audience was fully engaged, enjoying the characters' journey and their connection to the Free Software movement. It was a perfect opportunity to inspire the next generation about the power of technology and the importance of software freedom. Of course, the children left the venue with a lot of Ada stickers! Moreover, the day after the screening of the Ada & Zangemann movie, we had a reading of the book at the Bits & Bäume Wohnzimmer lounge.
- Our talk "Let’s Spark Children’s Interest in Coding" (EN) on the Community Stage was well received with almost a full house. Attendees were very interested in and gave positive feedback on our initiatives for the younger generations, such as Ada & Zangemann and Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, and provided positive feedback. Attendees also asked insightful questions about Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, which were answered by one of the winners of the last edition.
- On Day 3, we took the stage for two lightning talks. At the "From Apple litigation to Legal Education: how the FSFE can help you" (EN), we made a summary of the FSFE legal work while Sofía Aritz, one of the 2023 YH4F winners, explained how to participate in this programming competition in her talk "Youth Hacking 4 Freedom" (EN). Both talks gathered a lot of attention and some of the attendees visited our booth afterwards to learn a bit more about those two topics and our activities in general.
- Finally, Tobias Diekershoff, our System hacker and Fediverse expert with Leena Simon hosted a fishbowl discussion about fediverse governance. This idea was sparked by a talk presented by Leena in 2023. Several attendees discussed how to moderate the fediverse and identified some problems with existing structures and technologies.
Overall, the event was really successful, bringing together a diverse audience eager to learn and share. From engaging talks and workshops to the movie screening, participants left inspired and motivated to contribute to the Free Software movement.
Thank to everyone who stopped at our booth and thanks to Bits & Bäume for a great habitat! We look forward to seeing you at the next Chaos events! In the meantime, stay tuned by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on PeerTube.