Organize a community meetup in your area
We're inviting free software supporters like you to organize an in-person community meetup in your area to bring people all over the world together and celebrate forty years of commitment to software freedom. Are you up for organizing a get-together in your area in May 2025?
It can be as simple as announcing that you'll be at pub X on date Y at time Z and look forward to meeting people there. Attendees can swap stories about how they first got involved with free software, what steps of the freedom ladder they are struggling with, or how they tell their friends and family about free software. For more topic ideas, tips, and tricks on how to organize a meetup, see the meetup guide we created to help you get started. And of course, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) is here to help! Just let us know what we can do to support you at campaigns@fsf.org. We'll gladly promote your meetup among free software supporters in your area as well as in our newsletter and on social media. We can send you stickers and are happy to answer your questions any time. Please also contact us in advance if you need a contribution towards expenses to buy snacks and nonalcoholic drinks to support your meetup.
Quick checklist to hosting a meetup
- Start by reserving a table at a bar or space at a venue.
- List your event on the LibrePlanet wiki. Once you announce the date, time, and location of your free software meetup there, we'll start promoting it in our newsletter and on social media. On the same LibrePlanet wiki page, you can also announce if you're looking for others to help you organize the meetup.
- Study the meetup guide for tips and tricks.
- Let us know what we can do to support your meetup at campaigns@fsf.org.
- Have fun at the meetup with other free software enthusiasts!
May is looking to be a great month for free software -- we already have meetups announced in Livermore, CA (USA) and Zurich (Switzerland). Free software supporters from Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, Germany, Poland, France, Turkey, and Iran have also contacted us saying they'd be interested in organizing a meetup.
We can't wait to see community members gather all over the world. Please send us photos of your event to campaigns@fsf.org!
LibreLocal Month is just one of many initiatives around the fortieth anniversary of the FSF. Learn what else is happening during the anniversary year on fsf.org/fsf40.
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