FSF40 celebration

Register for the in-person event.
Register for the online event.

"4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users" is the slogan of our fortieth anniversary year. Throughout 2025, we're celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) with several initiatives from LibreLocal month in May to the in-person celebration in October to a free software hackathon in November. All these activities aim to bring the international free software community together, celebrate forty years of activism and all that we've achieved together, and discuss what we can do next to make the world freer. When we look back to 1985, we can see just how many stepping stones on the road to software freedom we've already laid together. We're eager to continue building the road ahead with you. Are you ready?

On October 4, 2025, the day when the FSF actually turns forty, we invite you to celebrate the free software philosophy with us at our home base in Boston, MA, USA. After one year of working almost entirely remotely, we are especially excited to welcome you back for this occasion!

Program

10:00 - 10:30 EDT (14:00 UTC) Registration and coffee (in-person only)
10:30 - 10:40 EDT (14:30 UTC) Welcome address (both in-person and online)
10:40 - 11:30 EDT (14:40 UTC) Board panel: vision for the FSF (both in-person and online)
11:40 - 12:15 EDT (15:40 UTC) Roundtable talk with FSF volunteers (both in-person and online)
13:15 - 13:35 EDT (17:15 UTC) FSF40 trivia - part 1 (both in-person and online)
13:35 - 14:10 EDT (17:35 UTC) Celebratory speech by FSF executive director Zoë Kooyman (both in-person and online)
14:10 - 14:30 EDT (18:10 UTC) Musical performance
14:30 - 15:25 EDT (18:30 UTC) Coffee and cake (in-person only) 15:15 - 15:35 EDT (19:15 UTC) FSF40 trivia - part 2 (both in-person and online)
15:35 - 16:20 EDT (19:35 UTC) LibreLocal group lightning talks (both in-person and online)
16:30 - 17:30 EDT (20:20 UTC) Panel with FSF, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) , F-Droid, and Sugar Labs (both in-person and online)
18:00 - 19:00 EDT (22:00 UTC) Associate member meeting (both in-person and online)
19:30 - 21:00 EDT (23:30 UTC) Meet up with everyone and socialize at Time Out Market Boston, 401 Park Drive, Boston MA 02215 (in-person only)

Travel information

For information on how to get to the Wentworth Institute of Technology, where to stay, and where to eat, see the FSF40 travel information.

Livestream

As always, we will broadcast the talks and workshops via a fully free software livestream on fsf.org/live. Everyone will be able to join the discussion via the #fsf40 IRC channel on Libera.Chat.

Registration

As with most of our events, students and FSF associate members attend the FSF40 celebration gratis. Not an associate member? Join today for $12 per month ($6 for students), or register for FSF40 at our nonmember rate (details below). If you become an associate member, you support us in advocating for your user rights and help us organize community events to aid free software enthusiasts all over the world in staying connected and realizing that they're not alone but part of a big community. Furthermore, you can enjoy all the benefits that we grant our associate members. FSF associate members will also be invited to participate in the annual associate membership meeting.

No matter if you attend the FSF40 celebration as an associate member or not, in person or online, please register in advance so we can anticipate how many people we will be welcoming. Knowing this helps us plan the proper resources needed to host both the virtual and the in-person event.

Register for the in-person event.
Register for the online event.

For information about the different registration tiers, please see https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/fsf40-celebration-registration.

Before you register, please carefully read our safe space policy and health and safety guidelines.

Sponsoring and exhibitors

Present your brand, company, or organization to the more than two million annual unique web visitors on fsf.org. Your support will help sustain and energize the free software community, and thereby raise your company's profile among developers, students, activists, legal and policy experts, free software and technology enthusiasts, and potential employees.

Sponsorship and underwriting opportunities can be found in the FSF40 sponsorship prospectus or in this informational flyer.

All materials must be submitted by September 15, 2025, to guarantee visual inclusion at the celebration. Please don't hesitate to contact Miriam Bastian at campaigns@fsf.org with any questions you may have.

Register for the FSF40 celebration today, network with other free software supporters, and join us in celebrating forty years of commitment to software freedom!

We look forward to seeing you at the FSF40 celebration on October 4!