We have a fixed date in our calendar in mid-August. The big class reunion in Sankt Augustin at FrOSCon. For many years, our tireless Markus has been the lead organizer of this annual event. Thanks for that Markus!
If I counted correctly, it was our ninth participation this year. In reality, the FrOSCon crew has organized an additional 10 events. Hats off to this commitment. We can't put the spotlight on this achievement often enough. Simply because it cannot be taken for granted. Thank you team. Thank you for making this possible. It is always a pleasure for us to be part of a well-organized event as participants and contributors.
This year, one of the focus topics of FrOSCon was Bridging the Gap between politics and reality - Lobbying for free software and it felt like both days were full of this topic. The FLOSS ecosystem is not in a really good state at the moment. Accordingly, many talks were announced and held. The sheer number of talks in the hallway would go beyond the scope of this article.
But let's be clear: too few do too much. Any FLOSS ecosystem can only deliver what some are willing to invest. We have many who are very happy to use free software to offer services or products to paying customers. The questions are on the table: How do we change this? How can we create more makers than takers? ? How do we convince customers that FLOSS does not mean free? How do we arrive at a “Zenht” that we can invest in the ecosystem?
And plan bigger: How and who do we support if we can't lobby for free software ourselves? Simply because we ourselves are involved in projects from top to bottom and don't have the time.
I have selected some of the talks from the recordings. But you are also welcome to take a look at all the talks yourself, because there are more treasures waiting to be discovered. :)
Thank you Team FrOSCon. Thank you Markus. From the bottom of my heart.
We'd love to come back next year. That's important to us.
Statistics 2024: 1500 visitors and 400 volunteers.