Adding ilovefs news item (#5743)
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fsfe.org/news/2026/news-20260305-01.en.xhtml
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fsfe.org/news/2026/news-20260305-01.en.xhtml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2026-03-05">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>22 events, one message: Maintainers Matter and we love Free Software</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>22 events, one message: Maintainers Matter and we love Free Software</h1>
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<p>The 2026 edition of “I Love Free Software Day” demonstrated, once
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again, the strength and gratitude of our Free Software community. 22
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celebrations in 12 European countries highlighted the invaluable work
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of Free Software maintainers as well as bringing people together to
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thank everyone who contributes to Free Software. Appreciation also
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extended across the Fediverse, alongside other surprises. </p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a3/84/ec4e9154d3c16d358948a9b01e01.png"
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alt="Collage with I Love️ Free Software text and heart icons. Includes people posing by a heart sculpture, a group gathering, thank you cards, and a comic."/>
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</figure>
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<p>We are really proud of our community and what the Free Software
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ecosystem is achieving day after day, but there is one special moment
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each year when we invite everyone to shout it out into the world. “I
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Love Free Software Day” is our yearly celebration dedicated to saying
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thank you to all those behind our favourite Free Software projects.</p>
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<p>Every year on 14 February, or in the days
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around it, our communities come together across Europe and online to
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express their appreciation. Whether through local meet-ups, talks,
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workshops, postcards, blog posts, social media messages, or simple words
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of gratitude, the message is clear: Free Software exists and thrives
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because of the people who build, maintain, document, translate, test,
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and support it.</p>
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<p>For the 2026 celebration, and under the motto “Maintaners Matter”,
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our communities organised 22 events across 12 different European
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countries, reaching more than 300 people offline. From cosy café
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meet-ups to university gatherings and hacker spaces, people came
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together to say a heartfelt “Thank you” to Free Software maintainers,
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contributors, and developers.</p>
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<p>And many more people celebrated it online. Hundreds of individuals
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and organisations joined the celebration on the Fediverse, sharing
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appreciation posts and gratitude messages. The hashtag #ilovefs ranked
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among the<a
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href="https://mastodon.social/@TrendingHashtags/116069577658470127">
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most used hashtags on the day</a>. For the first time, the celebration
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also reached the front page of Hacker News, thanks to a “thank you” blog
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post by Matthias Kirschner, the president of the FSFE, <a
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href="https://k7r.eu/i-love-the-work-of-the-archwiki-maintainers/">who
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shared his appreciation for Arch Linux and the extensive
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ArchWiki</a>.</p>
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<h3>New countries, Badges, Fediwall, a comic, and a map</h3>
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<p>For the first time, “I Love Free Software Day” reached
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Croatia and Norway, each hosting a local event and
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expanding the celebration further north and south across Europe. New
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cities joined as well, including Bonn (Germany) and Amsterdam
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(Netherlands). And also Tirana (Albania) returned for this edition.</p>
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<p>The Polish community, which reactivated its activities around last
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year’s “I Love Free Software Day”, strengthened continued its strong
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engagement with events in Łódź, Warsaw, and Poznań. Poznań hosted one of
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the largest gatherings in 2026, bringing together nearly 80 participants
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for a vibrant day of talks, discussions, and shared appreciation.</p>
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<p>Across Europe, communities also met in
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Oxford and the Potteries (UK), Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Eindhoven
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(Netherlands), Zurich (Switzerland), Barcelona and Madrid (Spain),
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Frankfurt, Berlin, Bonn and Nuremberg (Germany), as well as in Portugal,
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where ANSOL organised an online celebration, and many more.</p>
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<p>This year also saw remarkable volunteer-driven innovations:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>A new<a href="https://fediwall.social/?tags=ilovefs"> Fediwall
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system</a> was developed to highlight and visualise online participation
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across the Fediverse.</li>
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<li>A Polish volunteer set up a<a
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href="https://odznaka.reszka.org/explore"> BadgeFed instance</a>,
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creating dedicated “I Love Free Software Day” badges for organisers,
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participants, and contributors. A creative new way to publicly recognise
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engagement!</li>
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<li>A long-standing wish for a dedicated event map became reality thanks
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to Tom, the project leader of mapforge, who made<a
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href="https://mapforge.org/m/11171656?nomenu=true#4.07/46.1/5.8/0/30"> a
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customised “I Love Free Software Day</a>” map possible, showcasing
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celebrations across Europe.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>To convey the importance of the day in a more visual and accessible
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way, the 2026 celebrations also introduced a <a
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href="/activities/ilovefs/comic/comic.html">brand-new
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comic, explaining why appreciation and recognition for Free Software
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contributors matter so much.</a></p>
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<figure>
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<a href="/activities/ilovefs/comic/comic.html"><img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/21/f9/f86faddd10e6f36da52c3e2b418b.jpg" alt="ILoveFS comic by Mullana CC-BY-SA 4.0"/></a>
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<figcaption>Comic by <a href="https://mullana.de/creative-commons/">Mullana under CC-BY-SA 4.0</a> ❤</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>For the 2026 edition, the Software Freedom Podcast
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released its 47th episode, “ILoveFS: Let’s meet our maintainers”. In
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this episode, Bonnie Mehring speaks with maintainer Lorenz Kästle about
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the rewards and challenges of maintaining Free Software projects in
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one’s free time.</p>
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<p>“I Love Free Software Day” has grown into a well-established online
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and offline celebration of Software Freedom. Above all, the day remains
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what it has always been: a joyful celebration full of gratitude,
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connection, and recognition.</p>
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<p>To everyone who organised an event, sent a postcard, shared a
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hashtag, joined a podcast, created a badge, developed tools, or simply
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said <strong>“Thank you”: thank you for making “I Love Free
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Software Day 2026: Maintainers Matter” such a special and inspiring
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celebration.</strong></p>
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<p>Wanna know more? Read our <a href="/activities/ilovefs/report/report_2026.html">Report about the 2026 I
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love Free Software day celebrations</a></p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="community">Community</tag>
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<tag key="ilovefs">I Love Free Software Day</tag>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="highlights">highlights</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://mastodon.social/deck/@fsfe/"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a3/84/ec4e9154d3c16d358948a9b01e01.png"
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alt="Collage with I Love️ Free Software text and heart icons. Includes people posing by a heart sculpture, a group gathering, thank you cards, and a comic."/>
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</html>
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