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news/2023/news-20230511-02.en.xhtml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2023-05-11">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>Look back with us on Konrad's amazing 'Youth Hacking 4 Freedom' project</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1 id="interview-with-Konrad">Look back with us on Konrad's amazing 'Youth Hacking 4 Freedom' project</h1>
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<p>Youth Hacking 4 Freedom inspires European youth to use their skills for
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change. Konrad's learning platform for the amateur radio service exam is
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one example. Let's break down his project and see how YH4F helped him
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bring his vision to life. Join us in the exciting world of YH4F!
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</p>
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<p>The second edition of the "Youth Hacking 4 Freedom" contest is currently
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underway, with participants hard at work on their projects. To keep you
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motivated and showcase the amazing ideas being developed, we have been
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speaking to some of the first edition contestants over the past few
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months. One of them is Konrad, who developed a learning platform to help
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people study for the "Amateur Radio Service" exam, which is a
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requirement for using the "Amateur Radio Service". Let's hear from
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Konrad about his experience in the contest, his project, and the
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inspiration behind it! Did you know that he is also participating in
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this second edition?
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</p>
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<p>
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Konrad has been programming for a while now and still enjoys it very
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much. In addition to programming, he also likes to build practical
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projects that make a real impact and help others.
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</p>
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<p><strong><span style="color:#3394ce"> FSFE</span></strong>: Hello
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Konrad. Thank you for your time.</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: What was
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your first experience with programming, and how did you start
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learning to program?
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</p>
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<p><strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>:
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Back in 2017, I got my first laptop that was able to browse the
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internet. The creative possibilities seemed endless back then, so I
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started tinkering around with lots of different programs and tools. I
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used the pre-installed music software a lot and created short films of
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my village.</p>
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<p>After a while, I discovered Minecraft, and a whole universe opened up to
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me. I was now able to create whatever I wanted, and secretly, I was
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learning the core concepts of programming by using command blocks in the
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game.</p>
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<p>After some time, I realized that the platform was inaccessible for most
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people and started looking into web development. At the time, HTML, CSS,
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and JavaScript overwhelmed me, and it took a whole year until I became
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fluent in using HTML. My first programming project was a small weather
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station that I built with a Raspberry Pi, which saved the data to a
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MySQL database. At that point, I also got in touch with Linux for the
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first time while using the Raspberry Pi. The simplicity was completely
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new to me, and I was astounded by the flexibility the whole system
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offered.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: Can you
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remember your first contact with Free Software?</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: Before I
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used the Raspberry Pi, I had no clue what Free Software meant
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or what positive aspects it offered. But as I delved further into the
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matter, I noticed that most of the tools I used and loved were Free
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Software. At that point, I also installed Linux as the main operating
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system on my first computer and started wondering how it all worked in
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the background. I discovered a whole new world of software and
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communities passionate about their beliefs.</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: What led you
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to participate in the first edition of YH4F, and why did you decide to
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join the second edition as well?
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: Since I
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had some experience in developing software and using versioning
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tools like Git, I took the opportunity to practice and improve my skills
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even further. During the first round, I gained a lot of insight into
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the background of the Free Software Foundation and learned why not every
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software that appears to be open actually is. I also learned a lot
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about decentralization and how to write good documentation. Lastly, I
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was interested in meeting other like-minded people, so I joined the
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Matrix channel and had a lot of fun discussing topics related to Free Software.</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: What do
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you enjoy most about the contest?
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>:
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Honestly, I mostly enjoyed the company and talking to other people and
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getting to know their project, their beliefs and values when it
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comes to software development.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: Your
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project from the first round was connected to amateur radio
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services. Could you briefly explain where your interest for amateur
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radio services comes from and how it works?
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</p>
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<p><strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: Amateur
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radio, also known as ham radio (which is not actually related to
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the food), is a strictly non-commercial radio service that is available
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throughout the world and supports international understanding. Usage of
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encryption or proprietary standards is heavily prohibited in amateur
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radio worldwide.</p>
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<p>
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So you can imagine amateur radio as an Free Software radio service that is
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used for talking, exchanging information, or scientific experiments. I
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was always interested in the technical aspects of networks, and ham
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radio is a very practical hobby where you can build your own networks
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from scratch and experiment a lot.
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</p>
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<figure> <img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/3a/db/bb369aad4dc7f01fcea3ca8e9701.jpeg"
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alt="Konrad's amateur radio setup"/>
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<figcaption>Konrad's amateur radio setup: The picture is licensed under CC-BY-SA and the license holder is Konrad.</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>There are, for example, projects throughout Europe where a
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non-commercial alternative to the internet is being built up. So I see a
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deep connection between the things I liked when playing around with my
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computer and the things that are done in amateur radio. But I can only
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scratch the surface here; there is so much more to it than you might
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think at first. There is even a radio station on board the International
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Space Station, and if you are lucky, you might catch the astronauts in
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their free time and chat with them for the duration of the overpass.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: Are there any
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requirements for people to join a conversation via radio services?
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</p>
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<p><strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: Radio, in
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general, is heavily regulated around the world because the
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frequency of a radio wave can only be used once by a person or company.
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As a result, amateur radio is in constant rivalry with big companies
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that would rather use the frequencies commercially, considering them as
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valuable resources.
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</p>
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<p>
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Amateur Radio, however, sets itself apart by being open to anyone with a
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license that can be obtained in a month of learning. But even without a
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license, there are still many ways to participate. For example, you can
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build antennas and listen to amateur radio stations from all over the
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world using only a single wire. It's easier than it might seem at first.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: Could you
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explain a bit more about your project?
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: My
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project from the first round was also related to amateur radio, as I
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was studying for the exam at that time. The exam is built up by
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multiple-choice questions here in Germany, which are available as a PDF
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download on the website of the federal agency.</p>
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<p>I started looking for ways to study the questions but only found
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software developed for Windows or costly proprietary software. So, I
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searched for the question data that was used in those apps and found a
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modified version that was slightly more convenient to work with. I
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wanted to assist people who were in the same situation as me by
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developing a learning platform for the exam.
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</p>
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<p>
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I chose Flutter as the development tool because it can be used on all
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major platforms such as Linux, Android, or iOS. Since this was my
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first project written in Flutter, I learned a lot on my way to the
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finished platform. I was most proud of the user progress tracking
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feature that helps users identify how much they still need to learn.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: What motivated you to free this kind of data?
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: As I
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mentioned before, the apps I saw were either outdated, proprietary,
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or difficult to use. My project aimed to motivate more people to get
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into amateur radio by lowering the entry barrier. I believe this data
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should also be available in a machine-readable format, such as JSON or
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at least CSV. That's why I thought FSFE might be interested in my
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project since I saw their campaign <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">"Public Money? Public Code!"</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: Did you
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encounter any problems during the coding period?</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: Especially
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the data processing was difficult at first because the
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dataset was huge and the conversions were often challenging.
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Additionally, implementing the database feature for progress tracking
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was also a challenge. Overall, getting used to Flutter and Dart as new
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tools was difficult but rewarding, and I had a lot of fun learning both.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: And last but
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not least, what is your current project for the second round of YH4F</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#d0f400">Konrad</span></strong>: This year
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I am pretty busy, but nevertheless I am working on converting a
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weather probe that is launched by weather services to observe the
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atmosphere and can be recovered by anyone.</p>
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<p> I already recovered two of
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them because one landed in the neighbouring village. Now, I am trying on
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flashing and building a new firmware for me to use the probe as a
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weather station. So back to the roots.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong><span style="color:#3394ce">FSFE</span></strong>: Thank you,
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Konrad, for your time, and we wish you good luck in this year's
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competition.
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</p>
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<p>
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The second edition of YH4F is currently in its coding period, offering
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teenagers between 14 and 18 the opportunity to challenge themselves,
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connect with like-minded peers, and compete for cash prizes. This
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contest, run by the Free Software Foundation Europe, aims to inspire young people by
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providing them with a fair and enjoyable platform to hack software
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projects and interact with fellow young developers from various parts
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of Europe.
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</p>
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<p>
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You can find more information at the <a href="/activities/yh4f/">YH4F website</a>.
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</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="interview">Interview</tag>
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<tag key="yh4f">Youth Hacking 4 Freedom</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/1027"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/9594f30fb15a8edf5082d60baac594bd.png" alt="Three young hackers are tinkering on their laptops"/>
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</html>
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