309 lines
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HTML
309 lines
13 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2026-04-06">
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<version>2</version>
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<head>
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<title>How we celebrate "I Love Free Software Day" in Poznań, Poland</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>How we celebrate "I Love Free Software Day" in Poznań, Poland</h1>
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<p>Not so long ago, the Free Software community celebrated the "I Love Free
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Software Day". A day in which the FSFE, our volunteers and many other
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organisations
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and individuals thank all contributors for their commitment
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to use, study, share and improve Free Software. Without them there is no
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software freedom!</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/41/a3/89f6c590dc15f200a968cc6876a9.jpg" alt="A red heart with ones and zeros in a white background also consisting of ones and zeros."/>
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</figure>
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<p>For the "I Love Free Software Day" in
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2026, 22 events were organised <a href="/activities/ilovefs/report/report_2026.html">across 12 European
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countries</a>. Several of them were
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organised by the <a href="/about/groups.html">FSFE's local groups</a>.
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At these celebrations people came together to share their knowledge and
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stories about Free Software, discuss and inspire others to study, use, improve and
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share the software we all love. Each of these celebrations is unique and
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showcases the commitment of our community, from local gatherings with
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pizza and fun Free Software games to larger events addressing new people
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with talks and networking.</p>
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<p>
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The biggest <a href="https://ilovefs.org">"I Love Free Software"</a> event in our 2026 celebrations took
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place in Poznań (Poland) with around 80 participants. The event was organised
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by the local FSFE group with the collaboration of their local university. Here,
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they were allowed to use a lecture hall for presentations and they also had some time to
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network afterwards. </p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/e1/b4/1f2ebeca51634c80f5b0c764fb19.JPG" alt="People sitting in a lecture hall and listening to a presentation."/>
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<figcaption>"I Love Free Software Day" celebrations in Poznań, 2026.</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>One of the main organisers of the event was Paweł
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Wiczyński, also known as ‘pomidor’. Paweł, is a founding member of
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<a href="https://hspoz.pl/">Knyfyrtel Poznan Hackerspace</a>, and he
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has been a Free Software enthusiast for a very long time. The first
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time he got in touch with Free Software was when he was very young,
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just about 10 years old. At that age he heard about GNU/Linux, a Free
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Software alternative to Windows, and tried it out on his
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computer. From there onwards he has been hooked and learned more and
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more
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about the FLOSS ecosystem.
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</p>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: Hello Paweł, thank you so much for finding time to do this
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interview. Let's start by getting back
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to the roots, why do you believe Free Software is important?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p>
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<strong>Paweł, one of the FSFE Poznań coordinators</strong>: I think
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that Free Software is important because it allows people to keep control
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over the technology they use. Today, our lives are increasingly
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dependent on various types of software. We use it every day on many
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different devices. If we do not ensure that this software is free, we
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allow entities, such governments, companies or corporations, to
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control us. This is why I believe that Free Software should be promoted
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and used wherever possible.
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: How did you first hear of the “I Love Free
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Software Day”? And what were your thoughts about this initiative?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: My colleague Damian, who is the FSFE coordinator
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in Poland, told me about the "I Love Free Software Day" initiative. I had
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not heard of this day before. I really liked it and thought it
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would be great to join in. As a member of Knyfyrtel Poznan Hackerspace,
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I enjoy organizing events for the community. And this was a great idea
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to do something new that fits in with our mission.</p>
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<p>I very like that the event is organized in many places across numerous
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cities in Europe. I believe that such initiatives are truly needed,
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because they make it possible to reach a much wider audience. By acting
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together on an international scale, we can amplify the message and show
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that the Free Software community is strong, connected, and active beyond
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local borders.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>:Why did you decide to organise an “I Love Free Software Day” event in 2026?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: We were inspired to organise this year's “I Love Free Software Day” by the success
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of last year's edition and the enthusiasm of the community. We had
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enough willing organisers to hold a large
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meetup for the community.</p>
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<p>Moreover, we have very good connections with the academic community in
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Poznań. We wanted to use it to reach not only students, but also IT
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professionals, enthusiasts, and regular users interested in Free
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Software. Our goal was simply to bring these groups together in one
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place and give them an opportunity to learn something new, network, and
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get involved in Free Software initiatives.</p>
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</div>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/fc/71/d4c65d5e9fe54bed283bb292cb60.JPG" alt="People sitting in a lecutre hall and one person is up front presenting a presentation."/>
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<figcaption>"I Love Free Software Day" celebrations in Poznań, 2026.</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: This was the second time you organised the local celebration in Poznań. How was
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the event in 2026 compared to the event in 2025?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: That’s right. We organised “I Love Free Software Day” for the first time last year,
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and we had no idea how many participants to expect. The reality exceeded
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our expectations – there were about 50
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people, and they almost did not fit in the room.</p>
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<p>This year, the event was even bigger – there was more pizza, more
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speakers, and more participants. Around 80 people attended, and this
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time we made sure to book a larger room. We also carefully planned the
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schedule to avoid delays, including an extra break for networking and
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socialising. Additionally, we organised a campaign to write cards to
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Free Software creators and maintainers.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p><strong>FSFE</strong>: And in general, how was the 2026 celebration of the “I Love Free Software Day”?</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: We organised the in the form of a meetup at
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Poznań University of Technology – short 15-minute talks with additional
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Q & A from participants. A total of six speakers talked about
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various FLOSS projects and how they use it in their daily work. After
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that, there was time for networking and refreshments with pizza and
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drinks. Overall, the event was very successful – we received positive
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feedback from the community, made new contacts and exchanged knowledge.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: How did you start the cooperation with the University?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: As Knyfyrtel Poznan Hackerspace, we already had the opportunity to
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organise events in cooperation with scientific clubs at Poznań University of Technology. For
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“I Love Free Software Day,” we leveraged these connections and invited them to collaborate.</p>
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<p>Last year, our main co-organiser was <a href="https://putrequest.put.poznan.pl/">PUTrequest_ team</a>,
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while this year it was <a href="https://lag.edu.pl/">Linux Academic Group</a>. They handled all
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the formalities, secured the venue, and arranged support from the university authorities. We really
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appreciate working with the academic community and look forward to building even more joint initiatives
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in the future.</p>
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</div>
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<figure class="float-right">
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/small/84/a2/de53bd02f278819cae1fc7d4dea1.JPG" alt="Picture of a person with a microphone in their hand and talking."/>
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</figure>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: Did you use any of the materials the FSFE
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provides for organising a local celebration?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: We had a lot of materials from last year –
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stickers, posters, cards, and leaflets. We also printed some of the
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stickers ourselves. Presentation templates used during the opening and
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closing of the event were very helpful. It would surely be easier if
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package arrived, but this year we managed without it.</p>
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</div>
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<banner><module id="banner-become-supporter"/></banner>
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<div class="question">
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<p><strong>FSFE</strong>: What would you recommend to others when they want to organise an
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“I Love Free Software Day” celebrations and what are pitfalls you would say should be avoided?</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: First and foremost, do not hesitate, just do it! All you need is a venue
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and motivation. If possible, collaborate with local groups, students, and academic circles, as they
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can help you attract participants. Take care of promotion – use social media, event aggregators, chats,
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and online groups to advertise your event. Tell your friends to tell their friends. You can also create a
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dedicated website and put up posters in the neighbourhood. </p>
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<p>As for pitfalls, if you are organising an event at a university, be prepared for delays with formalities
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and permits – handling these can take much more time than expected. Also, make sure to order promotional
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materials well in advance; in our case, one month was not enough. Planning these details early will save
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a lot of headaches and help the event run smoothly.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p><strong>FSFE</strong>: Thank you for sharing your very hands-on advice! Just a quick follow-up here,
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how many people are involved in organising the event?</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: There were about 20 people who took part in the organisational meetings.</p>
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</div>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/e9/81/a4adbc74e7524893ca2c6b636a7d.JPG" alt="People sitting in a lecutre hall and one person is up front presenting a presentation."/>
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<figcaption>"I Love Free Software Day" celebrations in Poznań, 2026.</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<div class="question">
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<p><strong>FSFE</strong>: Do you also organise additional events throughout the year and what
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would be the next meeting where others can join you?</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: Yes. We organise many different events, but our biggest one is
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<a href="https://piwo.sh/">P.I.W.O. – Poznań Free Software Fest</a>".
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It is a free conference that we organise in cooperation
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with the academic community in Poznań. It has over 20 years of tradition, but it was inactive for
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over 7 years. The Knyfyrtel Poznan Hackerspace reactivated it last year – and it was a great success.
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Almost 200 participants, 2 tracks, free pizza, LAN Party and lightning talks. This year, we are planning
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another edition on an even larger scale. This year, it will be on 30 May
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2026 at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, AMU in Poznań
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(<a href="https://piwo.sh/en/">English website</a> and <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@piwo">social media</a>).</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: Is there a Free Software project, which you would
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like to highlight and say ‘Thank you’ to?
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</p>
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</div>
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<div class="answer">
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<p><strong>Paweł</strong>: There are many Free Software projects that I use and would like to thank.
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But if I had to choose one, it would be Thunderbird. It is my favourite email client. I have been using
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it for years. And recently, it has been developing very dynamically. I really appreciate the Thunderbird
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team and wish them continued success and growth with the project.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="question">
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<p>
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<strong>FSFE</strong>: Paweł, thank you very much for your time! I hope
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there will be many more “I Love Free Software Day” celebrations in
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Poznań.
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</p>
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</div>
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</body>
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<sidebar promo="our-work">
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<cite><a href="https://ilovefs.org/"><strong>I Love Free Software Day 2026</strong></a> will be happening on the 14th of February.
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On this day we will highlight the importance of all Free Software contributors. Join us and create your own event!</cite>
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</sidebar>
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<tags>
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<tag key="community">Community</tag>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="interview">Interview</tag>
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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="pl">Poland</tag>
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<tag key="highlights">highlights</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://mastodon.social/@fsfe/116363667978782000"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/41/a3/89f6c590dc15f200a968cc6876a9.jpg" alt="A red heart with ones and zeros in a white background also consisting of ones and zeros."/>
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<translator/>
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</html>
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