Introduction
Every year on the third Saturday of September, hackers, free software users and open source adepts celebrate Free Software Day. For this event, HSBXL organises a day of interesting talks on the merrits, uses and principles of free and open source software, as well as adjacent topics such as privacy, open data and security. Join us for a great day of talks with a nice meal at the end and drinks and snacks throughout the day. The event is free as in freedom, so please pay your drinks, but we can flash a Linux ISO on your USB flashdrive if you’d like!
stream
We highly recomend comming in person , but if you cant make it you can follow the stream here.
Talk Schedule
Talks will start at 13:00.
No Prior knowledge is needed for any of the talks
13:00 Digital Autonomy in Belgium (Jurgen Gaeremyn)
- Format: Presentation
- Language: English
Want to know which companies read your government’s emails? Using only public DNS records, Jurgen uncovered Belgium’s hidden dependency on Microsoft, and discovered 98% of municipalities hand their data to American tech giants. Learn why Dutch activists created change while Belgian officials stayed silent, and how a simple script (that accidentally broke OpenStreetMap) reveals the shocking state of European digital sovereignty. Join the movement to hold your local government accountable.
13:30 From ASCII to JPEG: Hacking Image Compression (Ramiro Polla)
- Format: Presentation
- Language: English
Ramiro will introduce us to his ascii-jpeg project, a plain-text JPEG generator that challenges our understanding of file formats. This short presentation will reveal how the project creates a single, self-describing file that is simultaneously a valid JPEG image and a readable ASCII text file. We’ll explore the clever techniques used to bridge this gap, demonstrating a creative and unexpected use of open standards and showcasing the kind of ingenuity that is at the heart of the free software movement.
14:00 Free software in robotics: build your own autonomous systems (Arne Baeyens)
- Format: Presentation
- Language: English
Robotics software has progressed by leaps and bounds over the past years and now is an excellent time to build your own intelligent physical systems, from autonomous lawnmowers to aerial vehicles. In this talk, Arne introduces relevant robotics concepts and discusses several robotics free software projects, covering topics such as intra- and inter-robot communication, control and behavior, simulation as well as development tooling. By the end of this talk, you will have a good idea what software to use in your FOSS-based robotics projects.
15:00 Federated immersive learning, why and how (Fabien Bénétou)
- Format: Presentation
- Language: English
We take a dive into the world of education with a talk on Federated Immersive Learning. Fabien will explore why and how open-source technologies like WebXR and ActivityPub can be used for building a decentralized, creative, and collaborative learning environment, empowering students to actively shape their own educational experiences. more information on the projects nlnet page
16:00 Why we need Digital Sovereignty and where it comes from (Sebastian Raible)
- Format: Presentation
- Language: English
The debate surrounding technological or digital sovereignty has been ongoing for a while, but recently gained traction particularly with Trump back in office. Beyond decreasing dependencies in Europe, and investing in Open Source, one fundamental goal of digital sovereignty must be to protect fundamental rights. Sebastian’s presentation will trace the debate back to the industrial espionage that was revealed in the 2013 Snowden disclosures, data protection, and other fundamental rights in the digital age.
Sebastian is an independent political consultant and has previously worked in the European Parliament as policy advisor since 2015.
17:00 A Taste of Open Data: Exploring the Open Food Facts Project (April Bilbrey)
- Format: Presentation
- Language: English
Join us for a talk about Open Food Facts, the world’s largest open-source food database and a recently recognized U.N. Digital Public Good. April Bilbrey, a regular volunteer and board member, will give a “show and tell” of this collaborative project, highlighting how their app empowers users to access and contribute data, including things like nutri-score , eco-score and packaging. Come learn how you can get involved with this impactful, community-driven initiative.
18:00 Lightning talks
- Format: quick short presentation (10m)
- Language: English
- Note: This talk will not be recorded or streamed
The last slot of the day will be fillesd with lightning talks. So if you’ve done something cool with open source software recently , or have something you wanted to talk about for a while, but it’s not a full talk (yet) .. grab your chance
Registration for the lightning talks will be on the day itself at the space .
side activities
Food and drinks
- There is a wide range of drinks and snacks available at the space at very reasonable prices
- At the end of the day we will have dinner together. If weather permits it will be a barbecue, otherwise we will cook a hot dish. We will also offer vegetarian and vegan options.
🕹 Play a FOSS arcade game
Play Tux Racer, SuperTux or one of the other cool FOSS games on our arcade box.
🎨 Artists challenge
For participants of Software Freedom Day, Huion is challenging you to create a digital artwork using FOSS software (Krita, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, FreeCAD, MyPaint, Tux Paint, …) expressing the joys or importance of Software Freedom.
International Software Freedom Day
Software Freedom Day is a global event coordinated by the Digital Freedom Foundation. Find out more below about Software Freedom Day beyond HSBXL below.
