Libre Software Meeting

The sixth edition of the Libre Software Meeting will take place in Dijon, France, from July 5th to July 9th 2005. This is a major event for the free software community. Previous editions had gathered some 1000 participants from all continents, and hundreds of people from around the world are expected to take part this year. The Libre Software Meeting combines two goals. It provides a space for free software developers and enthusiasts to meet, exchange and work on common projects. It is also oriented towards the wider public, in an attempt to promote and introduce free software to all.

Nocturnes

While daytime events are to be hosted by the University of Burgundy, nightly activities will take place in "Espace autogéré des Tanneries", a nearby squatted social centre, home of the PRINT hacklab. This off is called the Nocturnes. It is being organised by groups & individuals from the french section of the Plug'n'Politix network, among which are the PRINT and grep|grrl collectives.

This is an occasion to give visibility to politically-minded & activist parts of the free software community, which often get less attention than the business-oriented tendency; an occasion to show and spread the hybrid culture that's been brewed in between hacklabs, anarchist tech collectives, Indymedia groups, open-access spaces, hackmeetings and activist places; by allowing geeks to visit such a space where politics and software meet, by putting self-organisation and volunteer participation in practice, be it for software development or organising an event.

Programme

Day 1 - Monday, July 4th

Workshop: LTSP

introduction to ltsp & demonstration with Meinhard Benn: X terminal principle; What does LTSP do for you?; LTSP boot order / services; LTSP server and client configuration; Hardware requirements; Demonstration of a 2-3 client LTSP network with i486 or early i586 clients; Questions and answers...

Presentation & videos: Fadaiat

Presentation of the Fadaiat project: a temporary autonomous zone & hacklab, jumping the borders between the Spanish State and Marocco, for freedom of movement & communication - by Hackitectura

Day 2 - Tuesday, July 5th

Debate: "for free" & the concept of "prix-libre"

Questioning the opposition of "free as in freedom" and "free as in free beer"; exposing alternative models & lively examples - the DIY movement among others; exploring the concept of "prix libre".

Workshop: OpenWRT

How to turn a plain simple WRT54G(S) WiFi access-point into a dreadful multifunction station, thanks to OpenWRT. Exploration of some of its possibilities and applications - by the CyberForat crew & co.

Day 3 - Wednesday, July 6th

Workshop: Pure Data

Introduction to veejaying & video hacking with `pd`, by Yves Degoyon, creator of P.i.D.i.P

Workshop: Tor

Introduction to onion-routing & setting up torified networks. Let's stand up against the numerous breaches of privacy carried by governments and officials, and use the Internet anonymously - by otmmto of cyberforat

Day 4 - Thursday, July 7th

Workshop/Debate: Green Computing

With Meinhard Benn: IT industry vs. planet and people: short introduction to sustainable development; why is Free Software sustainable?; Free hardware (as in speech); Computer worker unions; Creative ways of recycling computer waste - bring your paint-box! wink; Renewable energies and computers; Questions and answers...

Film Selection

by Nathalie Magnan on Women and Technology

Day 5 - Friday, July 8th

Workshop: GNU/Linux system administration

"home system administration": setting up a server for a local network, thanks to a home-brewed Knoppix distribution - by Isabelle Hurbain

Happening: Paranoia hour

What about our data packets flying over the Internet?

Day 6 - Saturday, July 9th

Visual performances

libcaca colored ascii cam performance with Jylam

ASCrIIn: webcam, meta-screen & ascii reality, by darkveggy

Veejaying with PureData by Yves Degoyon and friends

Real-time anime cinema generation with mammique from La Menagerie

Various artists...

Closing-party & burning dance-floor

Commodore 64 chips & enraged bits

Day 7 - Sunday, July 10th

Collective cleaning

Come and help `rm -rf /var`

Plus, everyday

Food

Vegan food and/or sandwiches will be available at an affordable price.

Drinks

With and without alcohol.

Connectivity

Switches for RJ plugs, sofas for bodies, tables for laptops and electricity.

Screenings

Geek documentaries & cult-movies broadcasts every night. Bring your vintage hacker film along!

Open-planning

Spaces to organise spontaneous skill-shares & carry last-minute workshops.

Chill-out space

Music, people, conversations.

More...

Contact

Send a mail to connect-fr at squat dot net

Organizing

...goes through the connect-fr mailing-list, IRC meetings and a wiki.

Practicalities

Where?

Espace autogéré des Tanneries,
13-15-17 bd de Chicago, 21000 Dijon, France

When?

4th - 9th July, from ~8pm to ~1am everyday.