Free Software & Linux Days 2013 – Istanbul, Turkey

[Selim Şumlu]

Hi everyone,

We had our first ever official event in Istanbul as Mozilla Turkey, which
may sound odd for a 10-year-old community.

Mozilla was a sponsor of the Free Software & Linux Days 2013, held on April
5-6, 2013. Here's a report of the event from my side:

*Audience type and size *

Almost 1.000 people attended to the event. Audience mostly consists of
Linux users, free software enthusiasts, developers, collage students, and
IT experts.

*Mozilla's participation at this event *

Mozilla was a sponsor of the event. We had a booth held by me and Brian
King, demonstrating 3 Firefox OS devices. Brian also gave a presentation on
Firefox OS. The hall was completely full on his presentation.

*Audience reactions *

Booth visitors were curious about Firefox OS and mostly pleased with the
demo. Most of the time, ours was the busiest booth in the hall. Most asked
questions were how to develop apps for Firefox OS, how to install it on a
current device, and the price point of devices.

*Evening event/party*

We joined the event organizers' dinner for the evening along with some
attendees and 4 potential contributors. We exchanged ideas and experiences
on both Mozilla-related topics and the IT world.

*Other notable presentations *

Some 40 speeches were given, 5 of them by foreigners. See
http://www.ozguryazilimgunleri.org.tr/2013/etkinlik-programi/ for the
complete schedule (Turkish).

*Other open projects attending *

Mozilla was the only fully open project among consultancy companies,
software development companies, and organizations such as The Pirate Party
Movement, HackerSpace Istanbul, and Turkish Linux Users Assosication. See
http://www.ozguryazilimgunleri.org.tr/2013/katilimci-kurumlar/ for the
complete list.

*Organization rating*

This was the 12th year of the event, so it was pretty well organized and
stable with lots of visitors. I'd give 8 out of 10.

*Overall feel of the event *

Even though we didn't have much swag unlike some other booths, visitors
were really interested in the Mozilla booth and Firefox OS. We met with
lots of users and enthusiasts, and it was fun. Unfortunately, our swag was
blocked in customs and arrived two days after the event. It was a little
bit disappointing to wait on a rather empty table. Lesson learned: Swag
makes it more fun!

*This event helped us... *

Gain new potential contributors and explain Firefox OS. Some 50 people
signed up as potential contributors.

*Was it worth it? Should we participate again?*

Yes and yes. Free Software & Linux Days may not be the largest but it's the
most well-known free software event in Turkey. It was time we had a place
in there, and I'd like to participate next year as well.
* Photos*

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/oylg2013/

Best regards,
*Selim Şumlu
Mozilla Rep, Turkey*

[der...@mozilla.com]

This is awesome Selim, thanks for sharing! Very good to read about the high interest in Mozilla and that our booth was the busiest :)

Didem

[Brian King]

Thanks for the report Selim. It was great being there and participating.

I'm looking forward to seeing if any of those ~50 signups turn into active
contributors!

FYI some photos of the event are also in this set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/king-molan/sets/72157633170049927/

- Brian

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