[Heshan de Silva-Weeramuni, FSF] LibreLocal 2026 is in May: Start organizing meetups — we'll help

[Munyoki Kilyungi]

Please consider adding in...@fsf.org to your address book, which will ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box. Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/librelocal-2026-is-in-may-start-organizing-meetups. May is LibreLocal month, and it is fast approaching! The FSF invites free software supporters like you to organize an in-person community meetup in your area during May to bring people together to swap ideas, learn from each other, and celebrate free software. LibreLocal meetups were organized for the first time in 2025, and your enthusiastic response to our call was outstanding. Free software supporters like you organized twenty-nine LibreLocal meetups across five continents last year. Meetups were held in Brazil, Canada, the Canary Islands of Spain, China, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Kenya, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Many of these countries saw organizers hold meetups in multiple different cities, ranging from informal conversations to multi-day conferences. Seeing last year's list of meetups in different countries is inspiring! Your excitement was so captivating that we had to do it again. This year, let's organize even more meetups! We're happy to help Locally organized meetups are a great way for free software community members to meet each other. if you are not familiar with free software, it's also an opportunity for you to learn more. The FSF is happy to support you in your organizing efforts. Tell us about your meetup so we can help get the word out about your LibreLocal meetup to other free software supporters near you. We will also be happy to have an available FSF staff member join your event virtually, or if possible, even in person! The FSF is committing to financially assisting as many meetups as we can, but please note that the size and amount of our supporting grants are limited. If you would like to apply for support, the deadline to apply for funding is March 15, 2026. The basics Interested in organizing a meetup? Great! We have a whole range of resources that can help you with organization. We have a meetup guide that will give you some ideas, tips, and tricks; a template for your own safe space policy, and accounts of successful events from last year in two parts. Your event's program and format is completely up to you. As we learned last year, it can range from coffee in a local cafe with like-minded people to a full-blown multi-day conference! We encourage everyone to organize events that help spread the free software philosophy, and are grounded in freedom. We hope you find a way to highlight that, as well as all the other benefits of working in and with free software, in your event. Looking for fellow activists to organize a meetup with? Add your name to the organizing page, or email us directly at camp...@fsf.org and we will do our best to connect you with people who are interested in organizing a meetup in your area. Looking for a meetup to attend this coming May? Check the sign-up list as organizers list events for an meeting near you. Let's make LibreLocal global again this year. To get you going, here's a quick checklist for your meetup: Start by reserving a table at a bar or space at a venue. List your event on the LibrePlanet wiki. Once you announce the date, time, and location of your free software meetup there, we'll start promoting it in our newsletter and on social media. On the same LibrePlanet wiki page, you'll notice that you can also announce if you're looking for others to help you organize the meetup. Study the meetup guide for tips and tricks. You can apply for support from us. Please note that the deadline to apply for funding is March 15, 2026. Let us know what we can do to support your meetup at camp...@fsf.org. Most important: have fun at the meetup with other free software enthusiasts! We can't wait to see what you all come up with for LibreLocal 2026. Happy hacking, Heshan de Silva-Weeramuni Program Manager "Tech Pizza Monday meeting in honor of FSF40" © 2025 Ryan Futures of TechPizzaMondays. This photo is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. "Joy for free software in Kinshaha, DRC" © 2026 Narcisse Mbunzama of Free Software DRC. This photo is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 Interested in helping us expand our reach? Follow us on: Mastodon and PeerTube, showing your support for free, federated social networks. Get active on the LibrePlanet wiki: https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Main_Page. Share on your blog or social network that you support us, and why you do so. Join us as an associate member: https://www.fsf.org/jf; and display your membership button on your website, to show how long you've been an FSF member. 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[Cornelius]

Awesome. We definitely want to organize this. I'll get back to this by the end of the week. 

[Munyoki Kilyungi]

Cornelius <corneliu...@gmail.com> aliandika:

> Awesome. We definitely want to organize this. I'll get back to this by the
> end of the week.

Cool. When you get around to it, let me know how
I can help out.

[...]

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[paul mayero]

Thanks Munyoki for this link.

It will be good for us.

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[Benson Muite]

The cyber cafe runs GNU/Linux computers.

> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nairobi-gnu/CALvf7aO1P1Tw_WXC0HdH-y1aLskigTh5wA4ih3-VQ_B8M%2B7o2A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Munyoki Kilyungi]

"Benson Muite" <benson...@emailplus.org>
aliandika:

> The cyber cafe runs GNU/Linux computers.
>

Impressive that GNU/Linux still works with Pentium
III (at the cyber) computers IIRC.

[paul mayero]

> Last year IIRC at Nairobi it was only me and Ben
> at some cyber cafe in CBD.  Got around to
> stitching this:
>  https://hachyderm.io/@saitama/114488558530301915

> @Paul maybe for this May, it would be an idea to
> have a Nairobi run for this:

  > https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/librelocal-2026-is-in-may-start-organizing-meetups 

@bonface...@gmail.com @Benson Muite @Cornelius This is a very good idea.

What ideas are accepted ? Are we limited to having a meetup only or can we try out other things? @tkib...@gmail.com mentioned a LAN party. I think that's a good idea especially with how good gaming on Linux is at the moment :)

> The cyber cafe runs GNU/Linux computers. 

> Impressive that GNU/Linux still works with Pentium
> III (at the cyber) computers IIRC.

That's a cool cyber cafe. Where is it? What are they running on their computers?

@Benson Muite @bonface...@gmail.com Could you start looking into this? 

May is pretty close and the earlier we start the better.

[Munyoki Kilyungi]

paul mayero <pmma...@gmail.com> aliandika:

[...]

> @bonface...@gmail.com <bonface...@gmail.com> @Benson Muite
> <benson...@emailplus.org> @Cornelius <corneliu...@gmail.com> This

> is a very good idea.
>
> What ideas are accepted ? Are we limited to having a meetup only or can we
> try out other things? @tkib...@gmail.com mentioned a LAN party. I think
> that's a good idea especially with how good gaming on Linux is at the
> moment :)
>

Not sure. I'd have to check(?). But we can
always ask the FSF folk. Ben organised last
years: we did inkstitch, which was cool. Perhaps
check in with Ben first. He can help out with
this if enough interest is there.

>> The cyber cafe runs GNU/Linux computers.
>> Impressive that GNU/Linux still works with Pentium
>> III (at the cyber) computers IIRC.
>
> That's a cool cyber cafe. Where is it?

Somewhere in the CBD; close to Koja round-a-bout.
It's very close to where the stitching machines
are. There's an entire industry around stitching,
buying plain-{clothes, caps, etc} in that part of
town.

> What are they running on their computers?
>

IIRC it was some Fedora install.

> @Benson Muite <benson...@emailplus.org> @bonface...@gmail.com
> <bonface...@gmail.com> Could you start looking into this?