FOSDEM is coming soon and the FPA is already planning to make our corresponding FreeCAD event bigger and better than last year. FOSDEM happens in Brussels on Saturday February 3rd and Sunday February 4th, 2024. We propose to, once again , realize a public FreeCAD day, open to all, unconference style, and a hackathon, also open to anyone interested but focused on doing actual coding, together with FOSDEM.
The FOSDEM event is a big beacon for many CAD-related projects and interested people. Hooking to it turns the FreeCAD day much more interesting and can draw many more people. It also allows FOSDEM attendees to go to the FreeCAD day, and FreeCAD day attendees to enjoy FOSDEM afterwards.
Several details are still not decided yet, but we already publish the general plan to give everybody enough time to plan and book travel tickets. We will update this post when things such as locations, etc. get confirmed.
Here is what we are planning:
We’re doing a hackathon like we did in Vancouver. Technical and non-technical participation is welcome. This is hands on work but will include a synced discord group for virtual participation.
The FreeCAD day will again run as an unconference focused on community feedback. user-projects, updates on progress, discussion of educational outreach, and suggestions for how we can make FreeCAD better.
Social and team building (dinner night)
Outreach to other projects (FOSDEM talk and FreeCAD booth).
The program
The following planning is what we will organize. You can choose to attend only the FreeCAD day, or the FreeCAD day + FOSDEM, or any other day. There is no need to book, except for the Thursday night and Monday events. However, to help us plan things better, and also to encourage others to come, it is a good idea to indicate in this forum thread that you are planning to attend.
Wednesday January 31 and Thursday January 1: Hackathon
FreeCAD hackathon at Brussels Hackerspace (HSBXL). The hackathon will happen more or less between 9:30 and 18:00. The hackerspace is located near Brussel South train/metro station . It’s a 15 min walk from the station, but you can also take a bus that drops you almost at the door. There is more info on the HSBXL website. Snacks and drinks can be bought at the HSBXL with a credit card, and there is also a restaurant/bar in the same building and several others within 10min walk. No registration needed, just come by!
Thursday February 1: Restaurant night
(slots are limited, please book before january 20)
We will meet for an evening in a restaurant (place and time to be announced) in Brussels central district. We are aiming for something with typical belgian food and beers (with vegetarian and non-alcoholic options of course). The whole night is offered by the FPA to participants who have booked before january 20. Late comers might still be possible, depending on the restaurant’s availability, but you might need to pay for your own food if we have reached the allocated budget.
Friday February 2:** The FreeCAD day**
Same as last year, we will hold a whole day of conferences and community meeting at the Atelier des Tanneurs . The event will run from 9:00 to 17:30 and, after an opening/welcome talk, will follow then anyone interested in presenting something or simply talk about something can post a note on a panel, and subjects will be scheduled one after the other.
The venue is located in the central district of Brussels and easy to reach by foot (10 min walk from Brussels Grote Markt) or by tramway/metro (Brussels South or Anneessens metro station).
This year, the FreeCAD day will happen together with the KiCAD project . We will share the same space, and it will be a thrilling opportunity for the developers and users of both projects to meet and exchange ideas. On the venue, we will have:
A big room for 50 people, theater mode (no tables, everybody facing the screen), for FreeCAD
Another room for 50 people, with tables and chairs for KiCAD
A smaller room for 20 people, with tables and screen for FreeCAD
A mezzanine / meeting space with tables, chairs and sofas, shared by both projects. There will be coffee, juices and snacks during the day
You can come anytime, no registration required, and hop in and off between the rooms. There is no lunch provided, but many options around the venue, such as a traditional belgian fries joint
Saturday February 3 and Sunday February 4: FOSDEM
FOSDEM is a huge event gathering hundreds (thousands?) of FOSS developers, project managers, users and enthusiasts from Europe and beyond. It happens on the Brussel’s ULB/VUB university campus during the whole weekend. There are many talks happening the whole weekend. On sunday, there is a special Open Hardware and CAD/CAM room , packed with CAD-related talks. We will have a FreeCAD talk at 10:20.
During FOSDEM, we will also have a booth , that we will share with KiCAD, Ondsel and the Open Toolchain Foundation. Be sure to drop by!
Monday February 5: Visit to Blender Studio in Amsterdam
(slots are limited, please book before january 20)
We will be offered a tour of the Blender institute, and have a chance to chat with Blender people and chairman Ton. Please note, the Blender institute is located in Amsterdam , 2 hours by high-speed train from Brussels, and you are responsible for getting there. We will meet at the Blender institute at 14:00 and the visit will last about 2 or 3 hours.
Join online!
Neither the hackathon or the FreeCAD day events will be recorded this year, because that would require a consequent amount of work and equipment to do it well, and also another kind of organization. However, during these days, we will try as much as possible to share online what is happening, and let people from around the world interact with people who are physically present. The main places to look for more are:
The FreeCAD forum: https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?t=82330
The FreeCAD discord channel: https://discord.com/channels/870877411049357352/1162044910535450665
The FreeCAD Matrix room: https://matrix.to/#/#FreeCAD_FreeCAD:gitter.im
And also the usual social accounts:
The FreeCAD Twitter account: https://twitter.com/FreeCADNew
The FreeCAD Mastodon account: https://fosstodon.org/@FreeCAD
This blog: https://blog.freecad.org
Travel grants
Individual travel grants are available this time again . Last year we were able to give a grant to everybody who asked for it. Read here for the details such as the maximum amount you can require and how to proceed.
See you there!