![Kid building a tower (symbolic)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/images/organizing.jpg) - Jurgen # Organizing Software Freedom Day: it's not hard! Also available: - [ ![Português (pt)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/pt.gif "Português (pt)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/pt/sfd/blog/sfd-e-facil "Português (pt)") - [ ![Español (España)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/es_es.gif "Español (España)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/es/sfd/blog/sfd-es-facil "Español (España)") - [ ![Italiano (it-IT)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/it_it.gif "Italiano (it-IT)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/it/sfd/blog/sfd-e-facile "Italiano (it-IT)") - [ ![French (fr-FR)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/fr_fr.gif "French (fr-FR)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/fr/sfd/blog/sfd-cest-facile "French (fr-FR)") - [ ![Chinese Simplified (China)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/zh_cn.gif "Chinese Simplified (China)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/zh/sfd/blog/zu-zhi-ruan-jian-zi-you-ri-bing-bu-nan "Chinese Simplified (China)") - [ ![Persian (Iran)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/fa_ir.gif "Persian (Iran)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/fa/sfd/blog/brgzary-rwz-azady-nrm-afzar-kar-skhty-nyst "Persian (Iran)") - [ ![Nederlands (nl-NL)](https://digitalfreedoms.org/media/mod_languages/images/nl_nl.gif "Nederlands (nl-NL)") ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/nl/sfd/blog/sfd-organizeren-is-een-makkie "Nederlands (nl-NL)") ***Don't want to read it all?** Organizing your first SFD event isn't hard! These first steps will get you a long way.* So you're thinking about throwing a Software Freedom Day party? But seeing all those huge events scare you off? Don't worry, they all started small! Here are some pointers at how easy it is to throw a SFD Party! ## When? Typically, Software Freedom Day is celebrated on the **third Saturday of September**. But - a bit comparable to a birthday party - you can always celebrate it on another moment around that time, if that works out better. What could be typical reasons to pick a different date? - The date doesn't work out for most of your volunteering team - There's a collision with another event in the area, and you don't want to compete (e.g. there's a religious holiday) - There's another event happening that would fit great together, and you want to align (e.g. there's a town fair where you can have a stand) - ... ## What? Basically, if you throw a party, you can pick what you want to do. Here are some ideas to start small. - Give a demo of your favorite piece of music writing software to a bunch of friends - Set up a table on a public spot and hand out flyers explaining how Free Software better respects your privacy and let them try out Linux with LibreOffice and some other applications. - Hang a poster saying: "Your phone is spying on you. Change my mind" and sit on a chair behind it. - Organize an Arduino workshop in your local hackerspace - Give a presentation about how you migrated from a cloud service to your personal installation of NextCloud - Hand out "Software Freedom Day" balloons to kids in the street, and a flyer with some pointers to the parents - Ask some people from like-minded communities to join forces and give some talks on technical or non-technical topics. ## Where? There are plenty of places where you can organize Software Freedom Day. - Your school or workplace is sympathetic to the cause, and maybe you can use some office space or a classroom? - Local libraries often welcome low profile initiatives. - Are you a member of a LUG, hackerspace, computer club or tech group? Probably you can gather over there. - If all fails, gather in a local pub or tea-room and your audience can buy a drink in there. ## Who? So who should you invite? There's a wide range of options here too. You decide what's in your comfort zone. In essence, you could reach out, or you could reach in. ### Reach out: invite people who aren't familiar with the topic of Software Freedom and introduce them - You could just put an invitation on the bulletin board of your school or work and see who shows up - You could put flyers in the houses around the area - Spread the word through your social media channels - You could invite local policymakers and/or press if you feel like it (but you don't need to) ### Reach in: invite people who are already familiar with the topic of Software Freedom and do a deep dive - Invite friendly groups from the bigger area for more in depth topics - Spread the word on topical niche communities online ### Who could be speaking? - You could invite external speakers. They often will be happy to give a talk or workshop - This is the perfect playground for first time experiences in public speaking. It's fun to talk about something you're passionate about. - Friends from like-minded groups. - Created on 21 May 2024. - Last updated on 12 October 2025. - [ Previous article: Call for Teams 2024 Prev ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/call-for-teams-2024) - [ Next article: Mailing Lists Next ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/mailing-lists) ### No comments #### Login to post a comment Username Password Remember Me - [ Forgot your password?](https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/component/users/reset?Itemid=565) - [ Forgot your username?](https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/component/users/remind?Itemid=565) - [ Create an account ](https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/component/users/registration?Itemid=565)