LibrePlanet 2023: Charting the Course
 

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Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/fifteen-years-of-libreplanet-register-now-to-join-us-on-march-18-and-19

Dear Free Software Supporter,

The fifteenth edition of the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) annual conference is only a couple of months away. Registration is open now.

Students and FSF associate members attend LibrePlanet gratis. Not an associate member? Join today for $10 per month ($5 for students), or register for LibrePlanet at our non-member rate (details below). If you become an associate member, you help us organize events like LibrePlanet as well as support us in defending the #FreedomToShare. And if you renew before December 31, you will help us in reaching our fall fundraiser goal of 455 new associate members. Furthermore, you can enjoy all the benefits that we grant our associate members.

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For fifteen years, free software enthusiasts from around the world have joined us for the annual LibrePlanet conference. You can watch videos from the last conference (and do so using only free software!) on our MediaGoblin instance or on PeerTube. Also, you can now pre-order the colorful and ethically manufactured LibrePlanet 2023 T-shirt in the FSF shop. And if you order yours before the March 1, 2023, cutoff date, you'll be able to wear it to the event.

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Register now and get a 10% shop discount to pre-order the LibrePlanet T-shirt online.

The fifteenth edition of LibrePlanet will be another great two days of excitement, community, and knowledge-sharing! After three years of meeting everyone exclusively online, we are looking forward to having a hybrid event on March 18 and 19, 2023 that allows you to choose whether you want to participate online or in person. With the submissions we received and the schedule we are planning, we're certain you will be excited by what this fifteenth LibrePlanet has in store for you!

Register to help us prepare

Registration helps us prepare for the event. Register now to attend LibrePlanet 2023: Charting the Course! In return for your advanced registration, we will give a small token of our appreciation at a couple of different tiers:

  • In-person Participant: enter at no cost as an associate member or opt to pay the regular price

Come to Boston and, after three years of pandemic life, relive what an in-person conference feels like. The event will be in the Boston area, and the exact venue will be announced soon. Meet friends, both old and new; sit next to interesting people in the audience; and chat casually during coffee breaks or take a stroll through our exhibition hall.

Note that COVID-19 is still an issue that we take very seriously in organizing an in-person conference, so please keep in mind there will be policies in place to protect our audience, and every in-person attendee will be required to follow any and all guidelines related to it. We will publish information about the COVID-19 safety plan on the LibrePlanet Web site.

FSF associate members and students enter the event gratis. Furthermore, associate members will be invited to participate in the annual associate membership meeting.

Non-members can register for LibrePlanet at our non-member rate of $90 for the two days or $60 for one day.

You will only be admitted to the in-person conference if you have registered as an in-person participant. Register now and get a 10% shop discount to pre-order the LibrePlanet 2023 T-shirt online.

  • Online Participant: registration is gratis

The "Online Participant" level grants you general access to the online edition of LibrePlanet, and registration is gratis. As always, anyone can attend the online edition of LibrePlanet. We will broadcast the event via a fully free software livestream on libreplanet.org/conference. Everyone will be able to join the discussion via the general #libreplanet IRC channel on Libera.Chat, as well as via room-specific IRC channels. Registration helps us prepare the amount of server space we need and expected participation is useful to know as we plan the number of volunteers we need for things like moderation. It also ensures you won't be left out of any important communications about the event. In return for telling us that you're coming, we'll offer you a 10% discount in the GNU Press shop, which you can use to purchase the colorful and ethically manufactured 2023 T-shirt! This level also gives you access to attend BoF (Birds of a Feather) sessions, and/or create your own.

  • Online Supporter: a small contribution goes a long way

Help us with our expenses to bring a spectacular event to the community both online and in person by contributing financially when attending online. Even the online part of a conference has organizational expenses, such as our fully free streaming setup. Registration at the Supporter level starts at $25 during early bird registration, which will last until Wednesday, March 1, 2023 and $50 after this date. To thank you for investing in the FSF and LibrePlanet, you will receive a digital registration badge that you can share on your personal blog, or on social media, and we'll offer you a 10% discount in the GNU Press shop, which you can use to purchase the ethically manufactured 2023 T-shirt!

FSF associate members and students will enter the event at this tier at no cost. You will also be invited to participate in the annual associate membership meeting which will be held both online and in person.

  • Stalwart: your financial support helps us create a memorable event

No matter if you attend online or in person, your additional financial support helps us create a memorable event for many people all over the globe. With your contribution you fund essentials like our fully free servers, free admission for students, and refreshments for attendees. And you make it possible for us to devote the substantial amount of time necessary to organize everything -- an effort which is nearly year-round. Individuals can pay $200 ($150 early registration), and corporate attendees get access at $500 ($400 early registration). For supporting the event at this higher level, you receive all the previously mentioned perks, as well as our specially designed and ethically manufactured LibrePlanet T-shirt and a souvenir USB drive with videos from the event, so you can look back at them in the future and share them with your community. You'll also have the option to get an hour of free licensing consultation in 2023, or advice in another field where we might be able to help.

Sponsoring and exhibitors

Sponsors and exhibitors are key to the event's success. Thanks to conference sponsors, we can offer free admission to students, a welcoming event space and social activities, and refreshments for attendees. Support from generous sponsors also enables LibrePlanet to run on free software infrastructure, including livestreaming and session recordings. We offer unique opportunities for businesses and other organizations to connect to and learn from a community that is dedicated to free software. Early bird pricing for exhibitors is happening now, and will be available until February 21, 2023. For information on how your company or organization can have a table in our lively and centrally located exhibit hall or how to further sponsor the LibrePlanet conference, please email [email protected]. If you cannot make it to our in-person conference, we can also offer you exhibition space in our virtual exhibit hall. Nonprofits and individual projects are eligible for a discounted exhibitors price.

Volunteer remotely or in person

We are looking for volunteers who can either support us on-site or online. We'll be looking for people who can help us with moderation, room monitoring, and other important tasks that make the event possible. Your help makes LibrePlanet an even greater success, and while volunteering you can learn from others and thereby further refine your organizational or technical skills. Please email [email protected] and let us know whether you want to volunteer in person or remotely.

Submit a lightning talk

Lightning talks are five-minute presentations given by conference attendees on free software topics they're passionate about. No matter if you intend to attend online or in person, submit a prerecorded lightning talk today and gain an enthusiastic audience for your idea or project.

We are very much looking forward to this year's conference. Make sure you sign up for the LibrePlanet announcements list at the top of the LibrePlanet Web site to get the latest updates. If you need more information, or have any questions about the tiers, please email [email protected].

Thank you for supporting the FSF and LibrePlanet. We hope to see you at LibrePlanet 2023: Charting the Course!

Sincerely,

Your LibrePlanet Team

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