The origins of the Free software community in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

can be traced back to the group of

TeX Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

users around the University of Kerala in early 1980s. The community then later named themselves Thiruvananthapuram LUG (Indian Linux Users Group), GNU/Linux Users Group, Thiruvananthapuram and then ultimately Free Software Users Group, Thiruvananthapuram. The community has worked with the government in helping with key Free software initiatives in the government and also in promoting and supporting Free software among the general public. The community has also been instrumental in creating an IT policy favorable to Free software in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Main Activities

Free software install fests

One of the organized activities of the community was to organize GNU/Linux install fests in and around the city. These were usually organized in educational institutions or public places where the general public could bring their computers to get a GNU/Linux distribution installed on them. As GNU/Linux distributions became more and more easy to be installed and configured the community has stopped organizing these.

Developer camps

The group has also worked with SMC in organizing developer camps in Thiruvananthapuram and outside. During developer camps developers are given hands-on experience in working with Free software tools and primarily around localization initiatives which SMC is involved with.

Software / Hardware Freedom Day

The Free software community in Thiruvananthapuram has also been involved in organizing Software Freedom Day celebrations and Hardware Freedom Day celebrations in the city.

Free software release parties

The community has also organized release parties to celebrate the release of the different Free software like Ubuntu, Firefox etc.

Key Initiatives

Free software install fest at Technopark

One of the first large-scale events organized by the community was a week long Free Software Install Fest at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram organized in 2008. The event was co-organized by SPACE, Zyxware Technologies and Kerala State IT Mission

Creating India's first Freedom Toaster

The community worked together with Zyxware Technologies to create India's first Freedom Toaster which is a kiosk which can vend Free software CDs and DVDs. The Freedom toaster was made available at Technopark and at different engineering colleges to make available its services to the public.

Organizing Freedom Walk

The Free Software Users Group, Thiruvananthapuram along with Free software communities across Kerala and Zyxware Technologies organized a 44-day

peace walk A peace walk or peace march, sometimes referred to as a peace pilgrimage, is a form of nonviolent action where a person or group marches a set distance to raise awareness for particular issues important to the walkers. 350 km Long Peace Walk New ...

called

Freedom Walk Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

in 2008. Three volunteers from the community walked from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram covering all 14 districts in the state on foot and conducted Free software events in schools and colleges to promote the message and philosophy of Free software.

Organizing Free Software Free Society conferences

The community has been jointly involved with organizing of the Free Software Free Society conferences conducted by the

government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

through

ICFOSS International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS) is an autonomous organization set up by the Government of Kerala, India and having the combined mandate of popularizing Free and Open Source Software for universal use; consolidati ...

and SPACE.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Software Free Software Foundation Software industry in India Science and technology in Thiruvananthapuram Information technology organisations based in India