The organizing team presents the first open-air edition of the popular event.
Challenging times require extraordinary approaches. Led by the desire to meet people in person again, and be able to socialize live, the OpenFest staff invites everyone interested in open culture to attend the 19th edition of the conference – under the open skies of Sofia’s central ‘Borisova gradina’ park. The event will take place in the outdoor area of the ‘Maymunarnika’, scheduled for the 14th and 15th of August, with a free entrance admission. The reason for the new location is not surprising to anyone, we all got a little overwhelmed communicating through the screen all day everyday for the past year.
OpenFest is the leading Bulgarian conference celebrating free and open culture – free and open-source software, open hardware, open data, free knowledge sharing, and lately the effects of IT and digitalization on real life, the processes of digital transformation and the impact thereafter on the welfare of society. The event is run entirely by a team of volunteers. Everyone is welcome to present and participate with presentations, or contribute to work and ideas.
Proposals for papers are reviewed and approved by an independent program committee whose members come from diverse backgrounds.
The event will be presented in a new format – a single track of lectures, while also supporting activities such as workshops, the youth playground, and a sponsor area within the open space premises of the venue. The topics, naturally, remain the same – open culture, creators, technologies, their interactions with and impact on the community. The daily programme on Saturday will resolve with live DJ sets and Sunday evening will host the event’s official after party.
The area of “Maymunarnika” can conveniently accommodate around 1200 people, and the park itself offers great spots under the trees along the relaxing outdoor vibe; anyone with a hammock is welcomed to hang it in the surroundings. Amenities for people with disabilities and wheelchair users are provided and young parents can conveniently observe their children having fun around while enjoying the presentations.
People interested in the event who are not able to attend are still welcome to participate online while watching the high quality live stream. A free wireless network will be made available to everyone at the venue to help facilitate interaction between participants with enquiries, videos, and auxiliary data.
The talks’ schedule is still a work in progress. The program committee thus kindly invites those passionate to submit a presentation proposal to do so at https://cfp.openfest.org/. Companies and individuals interested in supporting the event and/or becoming involved as exhibitors may reach the organizers at sponsors@openfest.org.
