Software FreedomDay 08 GenSan

Software Freedom Day 08 – GenSan held at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University on September 20,2008 was a huge success. It was attended by over seven hundred (700) people coming from different sectors of the society. Students from the elementary and high school levels of Special Education Program (SPED) graced the event along with their teachers and principal. College students from different schools and universities, IT practitioners, businessmen, government employees and teachers also took part in the celebration.

The interest of the participants perked up when they saw the teaser created by Mr. Linog, a 4th yr. BSIT student of MSU GenSan. In a few minutes, they understood the reasons behind the celebration: the vision, mission and goals of Software Freedom Day. The video of the teaser has been uploaded to YouTube.

The speakers shared their enthusiasm and expertise on Free and Open Source Software to the participants. Mr. Diaz spoke about the prospects in IT, Mr. Trillo gave a talk on how FOSS can be used in education, Mr. Sumajit on FOSS in business, while Engr. Matutina discussed about using FOSS in the government. The elementary and high school students of SPED (including a hearing impaired child) also gave their testimonies on how they were able to use Linux.

Mr. Bilbao and Ms. Santianes (4^th Yr IT Students of MSUGSC) also gave talks on the Open Education Disc, highlighting GIMP and OpenOffice, respectively. They showed the advantages and features of some of the Free and Open Source Softwares. Around 100 Ubuntu and 100 Open Education CDs were given away to the participants after their talk.

Moreover, the participants learned more about Software Freedom and FOSS through the exhibits that were displayed on the lobby. The exhibits showed discussions on Linux and some of the popular Free and Open Source Softwares that are in use nowadays.

The most exciting and fun-filled part of the day was the socialization and the games that were played in the afternoon. The participants especially enjoyed the FOSS Race, which served as the event's highlight. Fifty (50) participants from different schools and universities formed five teams. They had to travel from one post to another and do some challenges before they are given the chance to answer the questions, which were all about FOSS. The participants did not only learn about FOSS, they also gained friends and enjoyed the games in the process.

It was truly a memorable event for all the participants.

Even with a very minimal budget and initial funds of about 2,000 pesos (coming from the registration of MSU students and sponsorship of Columbia) the organizers were able to pull off a very successful event.

The organizers (which was primarily composed of college students) initially had a hard time looking for sponsors for the event. This is because most of the businessmen didn't have any idea about what we were celebrating for, as this was the first SFD celebration in the region. Luckily, we were able to make some of them understand what the event was really all about. And they generously gave us some of the things we needed for our celebration. Kristan Educational Supply gave us 100 CDs on which we burnt the Open Education Disc, materials for the registration, and some clear books for the games' prizes, SMART Telecom gave us beltbags for the prizes, ACLC Computer College printed the tarpaulin, Columbia Computer Center donated some cash, Mang Inasal took care of the organizers' lunch while Pizza Hut gave us some pizza for the snacks.

The OpenHUBS, Mindanao State University-General Santos City in partnership with Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, Holy Trinity College, and ACLC Computer College organized the successful Software Freedom Day 08 GenSan.

A BIG thank you to everyone who celebrated with us! More photos at Picasa

You can also visit the team's wiki page.

Here are some of the links to blogs written about the event by:

Mylene at Friendster
Sanrio
Patet
GrilledLife


There are also photos of the following:

Exhibits
Morning Activities
Afternoon Activities

Video of the teaser here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3