This event brought together over technology enthusiasts and aims to promote and support open technologies such as free software, hardware, and open source. During the weekend of June 9th and 10th, more than 700 people gathered at La Térmica, a contemporary cultural center, to participate in the fifth edition of OpenSouthCode 2023. The event attracted a diverse audience of programmers, designers, artists, teachers, and families.
What is OpenSouthCode?
It is a volunteer-driven event that aims to promote the use of Free Software and open source/hardware. It has become one of Europe’s notable software events and holds a special place in the Open Source movement in Southern Europe. While inspired by Europe’s largest similar event called FOSDEM, OpenSouthCode has cultivated its own unique identity and community in Malaga.
The event also celebrated diversity. Notably, 20% of the speakers were women, and women constituted 30% of the overall attendees. Additionally, to accommodate professionals who telework from the Costa del Sol and those seeking to improve their English language skills, 27% of the talks were conducted in English, which is widely recognized in the technology sector.
Various workshops about innovation
OpenSouthCode offered various workshops where attendees could explore robotics, artificial intelligence, programming, design, and even underwater drones. The event showcased that the technological and cultural landscape of Malaga extends beyond large companies, with thriving communities and individuals contributing to its ecosystem. Through 75 sessions across six parallel tracks, OpenSouthCode demonstrated how free hardware and software play a crucial role in making innovation accessible to all.
Driven by David Sedeño, a regular at the CFCamp event, many of the talks are focused on how these technologies help development, in addition to high-value technical talks about to give visibility to groups such as WordPressMalaga, VueMalaga, voluntary associations and solidarity initiatives undertaken by NGOs and schools to bring them closer to schoolchildren or people in underdeveloped countries.
KDE for the whole family
KDE had a relevant participation too. KDE is a non lucrative organization that develops open source code for many different software and hardware. KDE Spain took the decision to organise Akademy-es, the event in Spanish for KDE developers and users so, in addition to a booth, a full track with KDE related topics was organised as part of OpenSouthCode.
The KDE booth was a success. It included a special screen where kids could draw with Krita, using a digital pen. A contest was organised and many kids, who came to OpenSouthCode to participate in specific workshops created for them, passed by our booth to create their own Konqi version. Seeing all these kids being interested on KDE was super cool.
Making a Difference
This year, OpenSouthCode also had a charitable aspect. The event raised over 600 euros, which will be donated to Wikimedia Spain in support of projects such as Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopedia, and other initiatives advocating for knowledge, data, and free rights.
Engaging young minds: OpenSouthKids
OpenSouthCode made a conscious effort to engage young participants. The OpenSouthKids workshops, held on Saturday morning, allowed children and their families to take part in the event. It was inspiring to see the enthusiasm of the younger generation as they embraced technology to bring their projects to life.
Knowledge exchange
OpenSouthCode 2023 served as a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the promotion of open technologies. Participants left the event feeling inspired and ready to contribute to the ever-changing world of technology. OpenSouthCode is a shining example of how community-driven initiatives can foster openness and drive technological progress. It was great to be surrounded by so much innovation and inspiring people. We learned a lot and had a great day.
Digital kit initiative
It’s great to have such good free events in Spain, it gives a lot of new opportunities and ideas to the visitors of the event. Recently the Spanish government introduced the Digital Kit program which brings subsidies to businesses in Spain. Events like these help with getting more people realizing how much you could do for your business online. Want to know more? We have a dedicated page about Digital Kit and the steps you need to follow to get your voucher. We’re also a Digital Agent and can help you further. Contact us for more information!
