PravConf 2026
Dates: 04–05 July 2026
Venue: Seminar Hall, STIST
Organized by: Prav Cooperative(via FOSS United) in collaboration with the FOSS Club, STIST
Overview
PravConf 2026 was a two-day community conference organized to address developments around the federated communication platform, Prav, privacy and Free software. Discussions around Self hosting, community hosting and Fediverse were the main themes of the event.
Day 1
Theme
Privacy, Self hosting, Prav, XMPP, Community, Digital Rights, Cybersecurity, and FOSS Awareness
Speakers
- Ravi Dwivedi
- Anuvind Praveen
- Pirate Praveen
- untrusem
- Badri Sunderarajan
- Aaruni Kaushik
- Nishta Jain
- Hari Govind
- Srijita Sarkar
- Ganesh
- Ranjith S
- Athul R T
Sessions Covered
- TALK: Why we need Prav?
- TALK: RightsLine: Building a Digital Rights Helpline for India’s Internet Users
- TALK: Can we have WhatsApp without Meta? | Can’t we self host everything?
- LIGHTNING TALK: How I got into Prav / Free Software?
- TALK: Driving XMPP Adoption via Shiny Clients
- TALK: How a Student Community Built Open Source Contributors for Two Decades
- PANEL DISCUSSION: From FOSS Clubs to the FOSS Community
- Networking Session
Attendance
Approximately 90 participants attended Day 1.
What Went Well
Everything went well. Every session was interactive and joyful.
Areas for Improvement
It was perfect, no need for further improvement.
Open Source Tools Used
- Linux
- Prav
- LibreOffice
- Internet in a Box
Challenges
No challenges were faced.
Crowd Favorites
- Prav Project
- Git
- XMPP
- Community Panel Discussion
- Networking Session
Day 2
Theme
Self hosting Prav app, XMPP, Prav stable release, Hands-on Workshops and FOSS Contributions
Speakers
- contrapunctus
- Pirate Praveen
- untrusem
- Ravi Dwivedi
- Badri Sunderarajan
- Ranjith S
- Srijita Sarkar
- Murukesh
- Kannan V M
- A J Mathew(Principal, STIST)
Sessions Covered
- TALK: A user-oriented introduction to XMPP
- Talk: Signal can be installed from play store, but Prav asks 1000 rupees and a government ID?
- TALK: I want my feature in Prav
- Celebration: PRAV stable version release celebration with Cake Cutting
- WORKSHOP: Git
- DEMONSTRATION: Hosting an XMPP Server
- TALK: Feedback on the event by the Pricipal of STIST
- Networking Session
- Group Photo Session
Attendance
Approximately 65 participants attended Day 2.
What Went Well
Everything went well, it was perfect.
Areas for Improvement
No need for further improvement, it was perfect.
Open Source Tools Used
- Git
- GitLab
- Prav Project
- Prosidy
- Raspberry Pi zero 2w
- Internet in a Box
- Monocles
- Conversations
- LibreOffice
Challenges
No challenges were faced during the event.
Crowd Favorites
- Git Workshop
- XMPP Server Hosting
- Networking Session
- Photo Session
Potential Mentors
The invited speakers and workshop facilitators demonstrated strong mentoring potential and would be valuable mentors or speakers for future FOSS United and FOSS Club events.
Financial Details
TBD
Additional Notes
PravConf 2026 successfully introduced students to multiple areas of the FOSS ecosystem through a balanced combination of awareness sessions and practical workshops. Participants gained a better understanding of FOSS communities, collaborative software development, digital rights, and modern communication technologies, while also building connections with experienced contributors and fellow enthusiasts.
Reference Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lccKiVTwaCw
