FOSSHack Local Event Guidelines
Note - Selected Organisers are to submit a signed copy of this document as a reply to their hackathon approval email, along with other documents. Refer to the planning thread
A message from FOSS United Foundation:
Hey, there –
We’re excited to know that you’re interested in organising a local edition of FOSS Hack 2024. Your enthusiasm and energy towards the FOSS community is admirable.
FOSSHack is a great way to learn, build and contribute to the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem, and your interest towards giving back to the community is commendable.
As an official FOSSHack local edition, you and your team will have access to FOSS United’s support, guidance and resources at all times.
This document contains everything you need to know to host a local FOSSHack: common questions, a walkthrough of the benefits we provide, and what we expect from you and your team.
Thank you for everything you are doing and for being part of the FOSS community. We can’t wait to see the positive impact FOSSHack will have on your community of hackers and tinkerers.
Team FOSSHack 2024
Benefits
By partnering with FOSSHack, you get access to the following benefits from our end.
Dedicated Support & Mentorship. Our team is available for you at all times, for any guidance and advice you may need. Please feel free to reach out to us if you require help with figuring out the logistics, fundraising etc.
Event Marketing While the best source of marketing for your hackathon is likely your local community and nearby colleges, universities, and schools, FOSS United will promote your local edition through our social media handles and communication channels.
Preferred Vendor Contacts. Organizing a great hackathon can be expensive. To help you save time and money, we will try to give you contacts of vendors who can help you with the logistics of the events.
Monetary Grant. FOSSHack local editions are eligible for a monetary grant of upto Rs 50,000. The grant amount for each edition will be decided upon submission of the proposed budget by the organisers.
Access to the FOSSHack Organiser Platform You will have access to the FOSS United platform to handle registrations, check-ins, emails etc. to manage your event. Dashboard access to view various statistics will be made available as well.
Regular calls with FOSS United team and volunteers We will spend time with you going over final logistics and action items to ensure you and your team are well prepared for your event.
During your hackathon:
Day-of Support. A volunteer/staff member will either join you in-person or be available on call for any help you may require on the day of the event.
Hackathon portal for participants FOSSHack is primarily an online hackathon, which means we already have the right workflows in place for participants to submit projects, give presentations and receive feedback. You do not have to worry about creating a platform for the hackers.
Mini-Events. We have various online talks and sessions happening throughout the duration of FOSSHack. We’d be happy to help you to set up a stream for the participants to be able to join these events locally.
Swag. You will receive swag including FOSS United, FOSSHack and custom designed stickers for participants. The organising team will also receive upto 10 t-shirts from FOSS United.
Judging and Reviews Reviews are one of the most stressful periods during a hackathon. FOSSHack has its own central review team which will be reviewing all submitted projects after the hackathon, so you don’t have to worry about getting judges and/or deciding winners.
Prizes. FOSShack has a central prize pool of Rs. 10,00,000 which will be allocated to winning projects after the hackathon. Participants that choose to work on their projects even after the hackathon will also be eligible to apply for FOSS grants upto Rs. 6,00,000.
After your hackathon:
Post Event Survey. Participants will receive a post-event survey about their experience. We’ll share this feedback with you as requested, to help you know how you did and identify areas of improvement for your next event.
Continued Support. We plan to stay in touch and continue working with FOSSHack organisers even after the hackathon, potentially through our student programs like FOSS Clubs.
Requirements
To ensure that FOSSHack local editions uphold our guidelines and the standards we have set in place, organizers must meet the following requirements:
Minimum Requirements
Event Dates. Your hackathon must take place during 27th July 2024 to 28th July,2024.
Free to Attend. FOSSHack does not have entry fees, which makes it open and accessible to all participants, regardless of their financial situations. You can however charge if they’d like to purchase t-shirts.
Duration. FOSSHack runs for over 36 hours, and we expect your local edition to be at least upto 24 hours long, so participants get a taste of the real hackathon experience.
Agreements
We expect you to read and agree to each of the following. By signing below, you agree that you have read, reviewed, and understood each of these sub-agreements.
FOSSHack Guidelines - You’re reading this document! It outlines the things that we need you to do before, during, and after your hackathon and the things we’re doing for you as well.
FOSSHack Planning Thread - This is the single source of truth for all event related updates and information.
Code of Conduct - This document contains the guidelines for the expected behavior of all attendees (including volunteers, mentors, sponsors, organizers, judges, etc.) at FOSS United Events. As an organizer of a FOSSHack local edition, you are expected to adopt, make publicly available, and enforce the Code of Conduct. If an incident is reported, organizers must immediately involve the FOSS United Team who will work with you to follow our official incident response procedure.
Reporting Violations
Any incidents or violations should be immediately reported to -
Vishal Arya
Ansh Arora
Fundraising Organisers are free to raise additional funds for the local hackathon, but all potential partnerships should be disclosed to the FOSS United Team before confirming. We do not partner with web3 or crypto related organisations. Read more about our stance on blockchain here
Branding. You are encouraged to follow our branding guidelines which helps us promote your local edition parallelly with other events without creating any confusion. Necessary assets,templates and design guidelines will be shared with you.
Planning thread and Post Event Report All local editions are required to make a planning thread for the hackathon on forum.fossunited.org to update us on the progress and post necessary updated. We also encourage you to publish a detailed post event report after the hackathon.
Check-Ins With FOSS United. We expect you to stay in touch with us about your event’s progress. We want to help you stay on track with your goals and see where we can be helpful.
Venue. We ask that you either show proof of venue registration or substantial progress towards booking a venue with an estimate of when the venue will be finalized.
Overnight Accommodations. We require local editions to leave their venues open overnight or provide alternate overnight accommodations for any off-campus attendees. Many participants may travel long distances to attend hackathons and will need a place to rest.
Meals. Your participants need fuel! We need to see a plan of meals that your event will provide and a breakdown of costs in the budget.
During Your Hackathon
Opening Ceremony. Reserve 5 minutes to talk about FOSS United, FOSSHack (rules,guidelines etc.)
Closing Ceremony. Reserve 5 minutes during your closing ceremony to make a few remarks on behalf of FOSS United. As the winners of the event are announced a few days after the hackathon, they should also be well informed of the next steps.
Signage. Display FOSS Hack signage in key areas during the event. Having FOSSHack signage on-site during the event signals your commitment to hosting a high-quality event and makes your attendees feel like they are part of a larger hackathon.
After Your Hackathon
Post-Event Call. Attend an optional call with our team after the event. We’ll use this time to run a short retrospective on working together, provide feedback, and future plans.
FOSS United Foundation reserves the right to revise, make exceptions to, or otherwise amend these policies in whole or in part. FOSS United Foundation reserves the right to terminate the partnership if any violations of the agreements are noticed. If you have any questions regarding these policies, please email us at fosshack@fossunited.org