Planning ChennaiFoss 2026

Conference
1

Meeting Minutes (MoM) of Planning call happened on 5th March

Venue Discussion – IIT Madras (IITM)

Date: - 18th April 2026
Location: IIT Madras Campus
Nearest gate to the event hall: Gurunanak College Gate (2.5 km from the main gate)

Attendees: Event Planning Team

Key Venue Details

Halls & Facilities for Dev Room/Workshop side track

  • Hall 1: 1 entrance, 1 display screen.
  • Hall 2: Capacity 65; 3 display screens; ceiling microphones only (no handheld/collar); single SSID WiFi; 2 entrances.
  • Hall 3 (possibly under renovation): Capacity 75; LED wall panel; 1 camera; podium microphone + 1 handheld microphone; audio/video facilities available.
  • Hall 4 – Exhibition Hall: Open seating setup; no displays/projectors; no tables or chairs; WiFi and power outlets available; 1 entrance.

Main Auditorium

  • TTJ Auditorium: Capacity 240; podium with 2 displays; 3 handheld microphones + 1 collar microphone; 3 entrances; direct access to dining hall.

Dining Facilities

  • Main Dining Hall: Buffet capacity 80–100 people; tables and chairs not provided.
  • Annexure Dining Hall: Capacity 50–80 people; 1 entrance.

Venue Layout

  • From the main venue entrance:
    • Left: Hall 3
    • Right: Hall 2 and Hall 1
  • Central area: Registration desk and stalls.
  • Space between halls: Available for video shooting.
  • Maximum stalls: 6–7.

Rules & Restrictions

  • Food is not allowed inside halls or the auditorium.
  • Zero plastic policy must be followed.
  • Garbage management must be handled by the event team.

Operations & Logistics

  • Dry run can be conducted only if there are no prior events scheduled before the event day.
  • Campus promotional display locations:
    • IITM Main Entrance
    • Gajendra Square
    • ICSR

Conference Planning

  • DevRooms for communities will be organized during the conference.
  • These sessions may be conducted in S&H department or Mechanical department classrooms.
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Nice to see this coming together.
I’m wondering what your plans are for content. Can you please share?
Do you envision several speakers/tracks in parallel? Are there going to be workshops/devrooms along with talks?

The reason I’m asking is, you want to make sure the audience isn’t split, leaving only a small number of attendees in all the spaces.

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3

Hi Ram.

yes we have a plan, having parallel talk sessions.

Right now thinking of having a separate day for workshops or devrooms. If that’s not feasible, we will try to have workshops on the same day of the conference in different halls.

Regarding the split, we should think of some separation tags or bands.

Participants should be able to separately register for different workshops.

We are having a call today at 8 PM to plan all these, feel free to join if you’re available : Redirect Notice

1 Like
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Meeting Minutes (MoM) of Planning call happened on 15th March

Attendees: tazimsheriff.r, saumilidutta, @Suslime, sharathlingam, aakashD, Harish, lakshmananP, karanS, giri, JustinBenito, SakhilAhamed, keshavGokul, @prasanth_baskar, HarshPatel, iamimmanuelraj

Tickets

  • Ticket prices are finalized.

Early Bird – 100 Tickets

  • Students (40 Tickets): 100 INR
  • Professionals (60 Tickets): 300 INR

Regular Tickets

  • Student Ticket: 200 INR
  • Professional Ticket: 400 INR
  • Contributor Ticket: 2000 INR

Early Bird & Contributor tickets are open now: ChennaiFOSS 2026

Community Partners & Open Source Projects

  • Application forms are ready.
  • The team will create community partnership guidelines describing expectations and benefits.
  • Outreach will begin to communities and OSS projects once the guidelines and partner list are ready.

Sponsors

  • Sponsor outreach tracking document and sponsor deck are ready.
  • The team will prepare outreach email templates and start contacting potential sponsors.
  • Sponsor emails are planned to be scheduled around 17 Mar 2026 .

Speakers

  • Two rounds of speaker outreach have already been completed.
  • The team will continue reaching out to more speakers in the coming weeks.

Website / Tech

  • The team is working on the chennaifoss.in landing page for ChennaiFOSS 2026 .
  • The page will provide detailed information about the event, including speakers, schedule, venue details, and other important updates for participants.

Social Media

  • The team will start preparing RSVP campaign posts, reels, and a content calendar .

Next Meeting

  • The next discussion call is scheduled for 19 March (Thursday), 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM Join Jitsi Meet.
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5

Hello!

Where can we find the T-Shirt Design for ChennaiFOSS '26?
I saw it being offered while booking ticket, but can’t seem to find the design.

I don’t know if this query belongs here, sorry if it doesn’t.

Good day!

6

Hi,
The T-Shirt designs are not yet finalized and we will share the designs in this thread and socials soon.

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ChennaiFOSS 2026: Planning Meeting Notes (19-March-2026)

Meeting Date: March 19, 2026
Time: 9:00 PM IST
Attendees: Mahaveer, Sharath, Saumili, Giri, Tazim, Immanuel

1. Website & Design

  • Status: Design assets are being finalized by Justin.
  • Action: Once assets are received, Sharath and Immanuel will begin development of chennaifoss.in.

2. Email & Campaign Setup

  • Status: A dedicated domain email is currently unavailable. Listmonk is set up using chennai@fossunited.org.
  • Strategy: * Team members to reach out to contacts individually via personal email.
    • CC: chennai@fossunited.org for tracking.
    • Content and templates for the official campaign are being prepared.

3. Community & Outreach

  • Partnerships: Tazim is finalizing the list of potential community partners. Sakhil to share previously collected data.
  • Outreach: Sakhil, Immanuel, and Giri Prasad are continuing to identify and gather contacts for open-source project maintainers.

4. Sponsorships & Coordination

  • Status: Team members are currently reaching out to potential sponsors for follow-ups.
  • Stalls: Sakhil is coordinating with interested parties regarding stall setups and logistics.

5. Event Planning & Tickets

  • 2-Day Conference Plan: Currently in the discussion phase. The team will review CFP submission numbers closer to the event date to decide on the final duration.
  • Ticketing: Student Early Bird tickets are sold out. We are now prioritizing the promotion of Professional tickets.
  • RSVP: Justin has rolled out RSVP announcements and posters on social media.

6. Financial Estimates

Item Estimated Cost (INR)
Venue 1,00,000
Food (Lunch for ~400) 70,000
Tea & Snacks (2 sessions) 25,000
Sound & Audio Setup 10,000
Total Estimated Expense 2,05,000
Estimated Revenue (Tickets) 1,00,000

Note: Expected attendance is ~450 people including volunteers.

7. Documentation & Next Steps

  • Master Doc: Giri will create and maintain a master document. All members should share their relevant document links in the group chat.
  • Next Meeting: A poll will be shared in the group to schedule the next call.
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