21st to 22nd September 2024 (Software Freedom Day, but a potential clash with PyCon India)
Other (please suggest below)
0voters
The other available weekends in between are clashes with major festivals ( namely Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam).The said dates have been proposed keeping in mind there’s a reasonable gap between FOSS Hack and IndiaFOSS for us to plan the events well, but also to be able to do combined outreach.
[RFC] Call for bids
From feedback received from multiple volunteers and attendees alike, it is crucial to acknowledge the need to switch cities, now that IndiaFOSS has become a rapidly scaling event.
While Bengaluru always stays as an option, we are open to exploring other possibilities.
This is a request for comment for all the city communities, volunteers, and community members to share their thoughts on a potential call for bids for hosting IndiaFOSS. Please post your suggestions or interest in this regards by January 20. ( This deadline is to just acknowledge your interest in submitting a proposal, not creating/submitting one.)
If we find enough cities interested, a proposal template will be shared by the end of January and volunteers can start working on it.
IndiaFOSS 4.0 is tentatively planned for August 31st to September 1st, 2024
Call for Bids is now open
Please refer to the templates attached below to create a proposal to host IndiaFOSS 4.0 in your city.
Deadline for proposals is March 1, 2024.
The proposals will be then opened for suggestions from the community and/or community voting. In case we do not get enough quality proposals, we’ll fall back to Bengaluru for this year and restart this process with more planning next year.
Contrarian view. Bangalore is the tech capital of India, so it makes sense to host it in Bangalore. Cites already have their flagship city events - MumbaiFOSS, ChennaiFOSS etc. plus, the logistics of Bangalore are figured out.
Last year there was a suggestion for giving tables to all FOSS projects and make it a fair. The lobby area in NIMHANS is big. Let’s also do that.
The volunteers and many community members have been repeatedly asking to expolore other avenues for IndiaFOSS. We didn’t plan to switch cities for at least the next edition, but with pycon coming to Bangalore in the same month as IndiaFOSS, I feel it as at least an option worth considering. In fact, the idea came from your discussion with the participants during the open mic itself
NIMHANS has set a very high bar for the conference as a venue, and still remains a very strong option for hosting the conference (maybe the FOSS United team should themselves work on a proposal for Bengaluru). However, I feel we should at least acknowledge the request of volunteers who strongly feel that a conference of a similar scale can be executed in their city. If our goal is to become more diverse and inclusive, location is a factor that we should consider.
The idea is still in its early stages, but initiating the discussion now will allow us to explore potential options and ensure a smoother transition in the future (say, IndiaFOSS 5.0? ) .
We will have enough time to review the proposals, visit the proposed venues and ensure that the location can serve the demand and scale of the conference. The proposals (along with a primary option to vote for Bengaluru) will also be subject to community voting later on.
Yes, we will expand on the unconference track and try to give a platform to more projects this year.
Since the deadline for proposing to host IndiaFOSS in a different city has now passed, we are happy to announce that IndiaFOSS 4.0 will be held in Bengaluru. More details to follow!
This forum thread stays open and will serve as an avenue for volunteers who may wish to propose to conduct the conference in their city in 2025
