User:Ciampix/SFSCON

South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFSCON) is a non-commercial European conference about Free Software held each autumn in Bolzano, Italy.

SFSCON has grown over the years and now attracts more than a thousand participants and more than a hundred speakers every year to meet and share knowledge about Software Freedom.

This annual conference dedicated to Free Software is aimed at the general public, but in particular at decision-makers in companies, start-ups and research organizations. SFSCON promotes the use of Free Software in IT infrastructures "as a tool to achieve greater innovation and competitiveness".

The conference is also a meeting place for experts, end users and all those interested in Free Software, offering participants the opportunity to share best practice and to get to know the latest innovations in the field.

History
The conference was started in 2001 by members of the local Linux User Group LUGBZ.(ref?) Since 2005 SFSCON has been organised and promoted by the regional organization for innovation, former BIC than TIS innovation park and today NOI Techpark.

From 2004 onwards the “South Tyrol Free Software Award” (SFS Award) has been assigned during SFSCON.

Starting from 2023 the Linux User Group Bozen-Bolzano-Bulsan (LUGBZ) has been joined by the Free Software Foundation Europe in the jury to select the yearly winner of the SFS Award.

Conference history

 * 2001 – First edition organized in the public high-school.
 * 2002 – Organized in the public high-school in Bolzano.
 * 2003 – Organized in the vocational school in Bolzano.
 * 2004 – Organized in the BIC (Business Innovation Center) later TIS Innovation Park.
 * First SFSAWARD has been assigned.
 * Joachim Kerschbaumer of Wikimedia Deutschland presented Wikipedia to the public and organized one of the first meetings of the wikipedia authors community in Italy, which the year after has than founded Wikimedia Italia.
 * Keynotes (i.e. Werner Koch about GNUPG) and workshops (i.e. Alessandro Rubini about Linux kernel development) inspired young developers to join the community.
 * 2005 – Organized in the vocational school in the city of Brixen.
 * Kurt Gramlich presented the project Skole-Linux. Which inspired the school to actively participate to the organization of DebConf 2006.
 * 2006 – Organized in the vocational school in Bolzano.
 * 2007 – Organized in the city of Merano
 * 2008 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * Stormy Peters as Executive Director of the GNOME Foundation inspired the participants to join the desktop develpment.
 * GNOME developers organized the first side event in the history of the SFSCON, the Gnome Speck Hack Fest 2008. This inspired many side events during SFSCON in the future years.
 * 2009 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2010 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2011 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2012 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2013 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2014 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2015 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2016 – Organized in the TIS Innovation Park
 * 2017 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2018 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2019 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2020 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2021 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2022 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2023 – Organized in the NOI Techpark
 * 2024 – Organized in the NOI Techpark

South Tyrol Free Software Award
Since the SFSCON edition in 2004 an award is given every year to a person who has supported the use of FLOSS in the region and since 2023 in Europe.

Winners

 * European SFS Award 2023 - Frank Karlitschek
 * SFS Award 2022 - Rosella Gennari
 * SFS Award 2021 - Diego Maniacco
 * SFS Award 2020 - Davide Montesin
 * SFS Award 2019 - Piergiorgio Cemin and Marco Marinello
 * SFS Award 2018 - Paolo Dongilli
 * SFS Award 2017 - Dietrich Pescoller and Reinhold Pescoller
 * SFS Award 2016 - Patrick Ohnewein
 * SFS Award 2015 - Markus Windegger
 * SFS Award 2014 - Erwin Pfeifer
 * SFS Award 2013 - Christian Peer
 * SFS Award 2012 - Alessandro Sani
 * SFS Award 2011 - Paolo Zilotti
 * SFS Award 2010 - Christian Mair
 * SFS Award 2009 - Karl Lunger
 * SFS Award 2008 - Raphael Vallazza
 * SFS Award 2007 - Hellmuth Ladurner
 * SFS Award 2006 - Anton Auer
 * SFS Award 2005 - Maurizio Cachia
 * SFS Award 2004 - Hugo Leiter

Consult the dedicated page on SFSCON site.