The call for proposals is open now, until November 2, 2017. General registration and exhibitor and sponsor registration are also open.

LibrePlanet is an annual conference for free software enthusiasts and anyone who cares about the intersection of technology and social justice. For the past nine years, LibrePlanet has brought together free software developers, policy experts, activists, hackers, students, and people who are at the beginning of their free software journeys. LibrePlanet 2018 will feature programming for all ages and experience levels.

LibrePlanet's 10th anniversary theme is "Freedom. Embedded." Embedded systems are everywhere, in cars, digital watches, traffic lights, and even within our bodies.

"Proprietary software is everywhere, its sinister aspects woven throughout the devices permeating our lives," said John Sullivan, FSF executive director. "We need to reverse the new norm that whomever sold us a device gets to embed their control over us in it forever -- instead, we need freedom embedded."

In a society reliant on embedded systems, how do we defend computer user freedom? How do we insist on copylefted code, protect ourselves against government and corporate surveillance, and move toward a freer world? For many people, digital freedom seems like a pipe dream. Can the free software community change the narrative and make free software the norm, instead of walled gardens, denial of the right to repair, and digital restrictions management (DRM)?

Call for Sessions

"The tenth LibrePlanet conference is a great time to think big," said Georgia Young, program manager at the FSF. "We hope session proposals will try to bring the free software movement to the next level, inviting in new ideas and welcoming a broad range of people to the movement."

Call for sessions applications are currently being accepted and are due by Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 at 10:00 EDT (14:00 UTC).

About LibrePlanet

LibrePlanet is the annual conference of the Free Software Foundation. What was once a small gathering of FSF members has grown into a larger event for anyone with an interest in the values of software freedom. LibrePlanet is always gratis for associate members of the FSF. To sign up for announcements about LibrePlanet 2018, visit https://www.libreplanet.org/2018.

Each year at LibrePlanet, the FSF presents its annual Free Software Awards. Nominations for the awards are open through Sunday, November 5th, 2017 at 18:59 EST (23:59 UTC).

For information on how your company or organization can exhibit at or be a sponsor of LibrePlanet 2018, email campaigns@fsf.org.

LibrePlanet 2017 was held at MIT from March 25-26, 2017. Nearly 400 attendees from all over the world came together for conversations, demonstrations, and keynotes centered around the theme of "The Roots of Freedom." You can watch videos from last year's conference, including the opening keynote, a look at the 21st century techno-surveillance state by Kade Crockford of the Massachusetts chapter of the ACLU.

About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at and , are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

More information about the FSF, as well as important information for journalists and publishers, is at https://www.fsf.org/press.

Media Contacts

Georgia Young
Program Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542-5942
campaigns@fsf.org