In this tenuous time fraught with uncertainty, health concerns, and political strife we find ourselves more isolated and divided than ever. But the Free Libre Open Source Software (FOSS) ideals and communities are a common thread that we’ve found has always brought us together. Crossing boundaries of gender, location, race, and culture, they unite us all with an all encompassing goal of creating something of value together. Initially the FOSS movement took root in software development, but over time has grown to be so much more. Open hardware, open government, open science, bio-hacking and maker spaces have all evolved over time from the ideals of the free open source movement. The core of what it stands for grew to embody so many facets of our lives and so many industries and areas of study. It has evolved to be less about hacking on code and instead became a movement. It has grown from simply applying the principles and tenets of FOSS to development to applying those same concepts to our society as a whole. Our community aspires to build on the footsteps of those before us, and grow our collective knowledge for the betterment of society, and humanity as a whole. While the world is as divided as it has ever been, in a time plagued with uncertainties, please come join us this year in a celebration of those values.
