The Chemnitz Linux Days () are an annual event focusing on

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

and free (libre) software in general. It takes place in the auditory and seminar building of

Chemnitz University of Technology Chemnitz University of Technology () is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With around 8,300 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as ''Königliche Gewerbschule'' (Royal Mercantile College) and ...

( / TU Chemnitz) in the federal state of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, in the south-east of Germany. There are talks, project booths (both by community projects and by enterprises in the FOSS market), workshops, install parties, child care and playful educational lectures for the younger visitors, as well as technical

help desk A help desk is a department or person that provides assistance and information, usually for electronic or computer problems. In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University studied the value of an organization's help des ...

s (Doctor Tux office). Both talks and workshops are held in German; some are also held in English, and they cover a broad variety of topics for professionals as well as entry-level visitors.

History

The first CLT took place in 1999 – a single-day event with several talks and an install party. It was attended by about 700 visitors. Since 2000 the CLT have been established as a weekend event in the first two weeks of March. The event is organized mainly by (former) students and employees of Chemnitz University of Technology, especially members of the faculty of mathematics and informatics / computer studies. Furthermore, members of Chemnitz LUG (Linux user group, part of IN Chemnitz e.V.), on whose initiative the CLT were founded, take an active part in the process, as well as external members from all around Europe. In 2017, CLT decided to sponsor two Humboldt penguins. The structure of organization is relatively casual and is characterized by low hierarchy levels – as typical of many FOSS community projects. The cast of people for certain tasks is in a flow, and tasks themselves are changing in the course of time. The core team consists of about eight members who are concerned with and preparing the annual event. Between September and March the staff count rises to about 30 members, and different teams are formed for dealing with the variety of topics (such as call for papers and lectures; catering; security; tech behind the scenes;

child care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

;

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

and more). During the event itself the whole staff is composed of core and preparation team, as well as freelance helpers and lecturers, and it counts from about 300 to 350 people. Besides all those presentations, workshops and booth areas there is a big majority of assistants, busily dealing with logistics, information service, catering, childcare, security.

Specific features

The CLT offer a diversified program for a broad audience. In addition to talks / lectures and workshops for beginners, advanced users and experts, there are workshops for practical experience and experiments. In the booth area, community projects as well as enterprises present themselves and invite visitors to talks and discussion. Furthermore, "Doctor Tux’ office" provides all sorts of service around Linux installation and answers questions concerning technical problems with systems and portable devices people have brought with them. The target group is quite heterogeneous: Pupils and students are represented as well as home users with an interest in Linux and free-as-in-freedom software, all of them at various levels of age and experience. Besides, you will meet representatives of enterprises or public services. Accordingly, the whole program of the Chemnitz Linux Days is compiled in a heterogeneous manner, offering a wide variety of topics. Since 2005, most of the lectures have been streamed (audio, since 2009 also video) to the Internet for a remote audience. The local university's Radio UNiCC and the professorship of media

informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the centra ...

(Medieninformatik) have come to support the event. Most talks, if given permission by the speakers, may be downloaded afterwards for later viewing (usually CC license). With a couple of workshops that are targeted specifically towards children and adolescent people, the organizers inspire curiosity and joy in terms of do-it-yourself tinkering and all kinds of creative doing.

Statistics

2020 did not take place (canceled on short notice due to COVID 19 reaching Germany / lockdown)
2021: attendees estimated, not comparable to prev. years (online vs. real-world, different methods of counting)
2021: additionally some smaller onlive events around, work adventure,...

References

External links

Official website (English version for 2018)
{{Commons, Linux-Tage Chemnitz, Chemnitz Linux Days Free-software events Chemnitz Linux conferences Events in Saxony Science and technology in Germany Annual events in Germany 1999 establishments in Germany Recurring events established in 1999

History

Specific features

Statistics

See also

References

External links