Overwhelming response to the Software Freedom Fortnight Celebrations by Swecha

Posted Mon, 2010-10-18 21:50 by Anonymous

More than 500 students from various colleges in Hyderabad participated in the Free Software workshops held by Swecha. These workshops were held at VNR VJIET, SVIT and SMEC colleges in Hyderabad. The workshops are a sequel to the call given by the Free Software Movement of India (FSMI) to celebrate the Software Freedom Fortnight from the 15th of September (birth anniversary of the father of Indian Engineering, Mokshagundam Visweswarayya) to 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanthi).

Sessions were aimed at introducing various free software alternatives available for the students in the engineering domain. A number of students showed interest in participating in more such workshops. The students were greatly inspired by these workshops to intensify their glug activities in close to 25 engineering colleges with the help of Swecha. The hosting glugs are vglug, EERF and vinx.

Computing Freedom in Engineering and Technology Seminar

Posted Mon, 2010-09-27 17:18 by Deepthi

A one day seminar on 'Computing Freedom in Engineering and Technology' was held in the UGC Staff college auditorium on the 26th of September 2010. This event is in sequel to the call given by Free Software Movement of India (FSMI) to celebrate Software Freedom Fortnight from 15th Sept (birth anniversary of the father of Indian Engineering, Mokshagundam Visweswarayya) to 2nd Oct (Gandhi Jayanthi).

The 'Computing Freedom' seminar was aimed at emphasising on how Free Software can be used in academics and the speakers stressed on the need to strengthen the learning process which could be done only through Free Software as it is possible to look at the source code and make modifications to it. Collaborative effort of the academicians resulted in the release of a lab manual for Qucs (Electronic Circuit Analysis based on Free Software).

The manual was electronically and physically released by Prof KS Rajan of IIITH. It was decided to hold workshops/seminars/symposiums/guest talks in the run up for the National Conference of Academicians in Free Software. To begin with the first workshop will be held in the third week of october in the vicinity of JNTU Kakinada.

AUCE GLUG Inaugurated in Andhra University

Posted Tue, 2010-07-27 08:57 by Deepthi

Swecha organized a one day workshop on free software in the Department of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering in the department seminar hall on July 24, 2010. All the 115 students from the department who have attended the workshop along with the teaching and non teaching staff have been immensely impressed with the concept of free software, and the students have expressed their willingness to form a GLUG (GNU Linux Users Group) in the college. Under the aegis of Swecha, the AUCE Glug has been formally inaugurated by the Head of the Department, Prof. M. Shashi amidst loud applause from the audience.

The students were introduced to free software in the morning session. The various projects taken up by Swecha have also been emphasized upon. The students as well as the faculty demonstrated great curiosity during the interactive sessions.

Free Software Movement of India Arrives on the National Scene!

Posted Wed, 2010-03-24 20:48 by sarathms

The founding conference of Free Software Movement (FSM) was held at Bengaluru on March 20-21, 2010 which marked a historic development in Free Software Movement in India. Sixteen Free Software Movements (FSMs) working in various states and sectors came together and decided to form a National coalition of FSMs in this two-day National conference.

The conference was attended by 286 delegates from all over the country. The total participants in the conference, including the delegates is 1826. This is the highest number of participation in a free software event in the country. Eighteen parallel sessions have been conducted that dealt with policy issues, free  software models and more.

After extensive debate, the conference adopted a document describing the aims and objectives of the organisation, the scope of activities and structure of the organisation. The conference unanimously elected a General Council of 69 members, an Executive Committee of 28 members and 9 office bearers to finalise constitution, and other formalities.

 

Media Reports Detailed Reports
Hindu Article on 15 March
Hindu Article on 19 March
Hindu Article on 20 March
Hindu Article on 21 March
Hindu Article on 22 March
Deccan Herald on Free Software Movement
Deccan Herald Article on 21 March
Citizen Matters Article on 14 March
Citizen Matters Article 20 March		 FSMI activist's blog Day 1
FSMI activist's blog Day 2

See Photos

Swecha 1st State Conference

Posted Sat, 2010-03-13 14:05 by medhamsh

 

Swecha held its first State Conference on 7th March 2010. After a journey of more than 5 years, its a giant leap for the Free Software movement in Andhra Pradesh.

What started as a project to localize GNU/Linux to Telugu for the local communities, has now become a fast paced movement that is spearheading the new generation into a world of freedom. The journey so far has been one of the most exciting stories in the history of the Free Software Movement around the world.

The State Conference was the first organizational leap for the movement which was being organized in various different ways at different points in time. Today, the team has grown from a handful to more than 150 individuals working towards common objectives across the state.

Inauguration:

Swecha LiveCD - June 2006 is available for download

Posted Thu, 2009-09-17 20:12 by swechao

Swecha LiveCD is a Telugu localised operating system that runs entirely from a CDROM. It does not require any installation on the hard disk. Common tasks such as writing and printing documents, browsing the web, sending/receiving emails, chatting, editing graphics etc. can all be in Telugu from the LiveCD. Optionally, you can install the operating system onto the hard disk.

Highlights of the 'June 2006' release are:

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