April 2025

Hello FOSS Enthusiast!
Welcome to our monthly newsletter from FOSS United! Your journey into the vibrant world of Free and Open Source Software begins here!
We're excited to bring you the freshest updates, news, exciting projects, policy tweaks, and the buzz around our ongoing initiatives.

Highlights from FOSS United:

Wondering what's happening in FOSS United? Here are a few updates from our side:

• Introducing the New FOSS United Governing Board
  We’re excited to unveil a refreshed team of passionate open source leaders ready to drive our community forward.
  ➡️ Share your feedback on the election process, web platform, voting process, etc: Leave your comments here.
  ➡️ While you’re at it, check out this video on Governance in FOSS by Meta Monkeys featuring Ram Iyengar.

• Scholarship for GCPP Technology and Policy Course by Takshashila – Deadline 20 April
  There’s a whole lot that goes behind building and regulating technology. Here’s your chance to broaden your understanding of public policy and build your capacity to engage with policymakers.

• ‘Tis the season of CityFOSS
  After a brilliant day at PuneFOSS last week, we are now on track for LucknowFOSS – 12 April and MumbaiFOSS – 19 April.
  Two incredible city communities, an excellent lineup of speakers, the beach and/or the kebabs. Have you gotten your tickets yet?

• IndiaFOSS 2025 – CfPs open!
  Can’t believe it is April already. Stepping into Q2 right with Call for Proposals open for IndiaFOSS 2025, the fifth edition of the country’s largest FOSS event. As they say, the 5th time is the charm.

Upcoming Events:

• AI and Democratic Freedom (Virtual) – 10 April 2025

• LucknowFOSS 2025 – 12 April 2025

• MumbaiFOSS 2025 – 19 April 2025

• FOSS Meetup Delhi – 19 April 2025

• FOSS Meetup Chennai – 26 April 2025

• The Cloud is Dead (Virtual) – 26 April 2025

To view other upcoming and past FOSS events, visit the FOSS Events Timeline.
Our community thrives on respect, inclusivity, and collaboration, and the Code of Conduct is here to guide us.

From the Community Corner:

Projects

• Drove: Container orchestrator

• Fixable: Repair map for your city

• YuE: Full-song music generation model, similar to Suno.ai but open

• Cloudlens: k9s-like CLI for AWS and GCP

• Docs: Collaborative wiki and documentation platform

• Fixable Products for India: Wiki of repair-friendly hardware products

News and More

• Blender-Made Movie Flow Wins an Oscar

• Whitepaper: Digital Governance and Rights in South Asia

• Introducing GNOME 48, “Bengaluru”

• Open Technology Fund Files Lawsuit

• Podcast: Rudy Fraser on Blacksky and Middleware

• The Landscape of Facial Recognition in India – Amber Sinha

• Stack is the New Black? – Smriti Parsheera

• Digital Public Infrastructure – Mila T. Samdub

• AI Sovereignty – Digital Futures Lab

• Juspay Open Sources Payments Orchestration

• India’s Data Protection Law – Amber Sinha

• How Crawlers Impact Wikimedia Projects

Grants and Opportunities

• FOSS United Grants

• FLOSS/fund

• Internet Society 2025 Mid Career Fellowship

• Call for Contributions: Navigating Digital Power in Asia

We hope you found this month's updates insightful and exciting. Your active participation and feedback are what make our community thrive. If you have any questions, suggestions, or need further information, feel free to reach out to us at foundation@fossunited.org.

We invite you to join our Telegram group. It's a fantastic way to stay connected with the FOSS United community and be the first to know about our latest initiatives.

Thank you for being an integral part of our journey. Let's keep fostering innovation and collaboration in the FOSS world.

"May the FOSS be with you"