Once again, the I.I. Mechnikov Odessa National University's Supercomputer and Free Software Center and RootUA Media are inviting everyone interested and involved in free and open-source technologies to the 4th Annual FOSS Sea International Conference.

Traditionally, the event will take place in the wonderful city of Odessa on September 16-18, 2011. The official part of the conference will be hosted by the Large Physics Lecture Hall of the Odessa National University, and the informal get-together will be held at the Rock Climbing Training Base.

Just like the year before, the Conference will mark the celebration of http://softwarefreedomday.org. The program includes a FOSS project show, demo zones, and a range of interesting activities.

Admission: FREE.

September 16: Free Software in Scientific Research

The first day of the Conference will feature highly interesting scientific projects that involve broad use of free software. We intend to gather as many projects as possible and to make the best of them ‘heroes of the day’.

Each project will be presented to the audience. For this purpose, we will install project presentation desks where the visitors will be able to get the necessary information about the project and put questions to the developers.

Additionally, we are planning to get 10 grants for Ukrainian scientific FOSS projects to fully cover the travel expenses of one project representative. In this way we want to create incentives for the development of Ukrainian science which is actively using free software for research purposes.

September 17: FOSS Solutions for Business; FOSS in Supercomputer Technologies

The second day of the Conference will cover the relationship between business and FOSS. This section will be essentially focused on the various business solutions that use FOSS products. IT and business experts will share their experience of successfully using FOSS to solve various tasks. It is crucial that this builds a bridge between business and science, as many FOSS solutions tend to emerge in scientific and research laboratories and with time find their application in business.

Companies interested in the development of FOSS technologies are welcome to contribute to the Conference and share their experience, as well as to represent their FOSS solutions at their own presentation desks to the visitors.

September 18: Informal Get-Together with Beer and Grilled Meat on the Black Sea Coast

Odessa is undeniably gorgeous in mild and sunny autumn, so the last day of the event is reserved for informal get-together when all visitors can relax, share their opinions about the conference in a friendly atmosphere and learn more about each other. Activities include rock-climbing, swimming in the sea and cooking delicious grilled meat. This will be a great continuation of the useful and busy previous days.

If you want to became a sponsor and contribute to getting the best Ukrainian FOSS projects to the Conference, please feel free to contact us at m31@root-ua.com or at +38 063 735-35-26, +38 048 735-35-26, +38 050 391-28-70.

For more info, please contact Dmitry Spodarets, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, at: 

• icq: 259980;
• jabber: m31@jabber.od.ua;
• skype: m31-rootua;
• e-mail: m31@root-ua.com.