Akademy 2015 - A Coruña, Spain - 25-31 July

For more than 1800 years, the Tower of Hercules has guided ships sailing near A Coruña. Soon it will beckon KDE users and contributors, when Akademy—the annual KDE community meeting—is held in A Coruña (Galicia, Spain) 25–31 July. The conference is expected to draw hundreds of attendees from the global KDE Community to discuss and plan the future of the Community and its technology. Many participants from the broad free and open source software community, local organizations and software companies will also attend.

What is the local connection?

GPUL (Grupo de Programadores y Usuarios de Linux) is the local organization that is working with the KDE Akademy Team to produce the conference. GPUL is formed by students, professors, IT professionals and people in general who share a passion for free and open software. There is a common view that society should own the software that people use, a practical philosophy that is actively promoted. So GPUL organizes activities to inform people and help them make the change to free and open software. GPUL has produced or helped to produce other free and open technology events, because working with the free software community is quite satisfying. There is always an awesome atmosphere; there have been really great experiences collaborating with free software communities in managing events like Akademy-es 2008 and GUADEC 2012 (the Gnome Users and Developers European Conference). KDE is one of the largest and most effective communities of free software users and developers in the world. Many GPUL members use KDE software. So holding Akademy in A Coruña is something that the Group totally wants to do. GPUL members are honored to be host to Akademy 2015.

A Coruña and Akademy

A Coruña is the second largest city in Galicia with about 250,000 inhabitants. Located in the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, it's a city—surrounded by ocean—that has attracted diverse peoples and cultures for over 2000 years. They have left a legacy of legends, myths and history in every corner of the town. It's a feast for the senses. The city has many sights, such as Tower of Hercules (World Heritage Site), Castle of San Anton, the Promenade, Coruña Museum of Sciences, Maria Pita Square, Garden of San Carlos and San Pedro Park & Ascensor Panorámico (magnifique views of the Rias Altas coast), wonderful beaches such as Riazor and Orzán, and some of the best seafood in the world.

The Venue at the Faculty of Computer Science of the Universidade da Coruña (FIC) is perfectly suited for hacking, presentations, BoFs and working together. Free software events have been held here since 1998. The recommended accommodation near the Venue has enough room for all attendees and free transportation to the city.

The combination of the Faculty of Computer Science, the accommodation, the KDE community, the local free software community and the city itself is a perfect match for Akademy.

About GPUL

GPUL is a Free Software user group based in the Faculty of Computer Science in A Coruña. The group has been working to promote free software in our university and in the local society since 1998 (in fact GPUL is celebrating its 2^2^2 anniversary). There are currently more than 400 members.

About Akademy

For most of the year, KDE—one of the largest free and open software communities in the world—works online by email, IRC, forums and mailing lists. Akademy provides all KDE contributors the opportunity to meet in person to foster social bonds, work on concrete technology issues, consider new ideas, and reinforce the innovative, dynamic culture of KDE. Akademy brings together artists, designers, developers, translators, users, writers, sponsors and many other types of KDE contributors to celebrate the achievements of the past year and help determine the direction for the next year. Intense workshops at the conference bring those plans to reality. The KDE Community welcomes companies building on KDE technology, and those that are exploring possibilities involving free and open source technologies.

In 2015, once again a few hundred Free Software enthusiasts will gather for 2 days of talks and 5 days of workshops and coding sessions. For more information, please contact the Akademy team.