How to get your local schools talking about Free Software in this SFD!

Get your local school or college talking about Free Software this Software Freedom Day! Giving a talk to students, teaching a class, providing demonstrations of Free Software, showing films about Free Software, and handing out Free Software CDs are all great ways of engaging young people. Free Software is a major part of most workplaces and provides the core of the world's most popular websites. Young people are greatly affected by the software that they use, and SFD is a great way to reach them. Contact your local educational establishment and ask them about paying a visit. Since SFD falls on a Saturday, try to make an appointment for a day either side of the weekend.

Who to contact

If you have personal contacts at a school or college, now is the time to use them!
Contacting the IT department directly might be a good way to find staff who are interested in SFD and could make your visit easier.
If there are any upcoming open days at the school or college then you can take the opportunity to visit and ask in person about your potential visit.

When to contact them

The sooner the better! Be sure to make contact as soon as the school year begins, and a minimum of two weeks before your intended visit.

What to say

Your request to visit should include:

An introduction to SFD
A brief outline of what Free Software is, or what you are going to talk about
Who you are
When you would like to visit
How long you would like to stay

Template letter

A template of a letter to send to your local school or college can be found below. Change the <CAPITALISED> text to suit your needs.

"Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a global event which celebrates Free Software. It is an opportunity for communities to share the knowledge and benefits of using collaborative, community made technology. Groups all over the world participate in the event; hundreds have already registered this year, and more than one thousands groups are anticipated to celebrate the day itself. This year SFD occurs on September 18th. I live in <location>, and will be taking part.

< NAME OF EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT> is one of my local <SCHOOLS / COLLEGES / HIGH SCHOOLS>, and I'd like to invite your students to participate. I suggest that I visit < NAME OF EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT> and <GIVE A TALK / HOST A DEMO EVENT / TEACH A CLASS / PRESENT A FILM / HAND OUT CDs> on <SCHOOL DAY DATE>.

I believe that education in technology is critically important. Technologies, and particularly computers, are having an enormous impact on students both inside and outside of the classroom. It is important for students to have access to information about how technologies work, and have the freedom to choose and change the software that they use. Free Software gives back to students the ability to study how software works, modify it for their own needs, use it for any purpose that they wish, and share it with others. Free Software is already used in all of <YOUR COUNTRY'S> largest organisations, and also forms the core technology of the Internet, as well as its most popular services.

I hope that you agree that Free Software is an important subject for children to engage with, in order to prepare and equip them for study and workplaces of the future. With this in mind I would be delighted if you would accept my invitation to visit you.

Please tell me when would be convenient for me to arrive, and any special considerations that I should make when visiting.

Looking forward to your reply,