Who will attend?

As with other initiatives Kerala has pioneered, extensive participation by the people will be the cornerstone of Freedom fest as well. Participants will include experts, researchers, policymakers, pupils, teachers, scientists, academics, social workers, and representatives of the people. The event will include prominent personalities from other nations in addition to experts from various Indian states. A number of organisations, including The Digital University, KITE, ICFOSS, Knowledge Economy Mission, IT Mission, IIIT GIFT, IEEE, C-Dit, K-Disc, The Startup Mission, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Software Freedom Law Center, and Akshaya, will actively participate in the event. The participation of representatives from several organisations working in the fields of knowledge freedom and digital technologies is also planned.

Types of programs

The key components of this event, which is packed with various events and themes that will set the groundwork for Kerala’s journey towards a knowledge society, are:

1. Open Forum
2. Parallel Thematic Sessions on core knowledge areas.
3. International online meetings  On Innovation and Society, Climate Change and Gender & Technology.
4. Technical Fest (Theme: Robotics/Automation)The technical fest involves large scale participation of youth and students.   Participation of technical institutes in Kerala also will be there. Key items include:

• Technical competition – involving the use of robotics or automation to solve a specified problem
• Exhibition – A platform for showcasing robotics and automation skills to the public.
• Quiz competition – State level competition. Students and youth participate.
• Hackathon – The collaborative effort that is the hallmark of free learning.

5. Tutorial sessions

Tutorial sessions in new technical and academic areas will be very beneficial for the students. Independent knowledge tools will be introduced.

6. Conferences

Conferences of various organizations working in the field of knowledge freedom will also be held as part of this knowledge festival. The main Conferences are:

• Free Software Movement of India General Council
• Democratic Alliance for Knowledge Freedom (DAKF) conference
• Wiki Summit

7. Exhibition and exchange stalls

Startups that have been successful in creating and implementing innovations, as well as those who are interested in presenting such ideas, can set up stalls. Participants include business owners in the FinTech, EduTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, and BioTech industries. It will provide as a forum for communication with the founders of Kerala’s wildly successful businesses. There will also be additional display booths focused on social media, free learning, and emerging technologies.

8. Book Fair

A display of books on independent knowledge, science, and technology-related topics. Leading publishers from around the nation will participate in this exhibition, which will be the first book fair to be arranged on a subject-oriented basis. A platform for the publication of these field-related books and online articles.

9. Cultural Corner

Film screenings and cultural events with science and technology content.