Who are we?

Started as Puduvai Linux User’s Group in 2011, we set out to learn and practice the free & open source software in GNU/Linux ecosystem. It created a student-driven community of people who did not want to stop with just FOSS, they went ahead with Free Software Hardware Movement Puducherry (FSHM), which has conducted weekly tech meetups and annual exhibitions to promote the spirit of learning and experimentation. FSHM has worked on community projects like Weather Station, Mesh Network, Telescope, etc. FSHM is officially affiliated to Free Software Foundation Tamilnadu.

Some of the major aims of FSHM are :

• Take forward free software and its ideological implications to all corners of our Puducherry from the developed domains to the underprivileged
• Creating awareness among computer users in the use of free software
• Work towards usage of free software in all streams of sciences and research
• Take forward implementation and usage of free software in school education, academics and higher education
• Work towards e-literacy and bridging digital divide based on free software and mobilising the underprivileged
• Work among developers on solutions catering to societal & national requirements
• Work towards a policy change favouring free software in all walks of life
• Stop any penetration of software patents and methods which restrict the development, usage and percolation of knowledge