Summary 2026
That was the ‘Sovereign Digitality’ weekend
Around 3800 visitors took the opportunity to visit the Chemnitzer Linux Days on the weekend and to learn about “Souveräne Digitalität” in the wide range of lectures, workshops and the live area. Additional 200 people listened to the live streams of lectures on their devices at home.
When entering the building, it was noticeable that many visitors wore a coloured badge to indicate their preferences regarding photography. These so-called ‘offlinetags’ came in four versions: no photo, anonymised photo, photo without name, and photo with name. Prof. Pallas gave a more detailed presentation of the associated project, which was scientifically monitored on site, on Sunday. By that time, 170 people had already taken part in the preliminary study for the project. Further interviews were conducted with visitors during the event, and a follow-up study is planned. However, the project organisers are already delighted with the high level of interest and the numerous positive responses.
The lecture halls were packed, and there were often not enough seats. With the support of c3voc, the streaming team ensured that the presentations could also be watched from home. Where the speakers have given their consent, the recordings are also available afterwards – a large number of them can already be viewed on c3voc's media library. On Sunday afternoon, the Lightning Talks offered the opportunity to introduce spontaneous lectures in form of short five-minute slots. For this purpose, the submissions were collected on the previous day in order to draw from them a colourful mix of topics such as “backup”, “hardware prices” or “own projects”.
In the live area, the relevance of the theme “Sovereign Digitality” was clearly evident. Many of the solutions presented moved away from the cloud towards control over one’s own data. Lively discussions took place at the stands throughout both days of the event, and the opportunity to try out various devices hands-on was greatly appreciated.
The Linux Professional Institute scored highly with its special discount on exams and, given the high number of registrations, would like to expand this offer next year. But it wasn’t just them that attracted interest; most places in the workshops and junior programmes had already been booked before the weekend. Alternatively, visitors could work on their own technical projects in the soldering workshop without needing to register.
By the way, digital technology wasn’t the focus everywhere – in the technology-free zone of the children's paradise, games, books, crafts and quiet places awaited our young visitors. We have heard that also some parents did not miss this opportunity for a short “digitality break”.
We thank all the participants and our guests, each of whom contributes to the atmosphere on the Chemnitzer Linux days. How did you like it?
