Sponsorship Brochurefor the 20th Annual

Debian Conference
Curitiba, Brazil
July 21st - July 28th 2019
DebConf19 will take place in Curitiba, Brazil,in July 2019. We anticipate 400 attendees andmajor advances for Debian and for Free Software in general.
We invite you to join us and support this event!
If you have any further questions after reading
this brochure, please do not hesitate to contact
us at sponsors@debconf.org.

2

Hello from the organizers!
Thank you for your interest in DebConf, the annual Conference of the Debian Project!

This brochure provides an overview of the sponsorship opportunities for our Conference. It also
introduces the Debian Project, and elaborates on the role of the annual Conference within theproject.
We invite you to sponsor our Conference at a level which ﬁts your budget and matches yourdesired level of visibility in our community and the media. We oﬀer several sponsorship levels,detailed on page 6, and are also open to other opportunities. Our higher levels of sponsorship
include the possibility of advertising your job openings, and other means of engaging with ourbroad spectrum of participants.
DebConf is run on a non-proﬁt basis, and all the organizers work as volunteers without compensation. Your contribution makes it possible for us to bring together a large number of Debiancontributors from all over the globe to work together, help and learn from each other, and forge
friendships. As our Project is distributed, meeting face to face once a year improves the remotecollaboration among our contributors during the remainder of the year.
Thank you very much, in advance, for your support. If you have any questions or ideas to discuss,
we look forward to hearing from you! sponsors@debconf.org—The DebConf19 team(some of DebConf19 team members are shown below)

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

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DebianThe Universal Operating System

Debian is an operating system consisting entirely of Free and Open Source Software. The Debian
Project is dedicated to remaining 100% free and to being a responsible “citizen” of the Free andOpen Source Software ecosystem. Our priorities are Free Software and our users. Our strict
set of guidelines serves as an example for many other projects.

Debian is freedom. Debian is choiceDebian is known for its adherence to the Unix and Free Software philosophies, and for its extensiveness —the current release includes over 51,000 software packages for more than ten
computer architectures, ranging from the more common Intel 32-bit and 64-bit architectures
to ARM (cellphones and tablets) and the IBM S/390 (mainframes). Besides the well-known Linuxkernel, it also supports FreeBSD kernel.

A large, distributed, and non-proﬁt Project
The Debian Project’s key strengths are its volunteer base, its dedication to the Debian Social Contract, and its commitment to providing the best
universal-operating system. Debian is produced byover a thousand active developers spread acrossthe globe, many of whom volunteer in their sparetime. Outside of DebConf, most communication
takes place on the Internet in mailing-lists and IRC
chat-rooms.
Unlike all other Linux distributions of similar size,
Debian is an independent non-proﬁt organization not under the inﬂuence of a commercialentity. Debian’s dedication to Free Software, its non-proﬁt nature, and its open developmentmodel make it unique among Free Software distributions.

A pillar for Free Software
Debian’s high quality standards and adherence to its strict policies makes it a preferred choicefor derivative works. Currently, over 120 actively developed operating systems build on
Debian, including the widely popular Ubuntu and Linux Mint distributions, LiMuX, and Knoppix.
More specialized derivatives range from grml (optimized for system administrators) to Tails(optimized for privacy). Debian runs in hundreds of schools thanks to SkoleLinux, and powers
gaming platforms with SteamOS. Debian OS has been deployed by public institutions such as
the cities of Munich and Vienna, and the German Federal Oﬀice for Information Security (BSI).
The Debian Project takes pride in being built upon by others. We work actively with teams
deriving their distributions from Debian, to maximize the gains for all.

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

4

DebConf
Debian annual Conference
DebConf is the annual Conference for Debian contributors and users interested in improving Debian.
Previous Debian Conferences have featured speakers and attendees from all around the world.
DebConf18 took place in Hsinchu, Taiwan and wasattended by over 300 participants from over fourty
countries.
Thanks to our sponsors, participation, accommodation, and meals are free of charge for qualifying Debian developers and contributors who apply.
In addition, a limited amount of travel cost subsidies
are available, to bring contributors who would nototherwise be able to attend. The organization ofDebConf itself is entirely volunteer-based.

Chris Lamb, Debian Project Leader, hosting a Bug
Squashing Party at DebConf17

The DebConf19 will take place in Curitiba, Brazil from July 21st to 28th, 2019. The venue,
Federal University of Technology ‒Paraná (UTFPR) is situated in a central region of Curitiba.
The University oﬀers spacious and open environments for discussions and presentations, as wellas informal workgroup meetings. Accommodations for participants will be available in hotels
very close to the venue.
The ﬁrst day of DebConf is open to the public and we schedule events of interest to a wider
audience on that public day. This is a great opportunity for interested users to meet our community, for us to widen our community, and for our sponsors to increase their visibility. A job
fair (see below) will be arranged as well, in case you are looking to recruit!

Live world-wide video streaming and archiving
A dedicated team of volunteers with years of experience with video coverage will record all
previously scheduled sessions at DebConf, to be streamed live via the Internet. This allows forremote participation by those who are not able to attend.
All videos are also archived after the Conference for the long-term beneﬁt of the community.
This media library already contains videos from every DebConf since 2005. All this is free ofcharge to viewers. We thank our Platinum and Gold sponsors by inserting their logos
into the video streams.

DebCamp: Team Sprints
While working together remotely during the rest of the year, many teams use the opportunityof DebConf to come together for in-person collaboration, to tackle tough issues, and todrive big changes. We will provide the venue and infrastructure for such team sprints —wecall it DebCamp —during the week before DebConf.

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

5DebConf and Debian
A democratic Project

Debian is an important project in the Free Software community, and has been so for over twodecades. One of the reasons behind this success is that Debian is more than just a software
project. It is a diverse and international community which thrives on its culture of openness andcommitment to Free Software.
DebConf has become one of the most important Conferences on my annual calendar,and has inspired me over the last two years to become more involved withDebian. Debian is one of the most democratic and egalitarian software freedom communities in existence today. DebConf, as an annual event, showcases that community and enables it to ﬂourish. DebConf16 was no exception. I encourage anyone who wants to examine ﬁrst-hand a good model of a functioning Free Softwarecommunity to attend DebConf.
Bradley M. Kuhn, Software Freedom Conservancy

Building a strong community
DebConf helps share the knowledge and experience of developers with the entire community. It
also helps individuals better know the people they have been working with for years. DebConf
not only makes the Debian community stronger, it has become an integral part of it.
I have to say networking was the highlight of DebConf for me. Before attending, I
had only been in contact with 3 people that were at the Conference, and those
3 had been virtual contacts, I didn’t really know them. […] I got to meet lots ofpeople that way, met some Debian contributors from my home country (Brazil), somefrom my current city (NYC), and yet others that had similar interests as I do who Imight work with in the near future.
Juliana Louback, GSoC StudentProject synergy
DebConf gives contributors a chance to meet face to face, socialize, and brainstorm new ideas.
As a result people leave DebConf with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for Debian and its goals.
New ideas and systems that Debian implements often originate in an informal session
at DebConf.
As Debian Account Manager, DebConf is a priceless opportunity for me to handle
sensitive matters face to face, in an appropriate setting. Over time there will beseveral such issues accumulating that cannot easily be handled via email.
Enrico Zini, Debian Developer

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 20196

Our oﬀer to sponsors
Sponsorship levels at DebConf19
SupporterBronze

SilverGoldPlatinumContribution in BRL

until R$7.000 R$7.000 R$17.500 R$35.000 R$70.000

Contribution in USD

until $2,000√$2,000√$5,000√$10,000√$20,000
√

√

√

√

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Logo on T-shirts and Conference bags

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√

√

Presence at job fair a√√√

Logo on video streams and recordings√√

Logo in general banners of the Conference√√

Logo on sponsor webpage
Provide materials for Conference bags

Logo on podium banners√

Mention in press releases√

a Space for kiosks is limited during Job Fair. First come, ﬁrst served.

Participants with T-Shirts from past DebConfs

Job postings and job fair
DebConf attracts some of the smartest and most dedicated Free Software hackers from aroundthe globe, many of whom are always on the lookout for new challenges. We provide our sponsors
the chance to reach out to Debian contributors, derivative developers, upstream authorsand other community members.
As has become our tradition, we will host a job fair during DebConf. As a Platinum, Gold, orSilver sponsor, you can use this opportunity to present yourself as an employer and engage
in direct dialog with potential job candidates.
Sponsors that participated in the job fair in previous years have said that this was a unique
opportunity to engage with the community, some of them ﬁlling open positions with engineers
whose skills and knowledge were diﬀicult to ﬁnd elsewhere.
We invite all our sponsors to post job oﬀerings to our job wall.

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

7

Swag bags and raﬄe prizes

In addition to your logo on the attendees’ Conference bags, we also invite you to distributemarketing materials and other goods in the bags if you support us at Bronze level or above.
1If you have smaller quantities of hardware to give away or you want to create some buzz
about your device at the Conference, you could provide us with one or more items which wewill include in a raﬄe for attendees, obviously mentioning you.

Diversity outreach program
As in recent years, we will continue to reach out to groups who would otherwise be less likely
to attend our Conference, in an eﬀort to increase diversity among our attendees. We have
travel and accommodation bursaries earmarked for diversity, as we ﬁnd this beneﬁts both theConference and the Project. If you are interested in this eﬀort, we would love to hear from you.

Additional sponsorship opportunities
We are always open to ideas regarding the involvement that our sponsors want to have with thecommunity. If you would like to sponsor in a unique way or you are interested in discussing additional sponsorship opportunities, please contact the sponsorship team at sponsors@debconf.org
to discuss sponsorship pricing or other details.
We will be happy to listen to your ideas and wishes for making the Conference an unforgettable event for our participants.

1 All sponsor-provided content and initiatives must be coordinated with our organizing team.

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

8Sponsorship assets
In the words of our past sponsors

There are as many reasons to sponsor DebConf as there are reasons Debian developers spend
their time ﬁxing bugs, improving the overall system, and helping its installed base. In the wordsof some of our past sponsors:
DebConf is an opportunity to learn about the latest updates to Debian and to talkabout the next steps and long-term direction of the project with the people whoare making it happen. Hudson River Trading runs on Debian and is proud to annuallysponsor an event that brings together such a talented community and supports its
continued development.
Taylor Legg, Hudson River Trading
Sponsoring DebConf has beneﬁted Bytemark in two ways: 1) it puts our brand in
front of exactly the right crowd and 2) it allows Steve, the Debian developer on ourstaﬀ, to keep in touch with the project that we rely on so heavily. We support DebConf
because it supports us.
Matthew Bloch, Bytemark HostingSponsoring DebConf helps us to get the recognition we need from inside the Debian
Project. It is astonishing how many potential employees, partners and even customers
are aware of our sponsorship activities at DebConf. We even got a couple of exciting
job applications only through DebConf.
Peter Ganten, Univention GmbHThe value of sponsoring DebConf
Many of DebConf’s attendees are well known experts in their ﬁelds and their opinions
and views are followed by many individuals and businesses. Debian is a democracy ofits developers where smaller voices can easily be heard. Participating through sponsorship is
one of the many ways to help the Project achieve its full potential, and DebConf is a powerfuldestination of sponsorship funds.
By sponsoring DebConf you directly support the progress of Debian and Free Software,and you help further in strengthening the community who continue to collaborate on theirprojects throughout the rest of the year.
To our attendees, your contribution is a strong signal of appreciation for their work. Throughgeneral visibility as part of our sponsorship program, and the direct support of attendees, sponsoring DebConf earns you goodwill in the Free Software community at large. Past DebConfs
have also oﬀered great opportunities for contact-building and recruitment.

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

The need for sponsorship

9DebConf has evolved from its humble beginnings in Bordeaux, France (2000) with 30 attendees and virtually no budget, to recent years where we regularly accommodate more than 250
attendees (peaking at twice that) with budgets in the lower six-digit ﬁgures.
The Conference is still organized entirely by volunteers without compensation. The Debian
Project does not engage in commercial activities and depends solely on donations from users andbenefactors.
DebConf draws much of its strength from the diversity of its participants. The Free Softwarecommunity, represented at the Conference, is a globally active and very diverse crowd of people,
spanning many cultures and all levels of social status. Perhaps the most important aspect ofDebConf is that we want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to attend—not just those that are nearby and can aﬀord it —because it beneﬁts the Conference,
every attendee, and ultimately Debian and the Free Software community.
We expect 400 attendees to DebConf in Brazil, a busy travel destination between South America countries and Europe/North America. Brazil’s Curitiba is a technological hub near Brazil’smegacity, São Paulo. There is a strong community of free and open source contributors in theregion, within easy travel distance; including the rest of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay
and Chile.
As always, many of our contributors will come from far away. We expect there are attendees
who will require travel and/or accommodation assistance to attend this oﬀicial meeting of theproject. Our sponsors enable us to help as many attendees as possible, and bring the community
together for DebConf.
All funds raised for DebConf will be used towards this goal. Any surplus after the Conference
will be used for funding future Debian Free Software activities.

Invoices and tax-deductible donations
As a sponsor, you will receive an invoice from one of our fundraising entities, specifying thesponsorship level and associated beneﬁts. The invoice explicitly lists sales tax (VAT) whereappropriate. Depending on your situation, sponsoring DebConf may thus be a normal business
expense.
We are also happy to receive donations through our registered not-for-proﬁt entities in Brazil,
US, Germany and Taiwan, if desired. We’ll gladly issue receipts for such donations, which may
be tax-deductible (check with your tax advisor for details).

Thank you for taking the time to read this brochure. We hope to hear from you soon!

For further details, feel free to contact us through sponsors@debconf.org, and visit our website
at https://debconf19.debconf.org

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019

10See You in Curitiba!

DebConf attendees at DebConf18 in Hsinchu, Taiwan

Photo credits• Photo of Barigui Park by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz, CC-BY-SA 4.0• Photo of Chris Lamb by Aigars Mahinovs, CC-BY 2.0+ or GPL-2+• DebConf19 local team by Aigars Mahinovs, CC-BY 2.0+ or GPL-2+• DebConf T-shirts by Aigars Mahinovs, CC-BY 2.0+ or GPL-2+• DebConf18 group photo by Aigars Mahinovs, CC-BY 2.0+ or GPL-2+
LicenceThis brochure is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. (CC-BY-SA 4.0).

https://debconf19.debconf.org
sponsors@debconf.org
July 21th – July 28th 2019