Open Source Communities, Booths, and Session Tracks

Your community can be part of the COSCUP open source community as long as it is related to open source, the spirit of openness, or open collaboration. COSCUP cares not only about code, but also about how the spirit of openness is practiced in design, education, policy, culture, data, hardware, community governance, public participation, and other fields.

COSCUP was founded by partners from open source communities. In recent years, the conference has continued to increase open source community participation and lower barriers to participation, allowing communities to build the annual open source conference together through Session Tracks, Community Booths, bulletin boards, BoFs, and Fringe Events.

Participation Framework

COSCUP differs from many conferences in how Sessions are organized. Each Session Track is usually planned and scheduled by an open source community, while the COSCUP organizing team coordinates venues, time slots, announcements, overall conference operations, and necessary support.

Activities that open source communities can hold at COSCUP are not limited to topic talks. They may include:

• Workshops.
• Internal community meetings.
• Project contributor gatherings.
• Community governance or policy discussions.
• Beginner tutorials or onboarding.
• A community's own annual conference, meetup, or showcase.
• Exchange activities co-hosted with overseas communities.
• Applying for a Community Booth to introduce your community, projects, activities, and ways to participate to attendees.

It is free for communities to help organize COSCUP, apply for Session Tracks, and apply for Community Booths. COSCUP hopes to lower the barrier for community participation so more open source communities can bring their work, topics, and entry points to the venue.

Community Session Track

If you are hosting a Session Track, please confirm the following before the event.

Notes:

• Whether speakers have received their talk time, classroom location, Session length, and the language information previously decided for the Session.
• If the Session needs translation, confirm whether translation support will be available or whether speakers should use translation software themselves.
• Whether speakers understand the recording, slide publication, and license arrangements. COSCUP uses CC BY 4.0 by default.
• Whether someone is responsible for the Session Track Host role, opening, transitions, and time control.
• Whether a daily Session list should be posted at the classroom entrance.
• Whether community staff are needed for check-in, guidance, or In-Person Q&A.
• Whether the Session has been promoted through the community bulletin board, social media, or digital bulletin board.
• The classroom equipment list will be announced by the Program Team before the event.
• WiFi is not provided onsite. If your Session, demo, or Remote connection requires internet access, please prepare your own working network connection.

COSCUP is open to everyone. It is strictly prohibited to control Session attendance by ticket sales or reservation. Even if a classroom is full, the doors may be opened so attendees outside the room can observe or listen.

Hosts still need to maintain basic order. If conversation or noise inside the classroom affects the speaker or other attendees, politely remind people to lower their volume, or ask the discussion group to move outside the classroom before returning.

Session Track Host Duties

Session Track Hosts are an important bridge between the community and attendees. Their work usually includes:

• Introducing the speaker and topic before each Session starts.
• Managing time and reminding speakers of remaining time and transition rhythm.
• Helping with In-Person questions, online questions, or after-Session conversation.
• Contacting conference staff when equipment issues, recording issues, full rooms, noise, or unexpected situations occur, and knowing the available contact channels for the day.
• Confirming whether speakers are willing to publish slides or need to provide additional links.
• Keeping the Session Track friendly, respectful, and aligned with the CoC.

You can decide whether to prepare time cards such as "5 minutes" and "3 minutes". If your Session Track includes overseas visitors, bilingual cards are also recommended.

Classroom Entrance Decoration

We recommend that communities prepare classroom entrance decorations and a daily Session schedule so attendees passing by can quickly understand the room's topic, time slots, and upcoming Sessions. The simplest method is to print paper and post it at the classroom entrance or on a nearby board.

Recommended format:

• Title: Room number (date day) - Agenda, for example TR 515 (08/08 Saturday) - Agenda or TR 515 (08/09 Sunday) - Agenda
• Session Track name: for example XXX Open Source Session Track
• Date: for example 08/08 (Saturday) or 08/09 (Sunday)
• Room number: for example TR 515
• Community or Session Track name
• Daily Session schedule

Example title:

TR 515 (08/10 Sunday) - Agenda
XXX Open Source Session Track

Example Session schedule:

Sample download link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17SU8FqrAzEYE8LyPClm_95-vAmzsqVi7eEMU1Lrgp8Q/edit?usp=sharing

TR 515 (08/10 Sunday) - Agenda

XXX Open Source Session Track

If a Session only has an English title, you can list only the English title. If both Chinese and English titles are available, we recommend listing English first, then Chinese, so overseas visitors can read it quickly. You can also mark the Session language and format in the time column, for example:

[Chinese / In-Person]
10:00 - 10:30

Communities should print the papers they need to post. If you do not have a printer, convenience stores in Taiwan usually allow you to upload a PDF online and print it at any branch.

Setting Up a Community Booth

COSCUP gathers many participants over two days. A Community Booth is an effective way to recruit partners, advocate ideas, showcase projects, and promote regular meetups. In recent years, the conference has also often arranged Booth Reward Activities or stamp collection to encourage attendees to visit Booths and create more opportunities for conversation.

Setup and Teardown Time

• Setup time: Entry for setup opens after 14:00 on Friday, 08/07.
• Teardown time: 16:00 on Sunday, 08/09.

Large electrical appliances with instantaneous power over 330 W may not be used without permission. Logistics and temporary unloading instructions will be provided in the pre-event email.

Booths can prepare:

• Community introduction and ways to participate.
• Project displays, demos, or QR Codes.
• Beginner documents, contribution guides, or event calendars.
• Stickers, flyers, souvenirs, or small interactive activities.
• Chinese and English materials or text introductions so overseas visitors can also learn about your community.
• A short answer to "How can I start participating today?"

Community Booths can also bring stickers to exchange onsite, or place them on the sticker exchange table so more participants can freely take them and learn about your community.

Booth Identification and Giveaways

• Avoid displaying giveaways or stickers that include logos from non-open-source communities.
• If you have related stickers, you may move them to the sticker exchange area.
• Booth locations are arranged by the conference, and your Booth may share a table with another community Booth.
• Roll-up banners may be placed on the left or right side of the Booth table, but must not affect neighboring Booths.
• Backdrops are not allowed.
• Do not promote sponsors outside your community. Roll-up banners, acrylic signs, and printed materials containing company logos must not be displayed.

Booth Decoration Notes

• Do not use tape to attach posters to walls. Please use stands or other display methods that do not damage the venue.
• If you truly need to attach something, do not assume onsite staff will approve it. Please coordinate and notify us by email in advance whenever possible.
• Booth posters must not include commercial content or represent a company to introduce products or promote exposure.
• It is fine to introduce friendly communities to each other, distribute stickers, or share activity information.
• WiFi is not provided onsite. If your Booth display, demo, stamp collection, or form collection requires internet access, please prepare your own working network connection.

Distributing Food and Items

If your Booth distributes food or other edible items, please label the following information in both Chinese and English:

• Meat or vegetarian
• Contains egg
• Contains milk
• Gluten status
• Beef / pork / lamb

Booth Reward Activity and Stamp Collection

If the conference arranges Community Booth stamp collection, Booth partners usually need to use a device with a camera and internet access, open the Booth stamp link provided by COSCUP, and scan attendees' OPass QR Codes. When the screen shows that the stamp was successful, the attendee receives stamp points or task progress.

Please check your email before the event. We will send the installation method for the scanning QR Code program dedicated to Booth Hosts.

Community Bulletin Board

Each floor of the venue may have bulletin boards reserved by COSCUP for community use. Whether or not your community has a Booth, you can use the bulletin board to post personal open source projects, community introductions, activity announcements, annual schedules, or other open source-related promotional information.

Recommended flyer sizes:

• A4: standard flyer, suitable for title, introduction, activity information, and QR Code.
• A5: suitable for community introductions, project introductions, or folded brochures.
• A6: suitable for activity promotion, surveys, short-term QR Codes, or sticker exchange information.

BoF and Fringe Events

We encourage communities to use the time before and after COSCUP to hold their own community meetups, developer meetings, contributor dinners, or cross-community exchanges. These activities can be announced through BoF or the conference announcement channels so more participants can learn about them.

Getting Help

If community partners have questions, they can first ask their Community Session Track Manager or contact person. If conference assistance is needed, please contact the corresponding Team. For Session Track-related questions, contact the Program Team first: program at coscup.org.