Software Freedom Day 2023, organized by the FOSS Community of NSBM, was successfully held on September 18th, 2023, with participants of over 250 individuals. The event comprised a lineup of panel discussions conducted by industry experts, collecting new ideas for 2023, and an entertainment session. 

Software Freedom Day (SFD) is an annual global celebration of free and open source software. SFD serves as a public education initiative aimed at raising awareness about the benefits of free software and promoting its use. It was established in 2004 and was first observed on August 28th of that year. The inaugural Software Freedom Day had the participation of around 12 teams. Since then, its popularity has grown, with more than 300 events organized in over 100 cities worldwide each year. 

In 2023, the FOSS Community of NSBM was the only registration team in Sri Lanka and had immense pride in hosting this exclusive event right here in Sri Lanka, making it a monumental celebration of technological freedom. The purpose of SFD 2023 is to continue this tradition as a worldwide celebration of free and open-source software (FOSS) with the objectives of increasing awareness about the advantages and security of using FOSS in daily activities, reaching people in Sri Lanka, and building up our community more than last year.  

The SFD’23 was glamoured by the graceful presence of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chaminda Rathnayake, Dean – Faculty of Computing, Dr. Rasika Ranaweera, Master in Charge of the FOSS Community of NSBM, Dr. Mohomed Shafraz, and several Faculty of Computing lecturers, alumni, volunteers, and participants.