Attend the 2024 Open Hardware Summit
Written by Sid Drmay and Lee Wilkins
On May 3rd and 4th in Montreal, Canada, the Open Source Hardware Organization (OSHWA) will host the 2024 Open Hardware Summit, our annual fundraising event featuring two full days of workshops, talks, an unconference, and discussion sessions dedicated to exploring Open Source Hardware. If you can’t make it in person, we’re also holding sessions online via YouTube and Discord.
Our branding this year was created by Enna Kim, who worked with us to create our 2024 logo as well as a series of characters. We love the playful nature of the loombot, the googly-eyed integrated circuit (which you can get embroidered on a hat as a ticket add-on!), and the tangles of wires that we think reflect what we’re trying to pull off for OHS2024. We want the Summit to be engaging, intriguing, full of surprises, and chock full of radical, new ideas.
Above all else we’re excited to be able to gather together the open source community to explore all the ways that ‘open’ exists!
Here’s the thing: we know it’s a long trip for some of y’all. Thankfully, we offer many ways to experience the Summit, both in-person in Montreal and online, with a fully hybrid conference. We are working hard to be sure that no matter how you attend you will get as much as possible out of OHS2024. With the help of livestreaming, our Discord server, and lots of volunteer coordination, you can participate in talks, Q&A’s with speakers, propose topics, and participate in a digital unconference on Day Two!
Even though the 3rd and 4th are our official dates we are also excited to have programming around both sides of the conference. On May 2nd, there will be a mini reuse make-a-thon to practice your recycling skills, an open source perfume workshop, and a Happy Hardware Hour hosted by Helen Leigh and Crowd Supply!
The official Summit will start on May 3rd at Concordia University. We are excited to welcome Danielle Boyer, an Indigenous robotics expert, as the keynote speaker. Boyer will discuss her work creating robots to revitalize Indigenous languages and utilizing them to address the systemic oppression of the Anishinaabe community. It’s certain to be a talk that you do not want to miss.
This is just one of the incredible parts of OHS this year.
We have also managed to fit in 19 other talks, ranging from e-textile manufacturing to making bespoke open hardware for your loved ones to open source medical devices. The topics and quality of the speakers are truly wonderful.
We also noticed a heavy push to discuss the environmental impacts of making proposals this year that resulted in talks on repurposing disposable vapes, addressing pollution in hardware production, and developing sustainable biomaterials for 3D printing.
On top of all that, we also have a dedicated table hour where people can explore the very rad offerings like a DIY computer repair zine, afrofuturist devices for speculative PTSD treatment, and modding gameboys.
Even though it’s such a full day we know some of ya’ll will still need to let off some steam which means we’re going to have an afterparty where you can hang out, socialize and dance until you are exhausted.
On Day Two, we will move to LESPACEMAKER for workshops, unconference, and discussion groups. For those joining us, IRL workshops range from building robots to finding wi-fi access points to making paper. Make sure you sign up for workshop offerings so you don’t miss out!
We know that our community loves to explore ideas in depth, and we wanted to be sure there was time for folks to discuss thoughts they had come up with over the course of Day One, so we’ve got space for discussion groups.
Plus, all Day One, both in-person and online attendees can suggest unconference topics that will be voted on in the evening to have sessions running smoothly on Day Two. Unconference topics can really be anything and we will have space dedicated to be able to present to one another.
With that, we’ll come to the official close of OHS2024.
On our unofficial Day 3, we will gather at CyberLoveHotel for a relaxing, sharing, and zinemaking session.
All this to say that we really can’t wait to see everyone this year. Please register for the Open Hardware Summit and join us however works for you. You can keep up with all the latest news on OHS2024 online on Twitter, Mastodon, and LinkedIn.
About the authors: Lee Wilkins is the 2024 Open Hardware Summit Chair. Lee is an OSHWA board member and currently are a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. Sid Drmay is the 2024 Open Hardware Summit Fellowship Chair. Sid also works as the Community Coordinator for OSHWA. You can learn more about the Open Hardware Summit Team at https://2024.oshwa.org/