Hi everyone,
Another OSCAL has come and gone this year. As everyone slowly recovers
on sleep and has a chance to unwind, I had some comments that I wanted
to share about the conference this year.
First, I wanted to say how grateful and happy I am to have been a part
of OSCAL 2017. For two years, I’ve known about OSCAL and read about it.
This year, I had the chance to experience it and see it myself. Every
visit that I make to Tirana, I see how passionate and dedicated the
entire community is towards the promotion of open source software,
culture, and values. OSCAL was no exception.
I interviewed a few people during the weekend, from organizers,
volunteers, speakers, and attendees. I was able to see the unique
insight that different participants in OSCAL had about the conference
and the community here. For everyone outside of the community that I
spoke to, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and sometimes
complete surprise about what you all have created here in Tirana. Even
though I’m just a visitor, I was happy to see how others reacted to
OSCAL and meeting the Open Labs community for the first time.
However, I still didn’t get to talk to many people, as conferences
usually go. So, from me, I wanted to offer my sincere congratulations
and cheers to all of the Open Labs community involved with OSCAL this
year. The conference was well-organized and captured the true “essence”
of what open source is really all about. Together, you all have helped
start a movement that has an impact locally in Tirana and beyond borders
(even across oceans and continents). The type of activism and work the
Open Labs community is doing is incredibly valuable. You’re starting new
conversations about open data, privacy, transparency, and community
building in Tirana. Whenever I share the story of Open Labs, OSCAL, and
the activities happening here with others in the US, the reactions are
usually always surprise and excitement. People are motivated and
inspired by many of the activities and outreach you are doing.
There is a story being written here in Tirana, starting almost five
years ago now. However, this story is still only getting started. I hope
more and more people continue to learn and discover the open source
community here in Tirana. What you have accomplished together is
significant, and I can’t wait to see where you all go next.
Faleminderit për mikëpritjen, Open Labs. I’m looking forward to my next
visit in a couple weeks. As always… keep the FOSS flag high. 
