Strong Partners in the Capital

LinuxTag is an unusual kind of trade fair: it deliberately opens up the customary boundary between open-source developers and community on the one hand and professional exhibitors and enterprises on the other. Two expert partners join forces in realizing this challenging concept.

Messe Berlin GmbH

Messe Berlin is an experienced organiser of major events and conventions, including IFA, the world's largest consumer electronics fair, and the International Green Week (Grüne Woche), both in Berlin. At LinuxTag, Messe Berlin takes responsibility for the exhibition, the grounds, and relations with sponsors and partners. The income from professional exhibitors and sponsors fuels the other parts of the fair, especially the conference program and the free software project exhibits. This ensures that open source projects have the opportunity to present their work at no cost.

The LinuxTag Association

The non-profit association LinuxTag e. V. guarantees the professional quality of the projects and conference part of LinuxTag. The Association is the initiator, supervisor and arbiter of the event's orientation and content. In particular, the LinuxTag Association selects the speakers and presentations and supports the contributing projects. Over the past 13 years, the LinuxTag Association has become a well-known name in the open source movement, and is embedded in a dense network of developers, projects and other associations. The Association is in constant contact with representatives of government and business — and makes itself heard: In 2003, the LinuxTag Association sued for and obtained an injunction against SCO to stop the company from spreading misinformation about Linux in Germany. The Association also participated in the German "Bundestux" initaitive to create a level playing field for open source software in government agencies.

Linux in the German Capital

To achieve its goals, LinuxTag needs a suitable environment. Since 2007 Linuxtag has been held in Berlin, at the city's fairgrounds at the foot of the Funkturm. The capital is easy to get to from anywhere in Germany or the world, and also boasts a great variety of hotels and hostels, as well as night life. Last but not least, LinuxTag benefits from the proximity of government — after all, LinuxTag has traditionally enjoyed the patronage of German cabinet ministers.