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The Ubuntu Toronto team met for the first time on Saturday, September 9th. A handful (about a dozen) Ubuntu users, new and old, had gathered in response to messages on the ubuntu-ca list, craigslist, and upcoming.org. We discussed ideas for spreading Ubuntu, what we could do to raise awareness, and how we could celebrate Software Freedom Day, which was only a week into the future.

I ordered a batch of 160 CDs, and we decided to insert leaflets into the CD jackets, containing information about how to contact the group and find support. We also decided to print up the Ubuntu brochure, found on the DIYMarketing page. Meeting again on Wednesday, September 13th, only 3 days before the event, we made some final decisions on where we might hold this event, and the kinds of things we'd do.

Our final meeting was Friday, September 15th, where several of us got together to stuff CDs with leaflets and fold brochures. We managed to secure a location, a place called Centre for Social Innovation in a relatively busy part of the city, for free. Scrambling to find a projector to provide demonstrations of Ubuntu, we secured one not even an hour before we planned to start the celebrations.

Software Freedom Day was an amazing success, thanks to the dedication and co-operation of the Ubuntu Toronto team. We had a few good discussions with pedestrians, and handed out nearly 100 CDs and brochures. A handful of them even came inside to listen to a persuasive demonstration on the benefits of open source software, and Ubuntu in particular.

• A review of the event by David J Patrick, owner of the linuxcaffe in Toronto, can be found here.

• Google Group posting of CD insert and press release here

• Google Group thread regarding success of the event here