We Started Talking About FOSS in Tamil and Things Got Interesting

Sometimes, helping a movement grow doesn’t need code. It just needs conversation.

Over the last year, I’ve been working with tech YouTube creators to spark meaningful content around Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). What started as a cold DM turned into a chain of collaborations, podcasts, and partnerships that reached tens of thousands and brought a wave of new energy to the FOSS movement in Tamil Nadu.

The lore so far

When registrations for ChennaiFOSS 2024 were slow, I decided to just go for it.
I messaged three major tech creators on YouTube, with zero expectations. To my surprise, the incredible team behind Meta Monkeys, a channel known for its passionate tech storytelling, replied.

We hopped on a call where I shared what we do at FOSS United, what FOSS really means to us, and how their voice could amplify something powerful. They were immediately on board. We welcomed them as a community partner, and together. We recorded our first podcast together, chatting about what FOSS stands for, why digital freedom and privacy matter, and how it all ties into the bigger picture. We also got into what makes the ChennaiFOSS Conference special this year. Toward the end, we snuck in a little plug for ChennaiFOSS to get more folks excited about it.

The result? ChennaiFOSS got a lot more eyeballs this time. A broader audience tuned in, many discovering FOSS for the first time. The community grew, and it was amazing to see so many new faces show up. As a nice little bonus, the tickets ended up selling out faster than IPL tickets.

We thought we’d keep that momentum going, even planned a deeper discussion with potential FOSS advocates in Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, things fizzled out. A whole year of silence.

This time, I had the time and the space to do more. I reached out to friends at Meta Monkeys, and we had more stories to tell. Starting with a podcast with Bowrna, a long-time community member, on " Careers in FOSS with Bowrna". This was followed by a deep dive into Community building and Governance with our bestie, Ram. Just in time for the Governing Board elections at FOSS United.

With every new episode, we sparked conversations and saw a growing appetite for more. But this wasn’t the end of it.

The collaborations so well executed by Meta Monkeys and the love from their community began catching the attention of people in the ecosystem.

Hareesh, whose previous video documenting his experience with ChennaiFOSS had already impressed us all. He reached out, asking if we could collaborate on something more?

And so we did, Hareesh brought me and Sudha, an OCaml hacker and FOSS enthusiast, together for a warm and fun conversation about everything open source.

What started as just a podcast turned into something more. We're recording, brainstorming, asking how to tell the story of FOSS better, and how to collaborate with all the amazing storytellers and creators around us.

What next?

The bond we’ve built with Meta Monkeys, Hareesh Rajendra, and others isn’t just content. It’s a community. Thanks to their brilliant work, we are building a wave of FOSS literacy in Tamil Nadu, one story at a time.

FOSS isn't just about code, it is a philosophy. And we need these ideas to reach people, people beyond our usual bubbles. Reaching people where they are, in their own languages, through people and faces they trust, is the need of the hour.

And the best part? This is just the beginning.

If you're a content creator who wants to explore FOSS, or know someone who should, feel free to reach out to us at foundation@fossunited.org. Let’s build something open, together.

Edited by Ashlesh Biradar