Tag Archives: ffwcw

BattleMesh v14 and WCW 2022

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In 2022 it finally takes place again: Freifunk is supporting BattleMesh again this year. After the Wireless Community Weekend in Weimar, this is the second event this year that deals with mesh networks.

The logo includes a radio tower and the Colosseum from Rome. On the radio tower is a hand with fingers pressed together. On the right side are the dates for the BattleMesh.
Logo and Announcement

BattleMesh v14

The BattleMesh is an event that brings together people from all over the world who are interested in building community networks. This includes WLAN networks, fiber optic infrastructure and cooperatively run internet providers. More generally, it’s about how to start and sustain communities that are involved in building their own networks.

We expect 4 days of talks, practical workshops, late-night hack sessions, and fruitful discussions. Come along if you are interested in mesh networking, if you are active in community networks, if you are a protocol developer or if you are interested in networking in general. Afterward, there is the possibility to visit the RomeHack Camp.

This year’s Battlemesh will take place from 19 to 22 September 2022 at Fusolab in Rome. There are organizers on site. Regular updates and new information can be found at https://www.battlemesh.org/BattleMeshV14.

Please get in touch if you need assistance with travel costs.

Wireless Community Weekend 2022

From 27 to 29 May the Wireless Community Weekend took place in Weimar. For the first time, not at the c-base in Berlin, but at the M18. The WCW was organised by the Weimarnetz and the Maschinenraum Weimar.

A total of almost 30 participants were welcomed. On-site, there was the usual picture: people sat together, alternately looking into their laptops and at the hardware that did not yet have perfect OpenWRT support. Of course, there was also a barbecue, which burned often enough.

On all 3 days, there were lectures and workshops with sometimes lively and lengthy discussions. The lectures on Saturday were recorded and are already published in our media library.

These pictures show a few impressions:

Entrance to the M18 with a Weimarnetz banner above the door.
The TV that displayed the slides of the Talks.
Illumination of the M18 in the evening
Illuminated wooden pavilion that could be used for workshops.
Illuminated M18

Growing Together – A report from a successful Wireless Community Weekend 2014

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More than sixty people from all over Europe came together at the C-Base in Berlin for the 10th Wireless Community Weekend, the most important meeting of the year for Germany’s Freifunk groups. Wonderful weather, a relaxed atmosphere and interesting lectures made for a productive weekend with lots of lively discussion, as shown by the feedback from Twitter surrounding the WCW.

There were many new faces from newly created groups. Alongside the recently founded groups, such as Magdeburg, Padeborn and Lüneburg were activists from all over Germany. Of course, the “usual suspects” from Berlin, Leipzig and Weimar played their part, as well as Developers from openWRT and OLSR. We’d also like to thank our sponsors and helpers as well as the c-base members for their hospitality and support.

The dual focal points of the WCW 2014 were Decentralisation and Cooperation:

  • How can we improve the cooperation between our communities and share resources whilst maintaining the decentralised structures of Freifunk? How can small or young communities profit and learn from the experiences of larger, established communities? The panel discussion on organisational structures emphasised the diverse views within the community and the importance of decentralisation whilst underlining the desire to deepen the existing collaborative efforts.
  • Which strategies should we pursue in using the IPv6 address space? The subject is complex and offers many, sometimes conflicting, alternatives. As part of a pilot project, communities in Berlin, Lübeck and Weimar have been provided with addresses from the IPv6 pool so that they can try various scenarios and share the knowledge gained with other groups.
  • Another lecture covered the latest developments in the Freifunk API. A Project born of the Google Summer of Code that supports us in searching and processing data.
  • The specifications and technical solutions surrounding the distribution of Freifunk templates of all kinds were discussed, as were public relations materials.
  • A further lecture covered the technical challenges involved in meshnetworks with wired and wireless segments and their solutions.
  • A Workshop was held dealing with offering decentralised services and storage whilst sharing these resources.
  • The Installation of Friendica as an open and decentralised alternative to Facebook and its configuration as an Internal and external service.
  • Last but not least: What is the legal situation? What have we achieved? How do we get predictability in legal decisions? What is the significance of a legal declaration on Freifunk.

Information on the lectures and workshops can be found in the Wiki.

Beyond that we worked on firmware, web Interfaces and written materials, we installed services, created podcasts, talked and, most importantly, barbecued.

We wish everybody in Freifunk a lot of fun and success in transposing and realising the knowledge and ideas gained, and look forward to seeing everyone again at the next Freifunk Community meetings: