OSCAL (Open Source Conference Albania) is the first annual conference in Albania organized to promote software freedom, open source software, free culture and open knowledge, a global movement that originally started more than 25 years ago. The Conference will take place at 9 & 10 May 2015 in Tirana and will gather free libre open source technology users, developers, academics, governmental agencies and people who share the idea that software should be free and open for the local community and governments to develop and customize to its needs; that knowledge is a communal property and free and open to everyone. Our mission is educating Albanian youth, and not only, on Free and Open Source Software, its ideology and the great community behind it. You can visit at as oscal.openlabs.cc or email us at oscal@openlabs.cc

Freedom Building (Godina Liria), part of the University of Tirana, is probably the best venue in Tirana we could have thought of in terms of infrastructure, capacity and location. A big thank you goes to the decision makers at the University of Tirana that agreed to host OSCAL 2015!
Here is the map:

About Tirana

Tirana is the capital of Albania. It lies in the center of our country and it is considered as the city of religious coexistence, as well as the center of culture, art, politics and economy.
Tirana became the capital of Albania in 1920, nowadays with more than 763,634 inhabitants. It is a very old settlement as is confirmed by the Mosaic of Tirana, which was part of an old roman villa build in the III century. One famous building is the Clock Tower in the center of Tirana, which was build in XIX century, between 1822 – 1840.
Part of the cultural heritage of the city are also the old houses, which are known as the real architectural ansamble of the historical core of Tirana. Just to mention a few the house of Toptanas was build in XVIII century, the house of Sali Shijaku in 1400, the house of Bunec in XVII and the mosque in the center of the city build in 1793.More details can be found at the Wikipedia article.

– Attractions in the city include:

The monument of G.K.Scanderbeg, who is the national hero of Albania, located in the busy Scanderbeg square.

Also, in this square you can find 2 other religious and historical objects, the Mosque of Ethem Bey (1798 – 1823) and the Clock Tower, which is 35 meters high ; was build on 1830. From the Clock Tower’s top visitors can observe a wide view of Tirana.

Other monuments you can visit in Tirana are “Ura Tabakeve” build in first half of XIX century , the “Mother Albania” monument at the Cemetery of Martyrs Nations.

We recommend you to have a walk in the Grand Park, lying in the southern part of the city and extending over an area of 55 hectares with an artificial lake included. The Tirana Grand Park has a big variety of plants, you can find there about 120 kind of plants, decorative shrubs and flowers of various colours.

Don’t forget to have a look at several Tirana museums, artistic and scientific institutions, including National Historical Museum, Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Nature Sciences, Opera and Balet Theatre, Drama and Variety Show, the Gallery of Fine Arts, the International Center of Culture, The Palace of Congress and Exhibition Halls.

Only a short time driving, 25 km east of Tirana, there is the Dajti Mountain national park, rich in diversity of flora and fauna. It offers numerous opportunities all year round for excursions and recreation. There are large areas of unspoilt nature in the slopes of mountain which attracts many visitors to the region in all seasons.;Also we recommend you a short tour in Petrela village with its fortress. One of the most interesting places near Tirana, located 15 km southeast of Tirana, Petrela has been known as a dwelling-place as early as back 2000 years ago in the ruins of the Illyrian town of Presqopi. The town is supposed to be used as a residential place for Illyrian King, Glauk. The most interesting object is the medieval castle, rising on a rocky hill. This castle has been under the command of Mamica Kastrioti, the Scanderbeg sister, and has been member of bale-fire system for Kruja Castle during ottoman domination.
The area around Petrela offers a unique landscape of broken hills covered by olive trees.

Travelling to Albania

The only airport in Albania with international service is “Mother Theresa” International Airport, located in Rinas, just 17 km northwest of Tirana. The most convenient way to get from the airport to Tirana is by taxi. The journey from Tirana to the airport takes twenty to thirty minutes, depending on traffic, and costs about 2,500 ALL (or 20 EURO) each way. The “Rinas Express” departs every hour between 7am and 7pm, a 24­hour as bus service between the airport and the National Museum in the center of Tirana. The bus depart hourly and the single fare is 250 ALL (approx. 2 EURO) (mobile phone: 00 355 69 20 98908). Website of the airport: tirana-airport.com

- “Mother Teresa” Airport
The airport has a duty free shop.
Customs operates 24 hours a day.
Phone: 00355 4/2381800/1600
Fax: 00355 4/2379065

- Lost ; Found:
Phone: 00355 4/2381681/82
Mobile phone: 00355 69 20 66626
E­mail: info@tirana­airport.com
Website: www.tirana­-airport.com

Hostels ; Hotels

Tirana offers a wide range of hostels and hotels which makes it easy for you to choose based on your budget. Availability shouldn’t be a problem, but as always when it comes to booking and travelling, the sooner you make your arrangements, the better. Here is a small list of choices that we propose. Please know that the OSCAL organizing team is not affiliated with any of the businesses below.

Transportation

The fastest way to get around is by taxi. Public transportation is not always reliable and doesn’t run after 8 or 10-11 p.m depending on the line.
The best taxi service in town is SpeedyTaxi. You can reach them by phone and order a cab through these numbers: +355 4 2222 555 (fixed line) and +355 69 64 222 11 (mobile).
Costs for taxi are are not too expensive in general raging from 2-5€.
Note: Do not enter to a taxi without a taximeter!
You can use also bicycles, Ecovolis offers this service for you. They can be found in many angles of the city: Train station, Taiwan complex(center of the city), Artificial Lake.

Local currency

The Lek (Albanian: Leku Shqiptar; plural Lekë) (sign: L; code: ALL) is the official currency of Albania.
Official exchange rate can be found at bankofalbania.org (sidebar of the website).
In general the rates are more or less like the following:
; USD/LEK:127.8
; EURO/LEK: 140.2

What to visit

; National museum
The National Historical Museum (Albanian: Muzeu Historik Kombëtar) in Tirana, is the country’s largest museum. It was opened on 28 October 1981 and is 27,000 square metres in size, while 18,000 square metres are available for expositions. The gigantic mosaic appearing at the main entrance is entitled The Albanians.
Website: mhk.gov.al
; National art gallery
The National Arts Gallery of Albania (Albanian: Galeria Kombetare e Arteve) has a fund of over 4,000 works of art by Albanian and foreign authors, spanning seven centuries of Albanian cultural heritage. Website: gka.al
; Stroll around the main boulevard (Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit), which has the Polytechnic University of Tirana on one end and the Scanderbeg Square on the other. During this walk, you will pass by the Palace of Congress, The Pyramid, different governmental buildings, such as the offices of the Council of Ministers and the Townhall of Tirana, the Palace of Culture and National museum.
; Et’hem Bey Mosque and climb on Clock tower
; Take a walk or rent a bike at the artificial lake, close to the University of Arts and the Polytechnic University

Where to eat

; Era – a restorant that is famous for serving also traditional Albanian dishes (website:;era.al)
; Serendipity – mexican cuisine (website: http://www.serendipity.al/)
; Artisti – small artsy cafe’ with a great selection of food.
; Artigiano – perfect for italian and mediterranean cuisine (reviews on TripAdvisor: http://bit.ly/1iJhSf6)
;;Gourmet – new age cuisine (reviews on TripAdvisor: http://bit.ly/1uZbmqH)
;;Otium – located in the Blloku area (reviews on TripAdvisor: http://bit.ly/1DuhtVi)

Where to have a drink

The place/area to go out is the so called “Blloku area”. If you ask around everybody knows it and will be easy to find.
; Radio, located in the Blloku area. More details here
; Meduza
; Nouvelle Vague

Souvenir Shops

; Albanian Souvenir (http://on.fb.me/1GwgS8h)
; Pirro Souvenirs (http://bit.ly/1A9t73l)
; Le Futur (http://bit.ly/1x7Mn00)

Survival Vocabulary

– Hello –; Ç’kemi (read: chkemi)
– How are you? –; Si je? (read: Cee ye?)
– What’s you name? –; Si quhesh? (read: Cee chuhesh?)
– I want to go to –; Dua të shkoj tek (read: Da tuə shkoy tek)
– How much does it cost? –; Sa kushton? (read: Sa kushton?)
– Thank you! –; Faleminderit! (read: Faleminiderit)
– Cheers! –; Gëzuar! (read: Gəzuar)
* In the Albanian alphabet, each letter corresponds to a spoken sound and you would write everything just as you hear it.
* The letter Ë/ë represents the same sound as the German Ö/ö.

Useful links

; municipality of Tirana: tirana.gov.al
; more options about hotels and places to stay: booking.com
; events in Tirana and guide: kliko.al

Gold Sponsors

Sponsors

Partners

Media Partners

During the days of the conference we will ask a lot of each other. What we discuss, share, build, learn and create together will, at times, stretch us to the point of discomfort. Going in, it’s important to know that this is something to look forward to and even embrace. The discomfort that comes from stretching ourselves beyond what we thought possible makes what we’re doing at the second edition of OSCAL worthwhile. Heck, if everyone could do this work, they would — and it wouldn’t be worth much.

By the end of the conference and beyond (and if we do this right), each one of us will be transformed in some small way; each having learned at least one new thing, made at least one new friend and changed what we thought we knew for certain about free open source culture in Albania and beyond at least once. Learning, connecting and being open and adaptable to change, are the things that will most profoundly impact our work, our lives and the open knowledge scene as we head into the future. So let’s all do that!

The following is a short list of Participant Responsibilities specific to the conference. They were remixed by a similar list by our friends over at the Mozilla Foundation. Keyword here is remixed! These are not rules, but rather boundaries of participation during our time together so that we all get the most out of it.

The work of changing the world can happen only through active participation. Commit to pushing hard to go beyond what’s easy: embrace a new idea, ask a dumb question, participate at one of the open sessions at the workshop room, close your laptop. If the main conference hall does not move you, go to the workshop sessions or at one of the info booths. It’s okay to shift – really! You alone get to decide what interests you, stretches you and ultimately helps you grow.

OSCAL participants speak at least Albanian, English, German and Greek. We don’t all understand English fluently. Some of us are hard of hearing and visually impaired. When speaking, do it slowly and loudly. Check in with others as you go to make sure they understand. Some of us have physical limitations that make getting around difficult. Offer open structures with the idea of universal access, rather than waiting for special requests. Provide clear information on access.
Make room (literally and metaphorically) for all before anyone has to ask. Seek to understand, then to be understood. Practice empathy. Assume positive intent.

OSCAL is an event where you can safely be your true self (why would you be anything else?) and a time to respect others’ true selves as well (even if it bothers you from time to time). Respect their space and freedom and uniqueness, as much as our own.
Take care of yourself, body and mind. We only have two days together and they will be long. To learn, participate and have fun you need to be at your best. Rest, eat, drink water, laugh a lot.
Take care of the space and each other. Pick up trash. Share your power cord.

If you see a problem, try to help. If you can’t help, find someone who can, starting from our awesome volunteers. Don’t quietly tolerate unacceptable behavior. Stand up for yours!
If someone’s words make you feel unsafe or uncomfortable — a comment, a joke, a slide — and can’t address it with them directly, consider involving an intermediary, a volunteer and other people from the organizers crew. You will find them at the Open Labs info booth or you can contact them here.
If you’ve made someone feel unsafe or uncomfortable, be open to adjusting your presentation or public speech and apologize directly when needed

This app was made by Boris Budini,a developer in Albania , the youngest speaker and the youngest member of Open-Labs.He will talk about Firefox os , make sure to follow him.This app was also made thanks to the support of Open-Labs.Thanks guys!