We would like to find and recognize individuals who are helping support the next generation of FOSS coders.
The need for improved access to software engineering education and training has been globally identified as deficient in a number of areas. For several years, our community, like many others in the free and open-source software sector, has struggled to attract and maintain the number of high-quality developers we need to drive the GNOME project forward at the pace we would like. This has been amplified by the rise of web frameworks and the popularity of developing on macOS as a platform, as well as the continued failure to diversify the engineering pool away from white males.
In the 2018 and 2019 StackOverflow Developer Survey it shows this trend increasing:
We believe that addressing this disparity is key to ensuring the long-term success of free and open source software on the desktop, and that the GNOME Foundation is in a unique position to guide and mentor people in their career path.
The primary goal of the Challenge is to improve the coding skills of beginner coders by introducing them to the FOSS community and encouraging FOSS community participation for years to come.
We hope in doing so that we address some of the current shortcomings of the industry, including raising the awareness and skills required to contribute to free and open source software amongst educators and students; increasing the number of people (youth and adults) who are trained in coding free and open source software; and increasing the percentage of GNOME contributors who identify as women, non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming.
| April 6, 2020 | Competition Launch Week |
| April 9, 2020 | Submission link opens |
| July 1, 2020 | Idea (Phase One) complete |
| TBD Late July | Winners announced during GUADEC |
| November 2, 2020 | Proof of Concept (Phase Two) complete |
| December 1, 2020 | Proof of Concept winners announced |
| March 1, 2021 | Final Project (Phase Three) complete |
| April 5, 2021 | Final winner announced |
The GNOME Foundation and Endless would like to recognize individuals and teams interested in supporting the next generation of FOSS coders. Thanks to a grant from Endless, we are offering up to $65,000 in cash prizes. Prices include but are not limited to:
Phase One: Idea
Phase Two: Proof of Concept
Phase Three: Final Project
Cash Prizes will be awarded as checks or bank transfers from a U.S. bank. Prize-related expenses, including all federal, state, and local taxes represent the sole financial responsibility of the winner.
As the Challenge promotes free software participation, strong preference will be given to projects that are produced, designed to be edited and used with free and open-source software. We ask that your entry be:
For example, a graphic design project created in Inkscape would be preferred to one created in Illustrator, and a game that uses free software libraries would be preferred to one designed for Steam. A closed source game would not be acceptable, but an open-source game (which can also be run through proprietary software) would be acceptable but not ranked as highly by the judges.
Apart from what is set out in these Challenge Rules, there are no restrictions on the form submissions must take: they may be software projects, educational materials, videos, games, presentations, events, or anything else that promotes engagement of beginning coders with the FOSS community. Be as creative as you would like to be.
In Phase One, we would like you to write up your idea, tell us about yourself (or your team) and submit it online to surveys.gnome.org by July 1st. We ask that you submit your proposal in English and encourage (but do not require) supplemental materials. The judges will review your submission and decide which ones will move to the next phase.
To help you plan your writeup, below is the list of questions that we would like you to answer:
Part 1 – Your Idea
Part 2 – Project Details
Part 3 – You/Your Team
The 20 projects selected in Phase One will be invited to participate in Phase Two and asked to develop their proposal into a working prototype. This will enable teams to demonstrate the feasibility and achievability of their idea to the judges. We aren’t looking for a final product at this point but enough development to give the judges an idea of the direction of the final product.
The winners from Phase Two will be invited to participate in Phase Three. The final stage of the competition focuses on turning the prototype in to an end product that can be used in the future.
The Community Engagement Challenge is looking for unique and creatively designed entries. Entries must be the original work and intellectual property of the creator(s). The entry may use third-party resources — for example, images, music and software libraries — provided you can demonstrate that you have the right to do so (e.g., the content is made freely available, the creator has a signed release, etc.).
If the spelling is so atrocious that the judges are unsure of what the entry is about, the technical execution is getting in the way of the experience. Similarly, if the entry art (if applicable) is especially beautiful, that might contribute to a high rating in terms of engagement or innovative
creative vision. Fundamentally, the Community Engagement Challenge is intended to invite coders to the Free Software Community and is not an art competition, coding challenge or spelling test, so technical skill (or lack thereof) in these areas should be viewed through the lens of
the criteria previously provided.
The Challenge is open to everyone except residents of the following: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, or the Crimea region of the Ukraine (excluded due to U.S. country-based sanctions.) Similarly, Blocked Persons on the Specially Designated Nationals List are excluded from the Challenge due to U.S. restrictions. Residents of Brazil and Italy are excluded due to local laws restricting contests. Employees of GNOME and Endless and their affiliates are also not allowed to enter. For exact details, please view the terms and conditions.
Yes, you are welcome as an individual and you do not need to be on a team to submit an entry.
Yes, if you have others you want to work with by all means form a team.
If you have a great idea and are looking for a team to help you or want to join a team, please post in https://discourse.gnome.org/t/looking-for-a-team/3123.
This project is great for a class group or group of friends. The team can be as big as you like, however keep in mind that you will need to divide up the project responsibilities and prize amounts.
Please visit the homepage for the most up to date information. Should there be any additional changes, those that have submitted their valid email address when entering their submission will also be notified via email.
Please feel free to share! We are happy to help with your outreach. Please feel free to contact us at cechallenge@gnome.org We have also included some helpful tools you can use to share with your group. Find them on our Promote the Challenge page.
Please feel free to share! We are happy to help with your outreach. Please feel free to contact us at cechallenge@gnome.org We have also included some helpful tools you can use to share with your group. on our Promote the Challenge page.
Yes, through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Follow the challenge or send your own challenge related message via #GNOMEChallenge