GNOME Booth Report
FOSSASIA Summit 2026
Bangkok, Thailand
Booth Dates: 9–10 March 2026
Prepared by : Aaditya Singh ( @aadityasingh )
Booth type : Community booth
Table of Contents
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Executive Summary
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Introduction and Scope
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Objectives
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Booth Setup and Materials
4.1 Merchandise Response -
Booth Activities
5.1 General Engagement
5.2 Interactive Quiz Game
5.3 Merchandise and Promotions
5.4 Fundraising Awareness ( Friends of GNOME )
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Visitor Demographics and Engagement Patterns
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Success Evaluation
7.1 Key Successes
7.2 Key Shortcomings
7.3 Metrics and Observations
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Learnings
8.1 Staffing and Shift Planning
8.2 Tailor Merchandise to the Audience
8.3 Messaging and Education
8.4 Interactive Content Works
8.5 Fundraising and Donation Conversion
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Recommendations for FOSSASIA 2027
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Operational Checklist for Next Booths
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Conclusion
1. Executive Summary
This report documents the GNOME community booth at FOSSASIA Summit 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. The booth operated on 9 - 10 March 2026 as a community booth and represented GNOME’s first booth presence at FOSSASIA.
The primary goals were to increase awareness of GNOME and the wider GNOME ecosystem, engage contributors and potential contributors, promote GNOME’s annual conferences and the Donate to GNOME campaign, and strengthen GNOME’s visibility at a major regional free and open source software conference.
Overall engagement was positive. The booth hosted meaningful conversations with students, professionals, speakers, volunteers, organizers, and exhibitors. A custom quiz game introduced in the latter part of Day 2 increased dwell time and made the booth more interactive. Merchandise, especially stickers and pens, proved useful for engagement, while T-shirt sales were modest.
The main recommendations for future events are:
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whereas a solo booth also can be operated effectively without any major issues, staffing the booth with at least two people helps increase engagement and more interaction with the visitors, and helps with more interactive activities like games, giveaways, etc.
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request a higher-footfall location near the main presentation halls during the booth proposal application.
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tailor merchandise items, quantities, and designs to the audience profile,
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expand interactive activities, and
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improve donation visibility and conversion mechanisms.
2. Introduction and Scope
This report is a structured summary of GNOME’s booth participation at FOSSASIA Summit 2026. It captures the booth setup, observed visitor behavior, engagement methods, merchandise distribution, fundraising signals, and practical lessons for future conferences.
The report is based on the event experience recorded for the Bangkok booth and is intended to serve both as a record of participation and as a planning document for future GNOME outreach at similar events.
3. Objectives
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Increase awareness about GNOME and the GNOME ecosystem.
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Promote annual GNOME conferences and the Donate to GNOME campaign.
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Engage contributors, students, and industry participants.
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Build community presence at a major regional free and open source conference.
4. Booth Setup and Materials
The booth featured GNOME branding materials, posters, stickers, pens, and T-shirts. A laptop was used to run an interactive GNOME quiz game. The booth location was good, but it would have benefited more from placement closer to the main presentation halls, where foot traffic was higher.
4.1 Merchandise Response
The merchandise response suggests that small, practical items and clearly recognizable GNOME-themed stickers were especially useful for engagement. T-shirts with the standard GNOME logo were appreciated, but more creative or unique designs may be needed to improve paid sales in future events.
5. Booth Activities
5.1 General Engagement
The booth received visits from students, professionals, speakers, organizers, volunteers, exhibitors, and other industry participants. Conversations focused on GNOME usage, ways to contribute, and community resources. A recurring theme was that some visitors had used GNOME through their distributions without realizing that GNOME was the desktop environment they were using. Another recurring positive theme was that the visitors had been using GNOME or had used it somewhere at some point in their careers.
5.2 Interactive Quiz Game
A custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript quiz was introduced in the latter part of Day 2 as an initial test to improve engagement and assess whether a similar activity could be used at future booths. The quiz increased dwell time and created a positive, more participatory atmosphere.
5.3 Merchandise and Promotions
Merchandise acted as an engagement tool as well as a promotional asset. A small number of T-shirts were sold, some were exchanged with partner booths, and stickers were particularly popular. The combination of the GNOME logo with familiar desktop icons resonated strongly with visitors, many of whom recognized the icons and selected stickers of their favorite GNOME components.
For the sales of the t-shirts, we need to change our strategy. The normal GNOME branding t-shirts are more suited for the giveaways, whereas for the sales, visitors preferred unique designs, limited-edition designs, or more creative designs on the t-shirts.
5.4 Fundraising Awareness ( Friends of GNOME )
The awareness about the fundraising was provided through posters and direct information flow between the staff and the visitors. Some Friends of GNOME ( FoG ) were present at the conference and visited the booth too. This created a very good environment and also showed the strong presence of GNOME users and contributors in Thailand.
A few leads on the open source funds and motivation to apply were provided by the folks related to it.
A newly made Friend of GNOME ( FoG ), right at the booth, was happy to show us the proof of the contribution.
6. Visitor Demographics and Engagement Patterns
Most visitors were professionals working in companies that actively participate in open source communities. Other visitors included event organizers, speakers, volunteers, and exhibitors. Compared with expectations, there were fewer newcomers and students. This pattern is important because student-heavy conferences generally create higher demand for free swag and more opportunities for new contributors onboarding.
Good interactions with fellow booths like Debian, KDE, OpenKylin, Foss For All, Open Euler, TeaLinux OS, FOSS United, COSCUP, etc. were maintained, which increased the bond between the open source communities.
7. Success Evaluation
7.1 Key Successes
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First GNOME booth at FOSSASIA, which increased project visibility.
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Positive, substantive conversations with global contributors and community members.
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Leads on open source funds that may support fundraising efforts. Eg. FLOSS Fund
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The interactive quiz increased engagement on Day 2.
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Awareness and information about the annual GNOME conferences, which appear to be lesser known to the participants in the FOSSASIA.
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The booth received positive feedback and requests from the participants for GNOME to continue its presence at future FOSSASIA events.
7.2 Key Shortcomings
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Merchandise Distribution Optimization
Not all merchandise was distributed during the event. This was primarily due to this being GNOME’s first booth at FOSSASIA, which meant limited prior insight into attendee demographics and behavior. As a result, merchandise production was slightly higher than required. This provides a valuable baseline for more accurate planning in future editions.
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T-shirt Engagement and Conversion
T-shirt sales were lower than anticipated. This suggests an opportunity to improve design appeal and engagement strategy for better sales. We will need creative designs and limited-edition items to boost sales. Future approaches could include using simple GNOME Logo T-shirts as part of interactive activities (e.g., quiz rewards, challenges, or contributor incentives) rather than relying solely on direct sales. We can request the visitors to share the social media post about the booth being present at the event, and also about the fundraising campaign posts present on our social media. Then, we can give away t-shirts to randomly selected visitors who do these small tasks.
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Fundraising and Community Conversion
There was only one recorded real-time conversion to a “Friend of GNOME.” While awareness around donations was successfully established, this indicates an opportunity to strengthen on-site fundraising strategies, including clearer messaging, easier contribution methods, and more proactive engagement.
7.3 Metrics and Observations
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Pens distributed: 129 out of 200.
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T-shirts: 5 sold at 100 THB each; 1 exchanged; 1 gifted to a Friend of GNOME; 13 remaining.
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Donations: 1 confirmed on-site donation recorded as a new Friend of GNOME.
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Donation visibility existed, and awareness was provided, but on-site conversion remained limited.
8. Learnings
8.1 Staffing and Shift Planning
A solo booth can be run effectively. But, at least two people per shift is preferable because it allows sustained engagement, breaks, and parallel booth activity such as demos, conversions, and conversations.
8.2 Tailor Merchandise to the Audience
Merchandise planning should be based on the audience profile. Student-heavy conferences may benefit from more free items, while contributor-heavy events may respond better to educational handouts, fundraising messaging, and premium merchandise. The ordinary GNOME-logo T-shirts are more suitable for giveaways than for strong sales performance. For sales purposes, we need more creative and limited-edition T-shirts.
8.3 Messaging and Education
Future handouts should simplify the message by explaining that many users already use GNOME indirectly through their distributions. A short explanation of what a desktop environment is would help visitors understand GNOME more quickly.
8.4 Interactive Content Works
The quiz game was a high-impact activity and should be expanded into a broader set of small interactive experiences, such as demos, live polling, and mini-hacks. The report suggests that pairing these activities with small incentives or discounts may further improve both engagement and merchandise uptake.
8.5 Fundraising and Donation Conversion
Future booth staff should share donation-pitch learnings across events and consider small incentives for donations, such as unique/limited-edition stickers, badges, or special thank-you notes to be provided for the donation.
9. Recommendations for FOSSASIA 2027
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Approve the GNOME booth again, since the first presence was valuable and supported by positive feedback.
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Request a booth location near presentation halls or main thoroughfares to improve foot traffic.
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Prepare a concise handbook that outlines booth roles, merchandise handling, and donation processes.
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Expand interactive offerings with a longer-running quiz, short scheduled demos, and collaborative activities with other booths.
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Improve donation visibility through clear signage, visible perks, and a short impact statement on flyers.
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Stock merchandise based on attendee profile and consider a limited number of premium paid items to support fundraising.
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Collect on-site feedback using a short two or three-question form.
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Use social media follows or other simple engagement actions as a condition for selected T-shirts and pens giveaways when appropriate.
10. Operational Checklist for Next Booths
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Confirm booth location and request proximity to the main stage.
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Prepare a clear duty roster for volunteers so booth activities are easy to execute.
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Print small handouts with a short GNOME introduction, social handles, new updates, and key information.
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Bring signage, a spare socket adaptor, and a tablet or laptop for the quiz.
11. Conclusion
GNOME’s booth at FOSSASIA Summit 2026 was a successful first appearance that helped raise awareness, create meaningful conversations, and test interactive engagement ideas. While some goals, such as on-site fundraising conversion and merchandise sales, could be improved, the overall experience was positive and valuable.
The booth established a strong foundation for future participation. With better planning, improved location, more targeted merchandise, and stronger interactive and fundraising elements, GNOME can build a more visible and effective presence at FOSSASIA 2027 and similar events. The next edition of FOSSASIA is also going to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.