When we started planning for FOSS Backstage 2023 in late summer last year, it was still very much unclear how the pandemic would develop going into the winter. Since then, mask mandates — and COVID rules in general — have been relaxed or rescinded in Germany and elsewhere.
With that in mind, we want to provide an update about our health and safety policy at FOSS Backstage: We are upholding the indoor mask mandate for FOSS Backstage 2023, despite the aforementioned changes in public health regulations.
We want to explain our reasons for that decision: For one, the city of Berlin still recommends wearing masks for for indoor events. We also want to make sure, that people who already bought tickets for FOSS Backstage or have committed to speak onsite, do not have to re-evaluate their choice because of a last-minute change in our policy regarding mask. We are committed to making sure that FOSS Backstage is open and welcoming to everyone. This naturally includes anyone who wants to or needs to protect themselves from COVID. As a community, we feel that this is best achieved if everyone wears a mask. To help with that, we will be distributing free masks at our venue. You can also find all the information regarding COVID at our Health & Safety page.
We hope that you join us in helping make FOSS Backstage a save and comfortable event for everyone and are looking forward to meeting all of you in March.
Alex, Paul, and Sven
Photo: cc-by 2.0Jernej Furman