The 36th Vijayawada Book Festival was held from 2nd January to 12th January 2026 at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, Vijayawada.
As part of this book festival, we were happy to participate with our own stall (Stall No. 86). At the stall, we showcased our work focused on :
- Spreading awareness about free software and free culture
- Setting up community digital libraries
- Building makerspaces – Be A Maker
- Introducing practical and hands-on learning for school students with Prototype Building
(open hardware & Robotics) and 3D Printing
Our stall received an overwhelming response from students, teachers, academicians, doctors, journalists and the general public throughout the festival.
Book Launch & Publications
A special highlight of this year’s book festival was the launch of our new book, “Sharing – A Moral Imperative”, which emphasizes the importance of knowledge for commons, digital rights, and free software.
Along with this, we also showcased:
- Vikasita – a youth story focused on technology for society
- Balaswecha Handbook, specifically designed for children to introduce digital tools and skills through computer learning
- Swecha Voice collection
- People who inspire Swecha – Quotes (A4 Cards)
Live Demonstrations & Engagement
We conducted an activity “Thought Box” as a part of Be A Maker which helped school kids to brainstorm and ideate the problems exists in society.
We also conducted a 3D Printing Demonstration, where both children and college students observed the printing process with great curiosity and excitement.
These activities helped us explain the importance of makerspaces, hands-on learning, and open technology in a practical way.
Outreach & Awareness
We distributed our newly designed 2026 wall calendars, pocket calendars, stickers, and other materials to spread awareness about our work and initiatives.
We also focused on creating awareness, involving new members through signups, and encouraging volunteering with Swecha AP during the festival.
Our Biggest Volunteer Support
One of the best parts of this experience was the incredible support from our volunteers from various Swecha Learning Centers and Swecha Knowledge Centers (kids). Over the span of 10 days, they dedicated their free time to support the stall, filling it with creativity and effectively voicing our cause to bridge the digital gap across rural and marginalized areas along with open knowledge systems.
We had an active participation and support from volunteer students belonging to:
- Vijaya Institute of Technology For Women
- Nalanda Degree College and PG Centre
- SRKR Engineering College, Bhimavaram
- Siddhartha Mahila Siddhartha College
- Narasaraopet Institute of Technology
- KL University
- LBRCE and others…
Also from the Government School (BSRK high school) student volunteers
Community Impact
We interacted almost hundreds of people from various institutions and professional fields such as engineering, degree, medical, journalism, and film media.
Many appreciated our cause, some of them expressed interest in volunteering and contributing, and few requested support to set up digital libraries in their villages, similar to our existing Community Digital Libraries (CDLs).