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Author: Olivier Hallot

🇨🇺 LibreOffice in Latin America: heading to Havana for the 2025 Latin American Congress

From October 6 to 9, Havana, Cuba, will host the Latin American LibreOffice 2025 Conference, a meeting that will bring together contributors, developers, universities, and governments from the region to celebrate and strengthen free software.

This year, the Latin American conference will be held as part of the IV International Congress on Digital Transformation (Cibersociedad 2025) in Havana, Cuba. This integration reinforces LibreOffice’s crucial role in the digital transformation of Latin American communities, promoting open innovation, technological sovereignty, and collaboration between countries.

The event will take place at the iconic Hotel Nacional de Cuba and will feature an intense program of lectures, panels, and workshops dedicated to LibreOffice, its communities, and institutional adoption initiatives.

🌍 A meeting that connects communities and governments

The opening ceremony will pay tribute to Cuban volunteer Carlos Parra, who passed away in 2022.

It was thanks to his dedication, articulation, and love for the community that the opportunity arose to hold the Latin American LibreOffice Congress in Cuba—a dream he helped make possible.

Carlos was the link between the Cuban community and The Document Foundation, and his contribution will remain as a legacy of collaboration and commitment to digital freedom.

During the event, Adlair Cerecedo-Méndez will present the experience of Office GobMX, the LibreOffice-based suite developed by the Mexican government. Other highlights include the panel “LibreOffice is freedom,” with Olivier Hallot, founding member of The Document Foundation and Documentation Coordinator for the LibreOffice Project, as well as discussions on government migration, extensions, technical quality, and the rebirth of the Cuban community — with participation from Gustavo Pacheco (Brazil), Mauricio Baeza (Mexico), and Xisco Faulí (Spain).

🧑‍🏫 Training and academic innovation

At the University of Information Sciences (UCI), the event will open space for young people and educators with the “LibreOffice and Universities” lab, led by Gustavo Pacheco, and the “Creating my first extension” workshop, conducted by Mauricio Baeza — a practical opportunity for those who want to learn how to expand LibreOffice and contribute technically to the project.

💬 Regional meetings and plans for 2026

The congress will close with meetings between Latin American members of the LibreOffice community, addressing:

  • the 2026 events calendar (including esLibre and the next Latin American Congress);
  • academic projects such as Google Summer of Code and Outreachy;
  • and new partnerships with other free software communities, such as GNOME Latam.

These sessions reflect the collective commitment to strengthening collaboration between countries and consolidating a more active presence for Latin America within The Document Foundation.

💪 An event driven by volunteers

The Congreso Latinoamericano de LibreOffice is an event organized entirely by volunteers, who dedicate their time, energy, and knowledge to make this initiative possible. Our special recognition and thanks go to Daniel Rodriguez (Argentina), Gastón Hannay (Uruguay), Omar Correa (Cuba), Gustavo Pacheco (Brazil), and Juan González (Mexico), who have been working tirelessly to make every detail of this edition possible.

We also express our sincere gratitude to the University of Computer Sciences (UCI) and the Cibersociedad 2025 organization for opening their doors and sharing their infrastructure—including rooms, laboratories, and technical support—making it possible to hold the Latin American LibreOffice Congress within their event.

This partnership reinforces the spirit of academic collaboration and the joint commitment to digital transformation in Latin America.

The Document Foundation (TDF), in its mission to promote LibreOffice and strengthen its global community, supports and sponsors these activities, enabling the participation of volunteers from different countries.

This support allows members of the Latin American community to meet in person, exchange experiences, and strengthen the international collaboration that sustains the project.

🌎 Freedom, collaboration, and the future

The LibreOffice Latin American Congress in Cuba is more than a technical event—it is a reunion of the Latin American community, united by ideals of freedom, solidarity, and technological sovereignty.

LibreOffice is, above all, a project made by people, for people. And this congress is living proof that collaboration can cross borders, languages, and generations.

📅 Date: October 6-9, 2025

📍 Location: Hotel Nacional de Cuba – Havana

🌐 More information: latam.conference.libreoffice.org

🎉 The Getting Started Guide 25.2 is here! 🚀

The LibreOffice Documentation Team is excited to announce the release of the brand new Getting Started Guide 25.2, updated with all the latest features of LibreOffice 25.2!

Whether you’re brand new to LibreOffice or just want a fast track to mastering its tools, this guide is your perfect starting point. Inside, you’ll find easy-to-follow introductions to:

📝 Writer (word processing)
📊 Calc (spreadsheets)
📽️ Impress (presentations)
🎨 Draw (vector graphics)
🧮 Math (formula editor)
📚 Base (database management)

This guide is part of our growing collection of documentation — lovingly written, edited, and reviewed by a global team of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about open-source software and digital freedom.

👏 The 25.2 update was coordinated by Dione Maddern, with valuable contributions from Peter Schofield, Jean Weber, Ed Olson, Karen Burke, B. Antonio F., and Olivier Hallot. A huge thanks to everyone involved!

📥 Ready to dive in? Download the guide for free from the Documentation website or check it out on the Bookshelf Project.

📣 The New LibreOffice 25.2 User Guides Are Here!

The LibreOffice community has great news: the Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, and Math User Guides are now available for version 25.2! 🎉

Yes, you read that right! With every new LibreOffice release, our Documentation Team works hard to keep up — and this time, we’ve shortened the gap between the software launch and the guides’ publication even more.

📚 These user guides are the ultimate reference for anyone using LibreOffice — whether at home, at work, or at school. From spreadsheets to presentations, from text documents to complex equations: it’s all covered, clearly and accessibly.

🙌 The work is 100% community-driven! Jean Weber led the Writer guide, Peter Schofield coordinated the Impress, Draw, and Math guides, and Olivier Hallot headed the Calc guide.

Big thanks also to Dione Maddern, Celia Palacios, Ed Olson, B. Antonio F., Mike Kaganski, and Vasudev Narayanan for their valuable contributions.

💡 Each new edition is more than just an update — it’s a chance to improve clarity, add the latest features, and deliver the best experience possible for end users. These guides complement the built-in LibreOffice Help and are perfect for deepening your knowledge.

📥 The guides are available now for free download in PDF, ODT (OpenDocument format), and HTML (for online reading). And soon, you’ll be able to order printed copies via LuLu Inc. 😉

🔗 Get your guides now:

Artwork: Eliane Domingos

Brazilian LibreOffice Community shines at FLISOL Brasilia 2025

FLISOL Brasilia 2025

On April 26, 2025, the Estácio University Center in Brasília – Taguatinga-DF Unit, was the stage for a remarkable moment in the promotion of technological freedom in Brazil. The LibreOffice community actively participated in FLISOL – the Latin American Free Software Installation Festival – with presentations and strong interactions with the public.

More than just an event, FLISOL was a symbol of resistance, collective construction and promotion of the use of open source tools. And LibreOffice, as the largest and most complete open source office suite in the world, was at the center of these discussions.

Lectures empowering digital sovereignty

Activist and member of The Document Foundation, Eliane Domingos, presented the topic “LibreOffice and Digital Independence”, emphasizing the urgent need for independence in the use of software. “To depend on proprietary platforms is to give up control over your own data,” she said. The talk provided an in-depth reflection on technological sovereignty, the risks of digital monopolies and the importance of conscious choices.

Henderson Matsuura presented the new features in LibreOffice 25.2, connecting the suite’s technical advances with the community spirit that sustains its development. With each version, LibreOffice reiterates this commitment to accessibility, quality and freedom – essential characteristics for any society wishing to move towards digital independence.

A collective construction experience

During the event, it was possible to talk to students, educators, enthusiasts and technology professionals about the transformative role of free software in education, public service and everyday life. The genuine interest of the audience shows that there is a growing demand for open, sustainable and transparent solutions.

We would like to express our deepest thanks to Professor Josyane Lannes, Coordinator of the IT courses at the Estácio University Center in Brasília, for hosting FLISOL on her premises and enthusiastically supporting the cause of free software.

Our thanks also go to LibreOffice community member Henderson Matsuura, one of the organizers of FLISOL in Brasilia, who not only gave an excellent talk, but also made room in the program for the promotion of LibreOffice, demonstrating his commitment and dedication to spreading free knowledge.

Beyond software: a global movement

Promoting LibreOffice isn’t just about promoting a computer program. It’s defending people’s rights to access technology without barriers, to maintain control over their own files, and to study, modify and redistribute tools. It’s saying that the digital future needs to be plural, accessible and transparent.

The success of the LibreOffice community’s participation in FLISOL Brasilia 2025 shows that the open source software movement is more alive than ever. And that together we continue strong in our mission to build a more fair and free digital world.

Announcing the LibreOffice Calc Guide 24.8

Dione Maddern and The Documentation Team are proud to announce the immediate availability of the LibreOffice Calc Guide 24.8, an update of the existing Calc Guide 24.2 with enhancements taken from the current LibreOffice 24.8 Calc module.

Calc Guide 24.8

The book was reviewed for clarity, readability and content additions, notably the Calc database table referencing in formulas, removal of deprecated JavaScript debugger and refactoring of the Calc’s chart topic – in which the chapter on charts was split in two, one for the chart basics and the second for the chart types. Dione Maddern, Calc editor says:

I took on the challenge of compiling the Calc Guide because I wanted to learn about advanced editing and working with master documents. While I’ve previously worked on large documents in the engineering and insurance industries, documents were often compiled with clunky cut-and-paste techniques which created a lot of errors and labor-intensive rework. Working on the Calc Guide 24.8 was a great opportunity to expand my skills in LibreOffice and document production generally. It was also a wonderful opportunity to work with the LibreOffice Documentation Team. I had a great time working with such a fun and supportive team.

Special thanks to Ed Olson, Lisa Samy and Claire Wood for their review of the contents of the guide. And to B. Antonio F. for his throughout review of formatting the guide and by writing a set of macros, bundled in an LibreOffice extension that allows automatic and assisted fixing of images, tables , styles and more.

Dione Maddern

It was also a wonderful opportunity to work with the LibreOffice Documentation Team. I had a great time working with such a fun and supportive team. (Dione Maddern)

Ed Olson

It has been an honor to share my wordsmithing skills with the LibreOffice documentation team. Replacing verbose paragraphs in the Calc guides with simplified, minimalist text has been both challenging and rewarding. I look forward to continuing my work on other applications in the suite as new releases become available. (Ed Olson)

Lisa Samy

Joining the Calc Guide team marked my first time contributing to an open-source platform. My time working with other team members was both enriching, yet eye-opening to all the facets of document editing. As such, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the LibreOffice Community as a whole. (Lisa Samy)

B. Antonio F.

I accepted the challenge of creating mechanisms to harmonize he appearance of chapter text according to the chapter template established by the documentation team. It was an opportunity to delve deeper into macro programming and get to know the LibreOffice API better. SanityCheck macros allow you to correct formatting errors (based on styles), correctly adjust images, tables, and automatically apply descriptions for accessibility. With SanityCheck you can check documentation chapters in English, Spanish and Portuguese. (B. Antonio F.)

Claire Wood

I enjoyed working on the Calc Guide as it gave me the opportunity to work with a truly global team. The content also challenged my knowledge about spreadsheets. I was happy to develop my knowledge, getting new information and develop my strengths in LibreOffice. (Claire Wood)

You can download the LibreOffice Calc Guide 24.8 from the LibreOffice Bookshelf and the LibreOffice Documentation website.

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