Pia Waugh wrote:
Hi all,
The Software Freedom International Board will be aiming for United Nations recognition of Software Freedom Day as a day of international importance for 2008. We wanted to let you all know so that you can try extra hard to keep track of the numbers and successes you have over Software Freedom Day, as it will all contribute to our case in helping the world understand the importance of Software Freedom.
If anyone would like to help us with this quest, please let us know, or even reply to this post with your thoughts. We feel strongly that Software Freedom underpins our basic human rights in a highly digital world, and so want to help the UN understand and promote software freedom as a way to maintain our human rights:
http://softwarefreedomday.org/SoftwareFreedom
There are already United Nations projects that are strongly supportive of FOSS such as IOSN (http://www.iosn.net/), UNESCO (http://www.unesco.org/cgi-bin/webworld/portal_freesoftware/cgi/page.cgi?d=1) and more, but SFD is as yet not a "Special Day" on their website (http://www.un.org/events/) nor is Software Freedom spoken about officially, something to work towards :)
Thank you all for your participation and in taking Software Freedom to your communities!
Cheers, Pia
My family is very lucky, I'd even say we are a family of privilege. We never go hungry, have two cars that are paid for, and live in a very nice 3 bedroom home. I work a very easy rewarding job and make enough money that my wife gets to stay home and raise our 10 year old son. I'm not bragging nor am I saying this because I feel guilty. I'm saying this because in this day and age we should all be exactly where I am today. We must ask ourselves why are we not? Wars, famine, and disease plague our world. Governments, multinational corporations and the industrial war complex play us like chess pieces each and every day. The dependents and demand for oil fuels the greed of these black organizations while polluting the very earth in which we all live. My good life could at any moment be stripped away from me as it has from so many people before me. In America we have a constitution that has been pulled out from under us by fake fear, the removal of civil rights, and an unjust unpopular war. I'm still not sure who are enemy's are. I feel my only recourse is to fight the only way I know how, supporting free movements, true and just as I can find them. We all have the right to be a part of this world not just the ones that can afford to participate. The free software movement is something I feel very strongly about. It gives those, who if certain people had their way, would normally be left out in the cold unable to contribute to society. This is a need that in this age of the digital economy is more important than ever, the playing field must be made level if we are to succeed as the human race. The future of my family depends on this, the future of your family depends on this. If taken lightly, ignored, or swept under the rug we will be forever under the shadow of oppression. If you think this is over the top remember men have become billionaires thanks to software, the richest of men are due to technology and the energy technology consumes. They will not go silently into the night , they will fight and fight to the death to hold on to the power they so crave.