Evening,
Praveen has posted the update on VTU FLOSS Campaigners visit to Belgaum. http://bangalore.gnu.org.in/?VTU-FLOSS_Campaign-status
Current status of the Petition
On August 6th Saturday we got an apponitment to meet the VC at VTU Campus in Belgaum. We (Thejesh , Ramakrishna, Vivek and myself - Praveen A) met at Coffee Day at MG Road on 4th Evening and discussed the plans and presantation. We left for Belgaum on 5th Evening and reached there by 6th Morning. We preapared the presantation and by afternoon we reached the VTU campus. To our great disappointement the VC was not there. He didn't keep his appointment. So we had to give the petition to the Registrar and comeback (We were very angry about the way VC responed and it even becam grave when registar told us that every weekend he is in Bangalore ! We had clearly mentioned that we are coming from bangalore and if he is in bangalore every week, then Why did he give an appointment at Belgaum ? He might have thought that we won't go thus far to meet him ! Anyway we are not gonna let it go. We are trying to meet him in bangalore. If w cannot go some one else will be ready. He will have to listen to us one day.)
First, nothing would be achieved with rage, change is a slow process, we should take this experience as good lesson.
It would be better if we use the mailing-list for the further discussion. --arky
Please start a discuss on future plan of action.
Maybe we can try giving presentations to the students and the teachers on why free software is important in education and how it can help their career. I am not 100% sure, but the course content of the universities is decided by a council of teachers every year. The VC has to approve their recommendations. Another trick that I had learned from an NGO-activist was to create awareness about the issue through mainstream newspaper articles and "letter to the editor".
On Mon, 2005-08-08 at 10:19 +0530, Raj Shekhar wrote:
Maybe we can try giving presentations to the students and the teachers on why free software is important in education and how it can help their career. I am not 100% sure, but the course content of the universities is decided by a council of teachers every year. The VC has to approve their recommendations. Another trick that I had learned from an NGO-activist was to create awareness about the issue through mainstream newspaper articles and "letter to the editor".
That gives us two action points.
1) Awareness programs to teachers/lectuers.
2) Media Persons involvements.
I think Sofia Tippoo of Times of India and J.Murali & Anand Parthasarthy of Hindu are regular tech new contributors. We need to connect with them.
Cheers