Long Mail!

Hi,

Summary: this note is to inform and seek your help for FSF Stall at the WSF Event, manage the Media Centre, and give any helping hand (time and money). Richard Stallman and several other leaders of Free software from Europe, Latin America will be visiting.

We have a unique event to organize and witness in Mumbai this January, an international event called World Social Forum. Read more about it from http://www.wsfindia.org. Since the use of Swatantra Software (read free software) is concieved as an important social and ethical practice by the organizers of this event, which actually takes place every year at one place or other in the world, they have agreed to use only GNU/Linux in an important facility of the event called Media Centre. Media Centre is a place where all the journalists from all around the world who will visit the place to cover the event will be using the computers to send emails, exchange documents with their offices, compose articles etc.

This Media Centre will be using exclusively GNU/Linux. An important occassion for all of us to celebrate! But, at the same time a very crucial responsibility. There will be 160 PC running GNU/Linux. We dont want to accept any failures. All the journalists who will be coming there are NOT GNU/linux users. At most they know how to use a desktop. So we will provide them with the best of what GNU/Linux provides with best office software, and a few of the communication tools they need to work. These PC are required to be internationalized so that they could with a touch of a button could be able to use different keyboards. It is expected most people will be using French, Spanish, German and English. Several East Europian and Asian friends are also expected. We should install, test, and maintain all the machines before they are deployed for ten days, the actual event is from 16th to 22nd January. Media Centre should begin functioning from 15th afternoon to 23rd morning.

There is another facility where online translation of the speaches will be provided. The people who want translation will be using a radio, sets will be provided, and an FM station will be setup for this purpose. Even for this hitech event the organizers have chosen to use GNU/Linux. FSF Europe and others are helping this to happen.

FSF India Stall: At this stall we will have people telling and distributing information, and other goodies if any to the visitors. Richard Stallman will be there all the six days in Mumbai and he will be giving around 4-5 speaches and will be participating in several round table meetings.

Our repsonsibility is to provide enough volunteers who know GNU/linux Desktop well to help the journalists and other important visitors to use the computers at the Media Centre.

So, please try to volunteer to support this event and take up a responsibility. Since the media centre is required to be running 24 hours, we need to do a shift system so that we are always there to help.

We need to people who would like to help the users to do their tasks, such as sending mails, printing documents, saving files, making CDs when they leave, composing documents, spell checking, setting the language options, providing internet facility etc. The technical skills needed are not very high. More than general familiarity to GNU/linux is enough. The PC will have either GNOME or KDE installed. We also need some experts around to trouble shoot and fix installation related problems.

We need about 40 volunteeers in all, with about 15 people to be there during the day time on any day. Let me remind the dates are 15th to 22nd. Installation will team however will start the work by 12th morning. BTW, the venue is National Stock Exchange grounds Goregaon.

We cant get a better opportunity to show case to the world that Swatantra Software is mature and will meet the IT aspirations of people.

If you want to become a volunteer, please subscribe to the mailing list at http://mm.gnu.org.in/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wsf-volunteers This list will be used to coordinate and understand the skill profile of people so that we know what to expect from whom.

Those of you who cannot donate your time, please generously come forward to donate money to FSF India. Only cheques drawn in favour of FSF India will be accepted, no cash.

Let us join hands to make this event a big success.

Nagarjuna Director FSF india