CM to Inaugurate Free Software Meet ‘Swatantra’ on Dec. 20

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate Swatantra 2017, the two-day Triennial free software conference being organised by International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), an autonomous organisation under the Kerala government’s IT Department, at Mascot Hotel here at 11.30 am on Wednesday (December 20).
Thirty-six speakers from around the globe will lead various sessions at the event that would deliberate on various facets and implications of free and open source software. IT Secretary M. Sivasankar will deliver the welcome speech.
Karen Sandler, Director Software Freedom Conservancy and Ex- Director of GNOME Foundation, will be the chief guest at the function. She is known for her advocacy for free culture and free software, particularly for software transparency on medical devices.
Around 400 free software enthusiasts from the IT sector will attend the conference. It will discuss various topics in free software and free hardware, including animation and interactive media fields, role of free software in supporting persons with disability, privacy issues arising from new technology and community networks.
French computer artist, illustrator and trainer Timothee Giet, who has contributed to several free software projects, mainly the Krita drawing software, is among the key speakers of the conference. French digital artist, illustrator and founder of ‘Pepper & Carrot’ David Revoy will share his experience in one of the sessions. He uses free and open-source software on Linux for his works.
Francesco Siddi, Pipeline Technical Director and Multimedia Producer, Blender Institute, is another notable speaker. Siddi is a developer of web applications and film production tools and also a certified Blender Trainer. Todd Weaver, who is the founder and CEO of Purism and a promoter of free software for more than 20 years, will lead a session. His firm focuses on combining the philosophies of the Free Software movement with the hardware manufacturing process.
Another major speaker Davide Storti is a Programme Specialist in Communication and Information sector of UNESCO. Meanwhile, Benjamin Maco Hill, Assistant Professor in Communication, University of Washington is also a member of Free Software Foundation board of directors and adviser to the Wikimedia Foundation.