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Blonging for Freedom

This is Alexandre Oliva's personal blog, that does not necessarily represent the opinions held by FSFLA, LibrePlanet-BR, AdaCore or any other organization the author may be or may have been associated with, or even by myself, as of now or ever.

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I'm also lxo in GNU Jami, and I have a Tox ID.

This blog has different entries in Portuguese, Spanish, and perhaps in other languages.

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Back when I thought I'd get a slot at LibrePlanet to talk about the 0G project, and also speak as co-acting-president before perhaps handing an award to Richard, I thought I could do like Richard used to in those slots, and talk about relevant threats to Free Software, and publish an article about one of them. It was in this context that I set out to write A New Dawn for Software Freedom.

In the end, I did not get a speaking slot for 0G, the slot before the awards was not given to me because "it used to be Richard's not because he was president of the FSF, but because he's Richard", Richard got neither an award nor a speaking slot, and the article was not taken up by the FSF.

I guess this means I can publish it on my own, and mention it on IRC to virtual attendants at the first fully-online LibrePlanet.

As for the awards, Richard did get to present the award for the Advancement of Free Software to Jim Meyering, and I introduced the Outstanding New Free Software Contributor Clarissa Lima Borges. Thanks to Jim and Clarissa for choosing us. Congratulations to both, and to Let's Encrypt, the awarded Project of Social Benefit.

Here's the script of the speech I prepared to present the award to Clarissa, wearing a T-shirt in homage to Marielle Franco, with Clarissa's very excited encouragement:

The first fully online LibrePlanet ever, my first LibrePlanet as a host, the first ever Award for Outstanding New Free Software Contributor, to an individual who made their first significant contributions to Free Software last year.

But first, I wish to thank a former intern at the FSF, fellow Brazilian Valessio Brito. He designed this year's conference logo, among lots of beautiful artworks. He also got this T-shirt printed, in homage to another Brazilian, forever silenced on this day, two years ago, because of her gender, her skin color, her sexual orientation, and most of all, because she stood for human rights, for the oppressed, and she made a difference. What came to be her last speech ended with a quote: "I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."

All struggles for human rights are ultimately the same. We focus on digital shackles, and fight for software freedom for all users. Tonight, we recognize a fighter who newly joined us. The Outstanding New Free Software Contributor award goes to... Clarissa Lima Borges. Software engineering undergrad, at the University of Brasília. Empowered by an Outreachy intership. Welcomed by the GNOME community. Presented at GUADEC her first outstanding contributions in usability testing, a great way to make our software more inclusive for users, and to attract more diverse skills to its development. May she never be silenced, and may she keep on inspiring and making a difference for software freedom for a very long time. Please join me in welcoming, thanking, recognizing and congratulating Clarissa Lima Borges!

FTR, Marielle quoted Audre Lorde.

So blong...