Issue #4
November, 2005
First General Assembly
FSFLA will hold its first General Assembly during the Fifth Regional Free Software Convention, which take place in Rosario, Argentina between November 20th and 23rd. This Assembly will elect FSFLA's initial Administrative and Executive committees, and will be the starting point for FSFLA's activities.
All current members of FSFLA's founding team will assist to the assembly: Fernanda Weiden, Alexandre Oliva, Mario Bonilla, Enrique Chaparro, Federico Heinz, Juan José Ciarlante and Beatriz Busaniche.
FSFLA's formal introduction to the public will take place on Wednesday, November 23rd at 5:00pm in the main auditorium of the Patio de la Madera Convention Centre in Rosario, Argentina. These activities will also be attended by Georg Greve, president of FSFLA's sister organization FSF Europe.
After the first General Assembly and FSFLA's formal introduction, the organization will begin the process of registration with the local authorities. Meanwhile, the team continues working on the legal statutes, drafts of which are currently being looked at by lawyers and accountants specialized on NGOs.
Work Teams
Two work teams are in the process of formation.
People who are interested in participating in the translation team should please get in contact with info at fsfla.org with the string "[traductores]" in the Subject line. Participation in this team requires fluency in at least two of FSFLA's working languages: Portuguese, Spanish and English.
FSFLA is also calling for people who would like to volunteer in the development of the organization's web site. Those who are interested to contribute in the areas of design, content, administration, etc, should please get in contact with info at fsfla.org with the string "[sitio]" in the Subject line.
Events
FSFLA will participate in the Fifth Regional Free Software Convention in Rosario, Argentina. Between November 20th and 23rd, Alexandre Oliva, Federico Heinz, Fernanda Weiden, Mario Bonilla, Juan José Ciarlante, Enrique Chaparro y Beatriz Busaniche will give talks and conferences. Richard M. Stallman, president of the FSF, will hold a video conference on Sunday, November 20th at 7:00pm. Georg F. Greve, president of the FSFE, will deliver a keynote speech on Monday 21st, at 7:00pm. The Convention's program can be visited at the event website.
During November, Federico Heinz and Beatriz Busaniche will participate of various activities promoting the book "¿Un mundo patentado? La privatización de la vida y el conocimiento", published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which contains articles by Richard M. Stallman, James Boyle, Pat Mooney and others. Both members of FSFLA's founding team will attend events in Buenos Aires and La Plata. On November 2nd, Beatriz Busaniche will travel to the Summit of the Peoples in Mar del Plata, while Federico Heinz will participate in the events planned for November 7th in Córdoba and November 14th in Montevideo, Uruguay. Two events are planned also for Rosario, on November 22nd and 23rd. The full agenda of the events can be found here.
Between November 6th and 16th Beatriz Busaniche will travel to the Dominican Republic on an invitation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation's Office for Central American and the Caribbean in México, in order to work with different social organizations in Central America, and to give talk on Free Software, issues of access to knowledge, copyrights, patents, and to continue the promotion of the book "¿Un mundo patentado? La privatización de la vida y el conocimiento", which can be downloaded freely from here.
From November 27th to December 3rd, Federico Heinz will visit México, where he will participate in activities to promote Free Software together with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and several social organizations in the region.