[EdLUG] Public Engagement and Political Lobbying

[Mike Edwards]

Hi Tai,

Thanks for all the info and your thoughts. I have also often wondered what the short-term and long-term capacity of Edinburgh or Glasgow, and Scotland as a whole, is for sporting big open source projects.

I wonder what the situation is!

Best wishes,

Mike

On 11 Mar 2015 21:00, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi Mike
>
> My 2c for your penny:
>
>
>
> I was talking to Jan at the last meetup and asking about how install days work(ed). This kind of activity is in my planning pipeline, and I'm thinking of a couple of other events/activities that could possibly be explored to bring Linux to the wider public's awareness.... I am of also looking at starting some talk series focused at new users of Linux, the first coupe of which I may cover myself, and trying to get the visibility to the public and students, which are a prime demographic for pulling change in.
>
>
>
> As for lobbying the Parliament, I personally wouldn't know how to to go about this. Maybe other members might have some experience in drafting and implementing a plan of action?
>
> One question I ponder is how to make an argument not only that the need is present, but also that there are sufficient experienced contractors in Scotland to pull it off, and what kinds of costs we're looking at... Overcoming initial base concerns and reticence in essence.
>
> I'm no project manager, sales pitcher or lobbyist, so I can't even say if this concern is even relevant. That said, Munich was a success from a visibility front, but it was long and drawn out, and was a local municipality, not an entire state; and someone has to support the effort on a technical front...
>
> It would be fantastic if Scotland were the first state to go full-on Open Source Free Software though!
>
>
>
> Tai
>
> ===
> Tai Kedzierski
>
> IT Services Specialist
> http://helpuse.com
> +44 (0) 7526 963 612 (portable GB)
>
>   I use www.libreoffice.org
>
> "Open Source Free Software is a matter of liberty, not price."
> https://bitly.com/1gXkUcc
>
>
> On 11 March 2015 at 14:24, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm wondering if there are any (what I'm calling) public engagement events - install days/talks etc - planned at the moment?
>>
>> Also, is there any kind of lobbying at the local, regional or national (Scottish Parliament) level going on? If so, I'd be interested to know what is going on and how much progress is bring made.
>>
>> What with the Snowden revelations and austerity etc - and with stories like Munich to turn to - the environment "should ", I would have thought, be ripe for interest at user and political levels?
>>
>> I look forward to receiving any info folks might have.
>>
>> Best, Mike
>>
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>> EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk
>> https://lists.edlug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/edlug
>>
>
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