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De Linuxtour

Article by Victor Ayala G. - Published in [El Nuevo Diario], Managua, Nicaragua

It's a privilege to be an Ubuntu Member

The community of Linux users and developers is growing in Nicaragua. Every day there are forums, web sites, new users, and they work organizing events and promoting free software. It's an admirable work as they donate their time and work as volunteers.

Their sole purpose is to show the Nicaraguans these free tools and to struggle to become better every day.

In this context, the community has their own procedures in order to and recognize the hard work of their members. Recently, Norman García Aguilar was accepted as an Ubuntu Member.

As of today, only two Nicaraguans are Ubuntu Members: Norman and Leandro Gómez (founder of the Nicaraguan Ubuntu Team and now president of the Nicaraguan GNU/Linux Users Group). Norman is studying his fifth year of Telecommunications.

Q: Norman, what does it mean to be an Ubuntu Member?

A: Besides being a privilege and a recognition for your work, it's a commitment. You have to be more involved with the global Ubuntu community and you're committed to do more work on promoting and advocating Free and Open Source Software.

Q: How was the approval process?

A: The regional LoCo Council meets every week to choose new members of the community. There you have the opportunity to introduce yourself and show your contributions to the community.

They read your personal wiki page in the Ubuntu web site, where all your information is, the contributions you made to the community and your future plans.

Then, the LoCo Council members ask you questions about the what they read on your web page. Afterwards, each council member cast their vote and if the majority of the members votes in favor, you're approved as an official member.

Q: What did you have to do in order to be elected as an official member?

A: I had to talk about my involvement in the local free software community. From the beginning as coordinator of national, Latin American and international events, and my appearances in the local media, representing the community. Also giving talks in several events.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: The community is working right now in the organization of the Ubuntu Translation Sprint, an event to translate the OS from English to Spanish and a second event called Bug Jam, that consists in reporting as much bugs as possible to the Ubuntu developers. We are continuing with the Linux Tour events (www.linuxtour.org) and we are planning the organization of the Software Freedom Day 2008 in Nicaragua, on September 20.

Q: What's the benefit of being an Ubuntu Member?

A: (Laughs). It's not the first time someone asks me that. To begin with, the pride of being an official member of such prestigious community. You have the right to an @ubuntu.com e-mail account and your blog is syndicated in the Planet Ubuntu. That means that people from all over the world read your posts and you have the opportunity to get to know people from free software movements from many countries.