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Press Release
PRESS ADVISORY
Contact:
Geeks and Nonprofits Gather at Penguin Days to Make Better Software and the World a Better Place Portland, Oregon, September 7, 2005 – Software developers, activists,and nonprofits will meet at Penguin Day Portland on October 15, 2005 to demystify open source software for social change. The day-long Penguin Day explore open source software in plain language, build networks among nonprofits technology users, and help socially-minded ‘geeks’ find ways to support nonprofit organizations. Locally organized, Penguin Days have been held to date in Philadelphia, London, UK; Toronto, Canada, New Yok City, Chicago, and San Francisco. Katrin Verclas of Aspiration which has been organizing Penguin Days in this growing movement, says, “Penguin Days are a concerted effort to introduce both non-profits and tech providers and developers to each other to look at what kinds of software applications are available and what’s missing for nonprofits.” Penguin Days challenge software developers to provide flexible and appropriate open source solutions for nonprofit mission-critical applications and empower nonprofits to better communicate their needs and serve as active partners in the use of open source technology for nonprofits. The ultimate goal of Penguin Days is to make open-source software available to non-profit organizations who are in need of specific, often expensive or inflexible programs to manage volunteers, fundraise, or mobilize constituents in campaigns. Open source software can be freely distributed and modified by organizations to suit their specific needs. “What non-profits do is often unique. Software companies increasingly target them in terms of designing software to help with fundraising or activism but often at a steep price or lock-in into specific processes and products,” says Verclas. Penguin Days build community, transfer skills and knowledge, and inject a sense of play into a serious subject. The events often feature matchmaking “speed geeks” to bring programmers and organizations together to change the world one computer chip at a time. “There’s a growing group of programmers who are really interested in making their skills and technical knowledge available for a cause,” organizers say. The Penguin is a humorous symbol adopted in the early days of Linux as the mascot of this growing software movement. Upcoming Penguin Days include San Antonio and Austin, Texas and Montreal, Canada, in November 2005 More information on Penguin Days is at: http://www.penguinday.org. Penguin Days are unerwritten by local sponsors and IBM Corporation.
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