Fellows unite UK environmentalists through "Green Bridge"
Environmentalists will be joined together by Free Software on March 31st when Manchester's "Big Green Festival" and Leicester's "Green Light Festival" are bridged by Free Software for participants to share thoughts and pictures between locations in real-time.
Dubbed the "Green Bridge", festival-goers at both locations will be in touch by text and imagestream powered using Free Software systems. Sam Tuke and Anna Morris will be at the Manchester site providing information and demonstrations of freedom-respecting software, while FSFE Fellows will be connecting environmentalists on the other side from a booth in Leicester.
"The ability to communicate without restrictions in a private and trustworthy way is very important to the green movement, and is something that only Free Software can provide," said Mr Tuke, FSFE's UK Coordinator. "Many environmentalists understand the importance of freedom, especially when it comes to fighting for political issues."
"Free Software allows us to learn about the tools we use, and adapt them to the needs of particular projects. Free Software communities are less hierarchical, grow organically, and are perfectly suited to supporting green movements," said Ms Morris, a member of the FSFE and Deputy Coordinator of its Manchester Fellowship group.
The "Green Bridge" serves as a demonstration of how Free Software can provide reliable services such as social networking and image sharing. Much like the future of our natural environment, Free Software is in the hands of communities, and represents viable options to replace non-Free and proprietary alternatives like Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Proprietary software does not maintain a freely-accessible codebase, and by its centralised nature is more susceptible to security threats and beurocratic control. Free Software provides powerful alternatives for environmental and freedom loving activists around the world.