I’m helping host the Berlin Mozilla Global Sprint next week – it’s a two day event, set aside to create the space to make it easy to volunteer on existing open source projects, aligned with the key Mozilla’s key Internet Health issues, outlined in their recently published Internet Health Report.
More specifically, these issues, taken from the report are:
WEB LITERACY: Projects that teach individuals skills to shape — and not simply consume — the web.
OPENNESS: Projects that keep the web transparent and understandable, allow anyone to invent online without asking permission, and encourage thoughtful sharing and reuse of data, code, and ideas.
PRIVACY & SECURITY: Projects that illuminate what happens to our personal data online, and how to make the Internet safer for all.
DIGITAL INCLUSION: Projects that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to access the Internet, and can use it to improve their lives and societies.
DECENTRALIZATION: Projects that protect and secure an Internet controlled by many, so that no one actor can own it or control it or switch it off.
Oh neat, these are things I’m totally in favour of. What projects are there?
There’s a load of open source projects you can hack on listed at Mozilla’s Pulse page. But to be honest, as long as you’re working on a project that addresses the issues listed above, you’ll be welcome.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, and heroic
I’m looking for some help on a project called the Planet Friendly Web Guide, which I was working on last earlier last year, as part of the Mozilla Open Web Leader programme.
I presented it at SustainableUX, and if you’re visually inclined, you can see the deck below I that I used:
I’m looking for help in a bunch of ways, but the simplest way to see where you can help is to visit this contributing page on the guide.
In particular, I’m looking for help building some fun little widgets to let people get a quick idea of the carbon footprint of the infrastructure used to serve sites they use or build, based on the general platform, packets, process model, to see if it’s easy to apply for someone who hasn’t been working on the project like I have.
Come, and hack on something nice
So, to recap, the deal is basically:
- turn up
- hack on a thing that largely agrees with the principles outlined in Mozilla’s 5 key issues
- be fed at lunchtime as a token of appreciation if you’re giving your time to make the web a better place
There’s a lot more about the whole idea of Mozilla’s global sprints on their dedicated site.
You can sign up here on the registration site.
Wait two whole days? In this weather?
It’s also totally cool to drop by for just part of the two day period – understandable if you just want to spend a bit of time on a project, before getting out and enjoying the wonderful Berlin summer weather.
You in?