[Linux-aus] The Ada Initiative

[Peter Lieverdink]

The Linux Australia council will be supporting the Ada Initiative with a $5k donation. We consider the issue of under-representation of women in open source to be very real and very much a problem, and thus we consider this to be a worthy cause. It is clear from the responses to this thread that there are many in the community who feel as strongly on this issue as we do.

We would like to  at this point that the Ada Initiative had already agreed to provide a summary report of how it has used the donation prior to our finalising our decision to make the donation. Additionally, the president and vice-president had in-depth conversations with the Ada Initiative founders, which gave us the confidence that the donation would be well used. The founders and their respective track records are well known both to us and to the community.

Please note that this donation is not a grant. Firstly, it has been freely offered by the Linux Australia council as a way of supporting a cause that is relevant to the community; secondly, it is a charitable donation to a (soon to be official) not-for-profit organisation, not to a private individual.

In the near future, we will discuss whether Linux Australia should have a donation policy and, if so, what it should look like.

John Ferlito
Alice Boxhall
Peter Lieverdink
Joshua Hesketh
Michael Carden
Kelly Yeoh
(Mary Gardiner has abstained from this decision due to a potential conflict of interest.)