Guys, how are you? I wish so.
I would like to share my discomfort with the pandemic situation that
has brought learning to everyone.
I will try not to be too long in the email, nor do I know if I can
participate in all possible questions; So consider it a provocation,
ignore it or go on thinking about the millions who are victims of
unemployment, hunger today and after the pandemic passes, we will have
much more. These direct collaborators of the project or just activist
and user, are people who cannot pay their internet bill in the next
month and probably could not follow the event online; And they either
left the project involuntarily to seek support.
Much effort has been made around thinking about making t-shirts and
other "gifts", this is important for an in-person event and a normal
situation. But the current scenario, I would like to suggest an effort
to support people who need to pay for their internet, for a meal or
even have the resources to continue producing Debian project shirts
and stickers locally.
I think the moment, if you allow it, is to have a grant / assistance
as a proposal for everyone who needs and wants to follow the next
DebConf online.
The total cost of previous DebConf (15,14,13) based on the final
reports[1] was over 100k USD; So considering that we can achieve this
fundraising goal, a $100 grant for those who apply, could help 1000
people. In developing countries this amount can help pay for up to 5
months of Internet (this is the case in Brazil for example), or
represents almost half the salary of an ordinary worker.
The logistics of sending shirts is as laborious as sending money; I
believe that today there are very quick solutions for money transfer;
But before discussing the legality and the process, it is important
that everyone knows the reality that the world is going through, we
are already millions of unemployed and many who are going through bad
times.
The scholarship request is optional, just as there could also be a
donation button to sponsor the scholarship. If a company sponsors a
Quota in this DebConf Online, the value of the Quota is helping to
help more people who directly or indirectly are in need of support.
Cheers,
Valessio Brito
[1] https://media.debconf.org/reports/