The Linux Foundation Extends Diversity and Education Initiatives with Blacks in Technology and Kids on Computers

LAKE TAHOE, Calif., – The Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit – March 29, 2016 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced two new community partnerships to increase diversity in technology and to extend technology education opportunities to the next-generation of open source developers and SysAdmins.

The partnerships include free and discounted passes to Linux Foundation events for members and volunteers of Blacks in Technology and Kids on Computers, as well as a hands-on workshop for children from the Kids on Computers program to conduct their first Linux installation. The Linux Foundation is also making a donation to each organization to advance their greater efforts to support diversity, education and access to technology. 

Blacks in Technology is a tech-focused community and media organization focused on increasing diversity in technology. It aims to increase visibility and participation in technology among people of African descent and to change the perception of this group through community focused activities, events and media. Kids on Computers establishes computer labs around the world where kids don’t have access to technology. It uses open source software to build and supply computers to eighteen computer labs throughout Mexico, India, Morocco, Nepal and Argentina. 

“Increasing diversity in technology and access to new technologies among children and traditionally underrepresented communities in our industry will result in better development and more innovation,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director of The Linux Foundation. “The more people from a diverse set of backgrounds working on technology, benefits all of us. We’re excited to partner with both Blacks in Technology and Kids on Computers and look forward to deepening these partnerships in new ways in the coming months and years.”

The Linux Foundation seeks to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented communities contributing to technology development through a variety of initiatives. Specific to its events, these initiatives include offering diversity scholarships to attend events, onsite childcare, mothers’ rooms, and enforcing a respectful code of conduct for attendees. The Linux Foundation recently announced a similar partnership with Women Who Code and a partnership with Goodwill to increase access to Linux training and certification to disadvantaged populations. It has also supported education initiatives such as Code.org and FreeGeek, among others.

“What some people may or may not know is that the idea for Blacks In Technology came to me when I attended a Linux conference in Columbus, Ohio. I was inspired by the open source community and wanted to bring that same sense of community, and establish an online global community for PoC in the technology industry. The Linux Foundation provides us an opportunity to further our efforts in providing resources to our members and helping us to “Stomp the Divide” by establishing a blueprint of world-class technical excellence and innovation. From its free training and education offerings to its ongoing support of key developers and open source projects, it represents openness and contribution,” said Greg Greenlee, Founder of Blacks in Technology. “Our partnership with The Linux Foundation will open new doors for our members and give us an opportunity to make an important contribution to the Linux and open source communities.”

“Linux provides a free and open source platform for our kids to learn about technology. This partnership with The Linux Foundation aligns with our mission perfectly and will allow us to impact the lives of even more kids,” said Avni Khatri, Kids on Computers President. “Partnerships like this are what keep the technology field growing and moving in new directions. We thank The Linux Foundation for helping to bring technology to underprivileged kids!

The Linux Foundation open source events where free passes and discounts are available include:

• Open Networking Summit (March 14-17, Santa Clara, CA)
• Embedded Linux Conference + OpenIoT Summit (April 4-6, San Diego, CA)
• Vault (April 20-21, Raleigh, NC)
• Apache: Big Data North America (May 9-12, Vancouver, BC)
• ApacheCon North America (May 11-13, Vancouver, BC)
• MesosCon (June 1-2, Denver, CO)
• LinuxCon + ContainerCon North America (August 22-24, Toronto, ON)
• LinuxCon + ContainerCon Europe (October 4-6, Berlin, Germany)
• Embedded Linux Conference Europe (October 6-7, Berlin, Germany).

The Linux Foundation supports a variety of community initiatives and organizations to help advance like-minded organizations that protect and advance free and open source software; increase diversity in technology and the open source community; support career development opportunities for the next generation of IT managers and developers, regardless of background or circumstances; and to empower open source professionals to take on leadership opportunities and advance the most important technologies of our time.

For more information about Linux Foundation events, including codes of conduct and diversity scholarships, please visit: http://events.linuxfoundation.org/.

About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

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