The Linux Foundation Works with All Star Code to Help Close the Opportunity Gap for Diversity in Open Source Technology

SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, 2016 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit advancing professional open source management for mass collaboration, has announced it is working with All Star Code (ASC), a non-profit organization that prepares diverse young men with skills to obtain careers in technology, to provide opportunities for students to learn more about Linux and the open source community through industry exposure, training and events.

The Linux Foundation aims to increase diversity in technology and the open source community and to support career development opportunities for the next generation, particularly for those who have traditionally been underrepresented in these areas. To further this mission, The Linux Foundation donates training scholarships, offers complimentary event passes and other resources to students in an attempt to encourage technical innovation and collaboration.

According to independent research firm WestEd, 100 percent of college-age All Star Code alumni will attend college – two-thirds of which will be Top 50 Universities in the United States – and roughly 40 percent received full scholarships to their school of choice.

“When you empower a young entrepreneur they can transform their community. All Star Code is closing the gap in technology by educating a critically underserved group, black and Latino young men. We are proud to have the help of The Linux Foundation in providing transformative computer science education to our students,” said All Star Code Founder and Executive Director Christina Lewis Halpern.

The Linux Foundation will offer free passes and discounts to the following open source events:

·       LinuxCon + ContainerCon North America (August 22-24, Toronto, ON)

·       MesosCon Europe (August 31-September 1, Amsterdam)

·       LinuxCon + ContainerCon Europe (October 4-6, Berlin, Germany)

·       Embedded Linux Conference Europe (October 11-13, Berlin, Germany)

“Open source is the constructive proof that you can better your organization and yourself at the same time,” said The Linux Foundation’s Vice President of Marketing, Mark Hinkle. “We are working to provide opportunities and inspiration to students and give them access to resources — training, access to events and involvement in collaborative projects so they can enrich themselves and the open source community.”

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 and increase diversity in technology and the open source community. By working with organizations such as ASC, as well as others including Women Who Code and Goodwill, The Linux Foundation helps to achieve its goal of increasing diversity in technology and the open source community.

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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