The first International Conference on Free Software, Technological Literacy and Solidarity Economy took place in Bogotá (Colombia) from 13th to 15th of November. More than 80 speakers and 600 assistants attended at the the Tequendama Hotel, a traditional meeting point in the city.

Bogotá, a city in the clouds

I’ve lived in Amsterdam for more than a year; in Amsterdam life takes place either a few metres above or a few meters below sea level. So getting used to Bogotá, at an altitude of 2.640 metres, takes a couple of days.

Bolívar Square with the Montserrat mountain in the background. (c) David Jacovkis, CC-by-sa 2.0

Even talking for more than a minute can leave you breathless, something you’d prefer not to happen in the middle of your talk. Fortunately we landed on Sunday and the conference started until Tuesday morning, which gave most of us time to get used to the general lack of oxygen.

Getting used to an altitude of 2.640 metres takes a couple of days

The conference

The organiser and main promoter of the conference was the Colombian government through DanSocial, a department that was recently created to promote solidarity economy. The Spanish region of Extremadura, known for its commitment to free software in many areas, also played an important role both in the organisation of the event and in the programme.

The opening session attended by around 400 was held in the main room of the hotel. High profile speakers of the opening session were the Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, and the Extremenian ex-president Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra. Unfortunately neither of them could attend, and this did reduce the political impact of the event. However, both Colombian and Extremenian institutions were well represented: María del Rosario Guerra, Minister of Communications of Colombia, and Rosemberg Pabón Pabón, Director of DanSocial, hosted the session. The director of the Extremenian Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Luis Millán Vázquez de Miguel, and Carlos Castro, General Director of the Department of Telecommunications of Extremadura presented the experience of their project: ongoing work over the last 10 years to guarantee universal access to information society in their region, where free software has played a central role.

The first morning saw heated debate between the panel and the audience, specially after the Communications Minister defended software patents as a way of helping young entrepreneurs get financial support for their projects. Some speakers from the floor demanded better access infrastructure for rural areas, and a majority demanded stronger commitment from the government.

Rosemberg Pabón Pabón, Director of DanSocial, presents the Minister of Communications, María del Rosario Guerra. (c) David Jacovkis, CC-by-sa 2.0

An enriching blend

In the three days that followed, talks and panels were divided into three themes: free software, technological development and solidarity sector. Over 60 sessions covered topics ranging from models for social and cooperative banking, voice over IP, cooperative production of goods and success stories about free software in education institutions.

Speakers and attendees ranged from students, small entrepreneurs to civil servants. Public companies, traditional companies like banks or insurances and new clusters of technological SMEs were also represented. Interaction was easy and constructive, discussion very frequent. In the audience the technically oriented were a majority, but for some it was their first contact with free software. Many others are active supporters, part of a growing community that is active in organising workshops, install parties and support sessions.