Ada Initiative
Encyclopedia
The Ada Initiative is a non-profit organization that seeks to increase women's participation in the free culture movement
, open source technology and culture. Founded in 2011 by Linux kernel
developer and open source advocate Valerie Aurora and open source developer and fellow advocate Mary Gardiner, the organization is named for Ada Lovelace
, the "world's first computer programmer."
developer at Red Hat
and with Gardiner, the founder of AussieChix, the largest open source organization for women in Australia, would found the Ada Initiative. The organization is named after Ada Lovelace
, who worked with Charles Babbage
and is called the world's first computer programmer.
. In the summer of 2011 the Ada Initiative launched a seed funding campaign to raise start-up funds with a goal of contributions from 100 funders. The campaign wrapped up six days before its planned deadline. The organization's first major sponsor was Linux Australia
, who provides support alongside Puppet Labs, DreamHost
, The Mail Archive and Google
. Aurora and Gardiner are the only staff members, serving full-time roles in the organization.
of six who oversee its management. The current board includes both Aurora and Gardiner, Rachel Chalmers of The 451 Group, Denise Paolucci of Dreamwidth Studios, Sue Gardner
of the Wikimedia Foundation and Matt Zimmerman
of Singly
. An advisory board of 19 also supports the organization, providing input about ideas and projects.
policies for conferences. The Ada Initiative works with open source conference organizers to form and communicate policies to make conferences safer and more inviting for women and others. They have worked with conferences such as Ubuntu Developer Summits and all Linux Foundation
events, including LinuxCon
, all of which have adopted policies based on Ada Initiative's work.
The Ada Initiative plans to work to create policy framework for developing a Women in Open Source Scholarship and programming guides for outreach projects and events. The organization also plans to host workshops and training. These workshops and programs will come by way of Allies Workshops for male and institutional supporters and "First Patch Week" which encourages women's participation in FOSS
through mentoring.
By encouraging women's participation in open source culture, the Ada Initiative seeks to encourage women to engage in open source professionally and full-time, not just as volunteers. The organization also seeks to research women's roles and experiences in open source, focusing on bringing research up to date from the past FLOSSPOLS survey. Research methodology and a new survey were produced in 2011 and a repeat of the survey will take place at the end of two years, with hopes to provide a standard resource for the industry. The initial survey invited participants of any gender and inquired about subjects regarding open source and free software, hardware, open mapping, and other related open source areas, as well as free culture such as Creative Commons
, online activism, mashup
, maker
, hacker spaces and related communities.
Free Culture movement
The free culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify creative works in the form of free content by using the Internet and other forms of media....
, open source technology and culture. Founded in 2011 by Linux kernel
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
developer and open source advocate Valerie Aurora and open source developer and fellow advocate Mary Gardiner, the organization is named for Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine...
, the "world's first computer programmer."
History
In 2010, after the sexual assault of Noirin Shirley at ApacheCon 2010, Valerie Aurora, already an activist for women in open source, joined Mary Gardiner and members of Geek Feminism to develop anti-harassment policies for conferences. Aurora would go on to quit her job as a Linux kernelLinux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
developer at Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
and with Gardiner, the founder of AussieChix, the largest open source organization for women in Australia, would found the Ada Initiative. The organization is named after Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine...
, who worked with Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
and is called the world's first computer programmer.
Administration
All services provided by the Ada Initiative are pro bonoPro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
. In the summer of 2011 the Ada Initiative launched a seed funding campaign to raise start-up funds with a goal of contributions from 100 funders. The campaign wrapped up six days before its planned deadline. The organization's first major sponsor was Linux Australia
Linux Australia
Linux Australia is the national, Australian Linux organisation. It was founded in 1997 and formally incorporated in New South Wales as a non-profit organisation in 1999. Linux Australia aims to represent the Australian Linux community and to support and collaborate with the Linux User Groups in...
, who provides support alongside Puppet Labs, DreamHost
DreamHost
DreamHost is a Los Angeles-based web hosting provider and domain name registrar. It is the web hosting branch of New Dream Network, LLC, founded in 1996 by Dallas Bethune, Josh Jones, Michael Rodriguez and Sage Weil, undergraduate students at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and...
, The Mail Archive and Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. Aurora and Gardiner are the only staff members, serving full-time roles in the organization.
Board & advisory board
The Ada Initiative is governed by a board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of six who oversee its management. The current board includes both Aurora and Gardiner, Rachel Chalmers of The 451 Group, Denise Paolucci of Dreamwidth Studios, Sue Gardner
Sue Gardner
Sue Gardner is the current Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation in San Francisco, and previous director of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's website and online news outlets.- Life and journalism career :...
of the Wikimedia Foundation and Matt Zimmerman
Matt Zimmerman (Technologist)
Matt Zimmerman is a technologist and free software and open source developer. Zimmerman has been working for Canonical Ltd. as the technical leader of the Ubuntu project, chairman of the Ubuntu technical board and CTO of the project. At Canonical, Zimmerman coordinated technological decisions...
of Singly
Singly
Singly is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.-Population:...
. An advisory board of 19 also supports the organization, providing input about ideas and projects.
Mission
Initiatives
One of the first initiatives developed by the Ada Initiative was developing anti-harassmentHarassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
policies for conferences. The Ada Initiative works with open source conference organizers to form and communicate policies to make conferences safer and more inviting for women and others. They have worked with conferences such as Ubuntu Developer Summits and all Linux Foundation
Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a non-profit technology consortium chartered to foster the growth of Linux.Founded in 2007 by the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group , the Linux Foundation sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading...
events, including LinuxCon
LinuxCon
LinuxCon is an annual convention organized in North America each year since 2009 by the Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation also organize LinuxCon events in other continents, to date Japan and Brazil....
, all of which have adopted policies based on Ada Initiative's work.
The Ada Initiative plans to work to create policy framework for developing a Women in Open Source Scholarship and programming guides for outreach projects and events. The organization also plans to host workshops and training. These workshops and programs will come by way of Allies Workshops for male and institutional supporters and "First Patch Week" which encourages women's participation in FOSS
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
through mentoring.
By encouraging women's participation in open source culture, the Ada Initiative seeks to encourage women to engage in open source professionally and full-time, not just as volunteers. The organization also seeks to research women's roles and experiences in open source, focusing on bringing research up to date from the past FLOSSPOLS survey. Research methodology and a new survey were produced in 2011 and a repeat of the survey will take place at the end of two years, with hopes to provide a standard resource for the industry. The initial survey invited participants of any gender and inquired about subjects regarding open source and free software, hardware, open mapping, and other related open source areas, as well as free culture such as Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
, online activism, mashup
Mashup (digital)
A digital mashup usually is in reference to:1. Digital media content containing any or all of text, graphics, audio, video and animation drawn from pre-existing sources, to create a new derivative work...
, maker
Maker Faire
Maker Faire is an event created by Make magazine to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself mindset".-Past events:The first was held April 22 – 23, 2006, at the San Mateo Fairgrounds...
, hacker spaces and related communities.
External links
- Census, March 2011: Demographic breakdown of responses from the Ada Initiative.