Free software pioneer Richard Stallman is visiting Aotearoa to give a series of talks between the 6 and 20 of August.

In the early days of the Indymedia movement, the first webserver set up to host an open-publishing Indymedia site was named 'Stallman', after the founder of the Free Software Foundation, and the GNU Project, Richard Stallman (known in hacker circles as RMS).

Although few people have heard of the GNU Project, many have now heard of an operating system generally called 'Linux', which combines the GNU software with the Linux kernel as a free alternative to Microshaft Windoze. As well as kick-starting the GNU Project, Stallman was also the main author of various 'copyleft' licenses, including the GNU Public License, under which Linus Torvalds licensed the Linux kernel. The GNU Free Documentation License, intended to protect the sharing of text written about free software projects, was adopted by Wikipedia at its inception to keep their content free.

Stallman has been a persistent advocate of free software (a more radical vision of open source), and freedom of information, and an outspoken critic of the privatization of information, opposing invasive DRM (Digital Rights Management), and other technologies that invade people's privacy and limit their basic freedoms.

Stallman is visiting Aotearoa between August 6th and 20th. He will be giving a series of talks in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. His itinerary is not 100% confirmed but it is getting closer. Simon Bridge is doing most of the co-ordination of the trip and is keeping an up-to-date calender of events.

Links: New Zealand Open Source Society | GNU Operating System