Have you ever felt that you had enough power to change someone behaviour or just his/her perception of the world?
WHY US?
There are 8 billions people in the world, so you may wonder why we think it should be us to achieve this goal. Of course this task can't be carried by a small part of population only. But to us we can go ahead and lead the way. The reason is that developers, web designers and people who work in the software development have access to the most powerful tools in nowadays world: a high education and great connections between each other. These two features combined make people in the IT a fortunate generation, capable of being an example for the others and which have the responsibility to encourage new social behaviours.
HOW CAN WE REACH THIS GOAL?
It might be surprising, but the answer is simple: by keep doing what you're good at. Creating software, responsibly. Coding and all the processes necessary to build up new tools are far away from being a mere sequence of actions. It's not just all about skills and you, who work in this field, know this better than everyone else. Stop and think about your projects for a while. We bet that even when you had to deal with the smallest one you did not put a “brick” without thinking about potential users.
Tools have an influence over people who use it, shape the way they see the world and interact with it. This is why developers and all the people in IT should make a move to create technological means for a better future. Something to bridge gender gaps and discriminations, to overcome economical, political and geographical barriers.
WHAT ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNITY?
Communities are the places we built to spread the seeds of knowledge. We have to drive forward what has been accomplished so far and the best way to do it is to keep communities open, welcoming and geared toward inclusion of all the people, with no distinction for gender, geographic location and economic opportunities. Openness may sound obvious but the truth is that it’s not to be taken for granted. To treasure the experience, views and culture of each person and to make it relevant for the community is our responsibility because this is what we rely on.
Community moves forward with a collective effort and common goals can be achieved thanks to the joint effort of individuals skills and ideas only. Valuing diversity is the key to grow a stronger and more cohesive group and to empower its members. Our goal is to keep this path and to include everybody into this, either with financial assistance or supporting projects that empower people who find themselves in need or marginalized to build their path to a better future.
Check DjangoCon 2017 Manifesto to read more about this.