Presenting the free software model as a way to provide viable and sustainable access to new information technologies while encouraging the economic and social development of a region is part of the goals of III ENSL, the Northeast Free Software Meeting and the Fourth Bahia Free Software Festival, happening on May 29-30 at the campus of Bahia State University (UNEB) in Salvador, Bahia’s capital.

The Bahia’s Free Software Project and Colivre - Cooperative of Technology Livre (Free) - are jointly promoting the event. Colivre is part of North By South Developers Network and have done a great job organizing these two important events, at once! They’ve put together great panels which include Jon “Maddog” Hall and Sérgio Amadeu, who created the largest municipal telecentro project in Brazil while he was head of the Department of Communication from São Paulo. Today he is a professor at Casper Líbero University in São Paulo and part of the movement against the Internet Project Law that will restrict internet freedom in Brazil.

Other well-known developers from the free software movement in Brazil were invited as well as lawyers, educators and digital inclusion activists. During the two days of the event, the space will be open for professionals, technicians and users to discuss and reflect on the economic, technological, cultural and educational role of free software in our society. The organization is estimating more than 800 attendees.