Last week, SOTC, Social & Open Technology Club, organized an open hardware session (literally opening & inspecting hardware) in #PondicherryUniversity.

SOTC is the student driven #FOSS & #FreeCulture group operating in #PondicherryUniversity.

#Puducherry

Hi everyone

It's time to do #Introductions. We are an organization composed of students & working professionals who propagate the principles of #FOSS, #DigitalPrivacy & #DigitalCommons among students in the union territory of #Puducherry, India.

We have been functioning as a #GNU/#Linux users group (#PuduvaiGLUG) since 2011 with guidance from @fsftn and then matured into a registered society of our own.

Here is what we do,

We approach educational institutions in and around Puducherry and help them set up & nurture a #GLUG in their institutions. The GLUGs within each institution are responsible for propagating our stated principles and help them step into the FOSS ecosystem.

We also organize an annual FOSS conference in Puducherry & discuss the state of digital commons here and ways to improve them.

We strongly believe that public institutions should adopt #FOSS & #OpenStandards in the public interest. We also contribute data to #OpenStreetMap, #Wikipedia & #BeaconDB projects.

We track the state of public infrastructure in #Puducherry by mapping them in #OSM. For example, by mapping street lights, bus stops, public toilets, drinking water, etc.

We demand the UT & Union govt. to safeguard citizen's fundamental right to privacy and bring data breaches to their notice. We campaign for an inclusive digital society.

Some of our members also build and release their own FOSS projects. We also organize #Mapathon & #Hackathon to contribute to digital commons.

We strive to bridge the #DigitalDivide through FOSS & Commons. We demand the state to strengthen the public telecom & Internet provider #BSNL and it's infrastructure.

Together, we build a movement to actively shape our day to day digital experience & strive to improve the quality of life for everyone

"Enabling consensual technology for the masses", that's our motto.

Glimpse from our FOSSCon24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfEmptS9LLg

♲ @pondy_live@twitter.com:

As heavy rains continue to lash #Puducherry , some parts of the city are waterlogged including IG Square

Video : Sophia Samouvelou for @pondy_live

#CycloneBurevi