As the Seattle GNU/Linux conference enters its third year, we decided we could do more to highlight the amazing community in Cascadia (a region on the west coast of North America that includes Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Idaho). This area, especially in Washington, may seem like a haven for proprietary software, but when you take a closer look, you realize people are doing the hard work of helping friends, colleagues, and students embrace free software everywhere.

So, this year we chose to give a regional award because that local, in-person work is critical for the growth of the free and open source software movement. We're focusing on recent contributors, especially those that have successfully reached out to traditionally underrepresented groups.

The winner could be a person who has...

been writing code or translating documentation

been organizing teach-ins at a school or hackspace

been working hard to get free and open source software adopted by local government offices or nonprofits

been using free and open source software as a tool to support democracy or local aid

If you know someone involved in building the local free software community, then our award committee wants to hear their story.

Our selection committee boasts a fantastic group of locally involved people, with a wealth of collective experience in free and open source software in academia, business, political action, and community organizing. We are working hard to make sure that this announcement makes it way into every nook and cranny of the region, so please help us share it.

The award will be given at the Seattle GNU/Linux conference on October 24, 2015 at Seattle Central College. Nominations are open now through July 26, 2015.

To nominate someone, send us an email with the nominee's name in the subject line. The more information you can provide about the nominee's work, affiliations, and history with free and open source software, the better. Thanks in advance for helping us honor a great community builder!