[Acm-announce] Next Flourish 2009 Open Source Conference Meeting is this Wednesday (1/21) at 6:30pm

[Gary Turovsky]

To everyone,

Come join us for the next biweekly meeting of the Flourish Conference  
organizers on Wednesday, January 21st at 6:30pm in SEL 2262!

The Flourish Open Source Conference is a great way to get involved in  
the open source movement.  The Open Source philosophy advocates the  
openness and ready availability of software source code.  Its ideas  
encourage innovation through collaboration, where many programmers  
contribute to a piece of software.  Through this process, many great  
pieces of software have been built.  From powering the Internet to  
running our cell phones, open source principles enable our 21st  
century lives and empower us to look towards the future.

The conference seeks to advocate and educate students, companies, and  
professionals about open source.  This year's theme is "Open Society",  
and our talks will be exploring the principles of openness in other  
aspects of our society.  So far, we have raised about $10,000 in a  
down economic climate, gathered speakers from all over the US (and one  
from Italy), developed a website and prepared a branding image and a  
marketing campaign.  But there's still so much more to be done.

If you have no experience with open source, come help us organize the  
conference and learn what it's all about.  If you are a seasoned open  
source advocate, then come help make Chicago and UIC an even greater  
center of openness and innovation.  We have many tasks that need to be  
done.  They range from stage management to web development, and we're  
always looking for amateurs to train.  Don't be afraid to jump in feet  
first.  You'll find that this kind of thing is fun, rewarding and a  
lot of good times.


Gary Turovsky
ACM President and Flourish 2009 Organizer