My `prime' audience is made up of people who have an interest in free software -- software to which you have the right to copy, study, modify and redistribute -- but who know little about it or about the legal and social issues that surround it.
I have spoken at conferences and expos, usually as a keynote speaker, in Britain, China, France, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, and The Netherlands, as well as the United States. I have spoken with students, businessmen, lawyers, civil servants, people from non-governmental organizations, as well as with computer programmers.
In my talks, I start with primary questions:
This is powerful introduction.
When speaking with a more knowledgeable audience or with one that has more time, I discuss more topics: ethical issues, access, empowerment, successful business practices, history, economics, and governance. How much, and what I discuss, depends on the occasion.
(As a practical matter, I expect to spend most of my time talking with people informally. Also as a practical matter, my host needs to pay my travel costs and provide for overnight accomodations and meals.)
Also, I am happy to speak several times, focusing on different topics.
In addition to my talks, I have held workshops in which I teach what you can do with the free software now available. Also, even though I am not a lawyer, I have led workshops with lawyers and government regulators from differing legal traditions on the precise wording of appropriate licenses.
Although I speak in English, I have spoken to more people for whom English is a second rather than a first language.
A short, introductory presentation takes me 20 minutes. While I can, and usually do speak longer, this may be enough for a beginning. In particular, this time may be long enough for an audience for whom the whole subject is new, and who want to digest the issues and ask questions during a discussion.
More often, I speak for three-quarters of an hour or an hour, beginning with the question of what is free software, and then developing one or other thread, depending on the circumstances. Then I answer questions and talk with the audience for the remainder of the time.
The members of an audience usually come up with many questions. A lively discussion takes place. A moderator must be able to call a halt after the specified time and say that I will be happy, as I am, to continue to talk in a hallway or over dinner.
While I can talk without graphical aids of any kind, I prefer to project overhead slides. These contain short summaries of each topic and are especially helpful to people for whom English is a second language.
My major topics are the following. (Not all can be covered in any one talk.)
The first is an introduction to the consequences of a free software license; free as in freedom:
The second discusses the benefits of free software:
The third repeats a few of the themes mentioned in other talks, and discusses what freedom brings:
Here is a short biographical description.
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