Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream
A modern fairy tale that conveys the joy of tinkering and calls for self-determined use of software.
Matthias Kirschner
Matthias Kirschner is President of Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). Matthias helps other organisations, companies, and public administrations to understand how they can benefit from Free Software — which gives everybody the rights to use, study, share, and improve software — and how those rights help to support freedom of speech, press, and privacy.
He serves on the advisory boards of different Free Software organisations, has been a consultant for public bodies and other committees, and regularly gives interviews, lectures, or participates in panel discussions about software freedom and the technical distribution of power in a democratic society.
No video of the event yet, sorry!
The famous inventor Zangemann lives in a huge villa high above the city. Adults and children alike love his inventions and are desperate to have them. But then something happens: when Zangemann wants to take another close-up look at his inventions during a walk through the city, a child hits him in the shin with the skateboard. That hurts! Enraged, the inventor makes a momentous decision... The clever girl Ada sees through what is going on. Together with her friends, she forges a plan.
This illustrated children's book (licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA) tells the story of the famous inventor Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with hardware and software, and in the process realizes how crucial it is for her and others to control technology. Ada & Zangemann will inspire children's interest in tinkering and encourages shaping technology.
"A rousing tale of self-reliance, community, and standing up to bullies." —Cory Doctorow, Sci-Fi Author
"Ada & Zangemann proves that the argument for software and hardware freedom is simple: We should be able to do what we want with our stuff. . . . Electronics freedom means more learning and less waste, as Ada shows. Kids and adults alike will be entertained by this book, charmed by its illustrations, and inspired by Ada’s engineering spirit and impassioned activism." —Elizabeth Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability, iFixit
"What a fun read! I recognize myself in Ada at many moments." —Isabela Fernandes, Executive Director, The Tor project
"Even as a non-child, I was captivated by the story from the first page to the last. Kudos to the author for packaging difficult topics such as monopolies, lobbyism, digital divide, software freedom, digital autonomy, IoT, consumer control, e-waste and much more in a child-friendly form in an easily understandable and exciting storyline." —Jörg Luther, chief editor of the German Linux-Magazin, LinuxUser
Download the slides of the talk here and you generic slides for doing your own readings with the book are available in the FSFE's book repository.
The English book published by No Starch Press is now available for pre-order at most online retailers ahead of its worldwide release this August.
The German book was published in December 2021 an can be ordered from O'Reilly or from any book store.
- Date:
- 2023 May 26 - 15:30
- Duration:
- 45 min
- Room:
- Galerie
- Conference:
- openSUSE Conference 2023
- Language:
- English
- Track:
- Community
- Difficulty:
- Easy
- Packaging with osc - Part 1/3
- Start Time:
- 2023 May 26 15:15
- Room:
- Seminarraum 1 (Up Stairs) https://meet.opensuse.org/Seminarraum1
- ALP Roast Part 2 - An open discussion with the ALP Architects
- Start Time:
- 2023 May 26 15:30
- Room:
- Saal