[ZF] Brazil taking steps to create its own Python Software Foudantion

[Luciano Ramalho]

Dear Jim and Zope Foundation members,

The Brazilian Python Community is growing, our 3rd National Python
Conference (called PyConBrasil) will take place in August 2007. By
that time, we plan to have formally created the Brazilian Python
Foundation under Brazilian law. This email is to establish contact
with Zope Foundation, tell you about who we are, our goals, and ask
for your approval and guidance.

In Brazil, the Python, Zope and Plone communities are very
intertwined, as evidenced by the membership in mailing lists and
participation in conferences. In fact, we call ourselves the "PZP
community". The Brazilian Python Foundation aims to benefit the entire
Brazilian PZP community.

Just to give you a sense of scale, the first PyConBrasil (2005) had
about 130 participants. This number doubled last year, and we expect
at least the same growth rate for 2007. The Zope-PT mailing list
currently has 887 members, and posts are evenly distributed between
Zope and Plone subjects (most active subscribers to Zope-PT are
Brazilian, but there are some Portuguese as well).

One of the major goals of Fundacao Python Brasil (FPB) will be to
raise funds to organize our PZP conferences. So far we have relied in
the efforts of individuals scattered across the country, but we are
convinced that the creation of FPB will help to overcome some
bureaucratic barriers.

We are building a web site [1] to transparently communicate our goals
and actions. For the time being, the content is only available in
Brazilian Portuguese, and most of it is unpublished since we are still
revising and editing.

Our mission is a subset of PSF's [3], mainly:

* To raise funds to support FPB programs and services. Brazilian
regulations for public charity funding are complex. Some consequences
are that the vast bulk of funding must come from private contributions
(including sponsoring memberships) and public grants, must come from a
broad base, and that no single private donor can supply a substantial
percentage of the FPB's total funding. Additional revenue may be
pursued in ways consistent with then-current rules for public
charities and with Python, Zope and Plone's standing as open source
projects.

* To publicize, promote the adoption of, and facilitate the ongoing
development of Python-related technology and educational resources.
This includes, but is not limited to, maintaining a public web site,
managing certain strategic domain names, hosting Python, Zope and
Plone conferences, and offering grants to Python-related open source
projects.

* To encourage and facilitate Python-related research in the public interest.

For the time being, the FPB organization committee is composed by:

- Dorneles Tremea
- Érico Andrei
- Fabiano Weimar
- Jean Rodrigo Ferri
- Leonardo Rochael Almeida
- Luciano Ramalho
- Osvaldo Santana
- Rodrigo Senra
- Sidnei da Silva

We are also getting in touch with the Python Foundation, Plone
Foundation and ZEA Partners to announce these intentions. We seek your
approval and any advice you might have to offer. We made ourselves
available to answer any doubt or to provide any further information
you might wish.

To get in touch with us please write to fundacao at pythonbrasil.com.br
(this address forwards to everyone listed above).

Best regards,

Luciano Ramalho

[1] http://fundacao.pythonbrasil.com.br/
[2] http://fundacao.pythonbrasil.com.br/a-fundacao/estatuto-social/view
[3] http://www.python.org/psf/mission/