Frederick Noronha

Frederick Noronha (born 1963 in Brazil) is an independent journalist based in Saligao, Goa, India. He is active in cyberspace and involved with e-ventures involving Goa, developmental concerns and free software. He writes mostly on free software / open source issues, technology, and computing issues in India. He is co-founder of BytesForAll.

Education

Frederick Noronha received a B.Com. degree from Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, Panjim, and M.A. (English Literature) degrees from Goa University and University of Bombay.cite web
url=http://www.ngocongo.org/index.php?what=pag&id=10284
title=Frederick Noronha: Biographical statement
publisher=The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations
accessdate=2007-04-26] He is also an alumnus of the Internationales Institut für Journalismus (G57 course, 1990), He also received a scholarship from the Institute for Further Education of Journalists (Fojo), Sweden (1998) and was a Sarai Print Media Fellow (2001). He wasa Panos Fellow in 2001 (reproductive health and gender issues).

Journalism

He has been a full-time journalist since 1983. From November 1987 to December 1994, Noronha was staff correspondent for Deccan Herald. From 1994 onwards, he turned a freelancer, and has written for India Abroad News Service (now Indo-Asian News Service), on news related to Goa and, more recently, Information Technology. He also worked as an editorial consultant with Herald (Goa) from October 2003 to April 2004.

He has written articles on Goa, Goan books, media,, environment, development, and information technology. From 1996 to 2006, he has been part of the Admin Team of Goanet, a volunteer and not-for-profit network that links the Goa] diaspora community. Publications that have featured Noronha's works include Economic Times, Financial Express, Spide Internet Magazine (Pakistan), Associated Press (photographs), Dawn, BBC website and Outlook. [cite web
url=http://www.outlookindia.com/author.asp?name=Frederick+Noronha
title=Authors/People Page: Frederick Noronha
publisher=Outlook
accessdate=2007-04-26]

Online ventures

Together with Partha Pratim Sarkar of Bangladesh, Noronha co-founded BytesForAll, and started IndiaLists.org, an initiative to promote content-relevant mailing lists in India. He moderates the Goan journalists list goajourno.

He is also involved in running the Docuwallahs2 mailing list, a network that connects a number of Indian alternative documentary film-makers. He is a supporter of copyleft-based models for sharing digital information and resources, with some 6000+ photographs, mainly related available to Goa, available on his flickr page.

Involvement with FOSS movement

Noronha is a supporter of free software, and is actively involved in chronicling its growth in India and other Asian countries. His articles on Free Software have been published in Linux Journal and Free Software Magazine. [cite web
url=http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/social_implications
title=The social implications of free software
publisher=Free Software Magazine
accessdate=2007-04-26] [cite web
url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/user/801079/track
title=Frederick Noronha
publisher=Linux Journal
accessdate=2007-04-26]

He has also participated in a study on FOSS in the 'developing' countries (2003-04) in Finland, and has been a member of the panel deciding on the FSF Award for the Advancement of Free Software and The Manthan-AIF Award 2006. [cite web
url=http://www.manthanaward.org/jurymem06.asp
title=The Manthan-AIF Award 2006 Jury
publisher=Digital Empowerment Foundation
accessdate=2007-04-26] He has also spoken at many FOSS conferences, including FOSS.IN. [cite web
url=https://foss.in/2006/cfp/speakers/talkdetailspub.php?talkid=97
title=Ten Tips To Turbocharge The Team: Getting Smaller User-Groups Moving
publisher=FOSS.IN 2006
accessdate=2007-04-26]

References

External links

* [http://fn.goa-india.org Frederick Noronha's site]
* [http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Frederick Noronha's blog on Wordpress]
* [http://www2.blogger.com/profile/00561469769172999018 Frederick Noronha at Blogger]