This session is facilitated by Kiran “Rin” Oliver
About this session
We will aim to discuss the unique challenges facing those from these backgrounds in contributing to open source in a tech environment that is often geared towards the neurotypical contributor. Many individuals under these identifiers also come from non-traditional tech backgrounds, which presents a unique learning opportunity for those that may have come from a more traditional CS background to learn from us and our lived experiences.
Goals of this session
In this session, those that are neurodiverse, have ADHD, dyscalculia, and/or are autistic will be joined by their fellow community members, project maintainers, and fellow open source contributors to come together to discuss the steps needed to break down their barriers to contributing to open source. These may include include accessibility needs for autistic individuals, a focus on a background other than mathematics for those with dyscalculia, and much more.
By starting this discussion, the aim is to take what we learn to the OSS community at large and back to larger projects such as the Linux Foundation, CNCF, Kubernetes, etc. to empower neurodiverse community members to contribute to open source projects of their choosing and at their own organizations.