Hello, World of Software Makers !
Published on July 4, 2024 by Yorgos Saslis
Software Makers is a new non-profit, volunteer-driven, organization (the precise Greek legal entity is "Σωματείο" / "Σύλλογος") that was founded in April 2024, by a group of 20+ individuals involved in making software. Some founding members are also past participants of SoCraTes Crete (Software Craft and Testing Crete) and the Heraklion Software Crafters community.
It is an entity that was created to undertake the organization of all the not-for-profit activities of its members, such as meetups, events and conferences - but is also intended to take on other volunteer-driven, not-for-profit activities. Please drop us a line on our Discord with your ideas!
Software Makers is based in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, but it is open for anyone involved in making software wherever they may be in the world. We welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to, people of any sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, social and economic class, educational level, colour, immigration status, sex, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
It is an entity that was created to undertake the organization of all the not-for-profit activities of its members, such as meetups, events and conferences - but is also intended to take on other volunteer-driven, not-for-profit activities. Please drop us a line on our Discord with your ideas!
Software Makers is based in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, but it is open for anyone involved in making software wherever they may be in the world. We welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to, people of any sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, social and economic class, educational level, colour, immigration status, sex, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
What
- In legal terms, “Σύλλογος / Σωματείο”.
- A non-profit organization
- Run by VOLUNTEERS,
- Based in Crete, members can be anywhere!
Why
- Originally conceived as the official legal entity to run SoCraTes-Crete.org
- Non-profit event - > non-profit entity to host it
- **Money:** we don’t want individual people to manage funds in our own bank
accounts
- **Risk:** we don’t want individual people to take on the risk of running this
event
- **Intellectual Property**
- all intellectual property should belong to / be controlled by the
community: domains, discord, data, etc.
How
- “Members” elect “executive committee” every 2 years
- “Executive committee” manages day-to-day operations
- “Executive committee” appoints “Org Teams” to manage individual events
- e.g. SoCraTes-Crete.org OrgTeam !== Software Makers Executive Committee,
- other events may apply to use Software Makers as their Fiscal Host
(For more details, check our founding document - in Greek only, for the time being).
What’s in it for me ?
As a member, you :
- pay a 20 eur yearly fee 💸
- become an official member!
- agree to respect the Code of Conduct
- get a vote! i.e. you’re in control!
- are now part of a group of other software makers!
- amplified voice,
- collaborative action,
- (and more benefits to come, over time)
Open Governance
All Executive Committee (EC) meetings are open for anyone to attend. We also
keep records of all meetings [here](./records).