LibreBus Sharing Knowledge Across Southern Cone

For two weeks in May 2011, a group of Central American free culture and free software activists, among others, boarded the LibreBus (FreeBus) traveling through the region to the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica making regular stops to share experiences and knowledge with local communities along the way. The entire journey was filmed and recorded, and you can see the documentary from the trip here. The experience is now being replicated in South America as part of the LibreBus ConoSur (Southern Cone).

Starting in the city of Valdivia, Chile on August 27, 2012, a group of approximately 20 activists boarded a bus to travel along an 8,000 kilometer route that will take them to 23 cities in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. In coordination with local partners, the passengers on the LibreBus will give talks and workshops about the importance of freedom of expression, free software, the sharing of content, and open-education resources, with a special focus on biodiversity and gender. The stops will also include concerts and other cultural activities. The complete set of objectives can be found on the LibreBus’ website:

  • To strengthen spaces for reflection and collaborative work that amplify synergies between people in the areas of biodiversity, knowledge, education, technology, communication, and culture, as an intangible common good that needs to be protected, maximized, and strengthened through a shared and free usage.
  • To facilitate access, transfer, and the sharing of knowledge and technology to reduce poverty, as well as the social and digital divides across Latin America, while highlighting the need for free participation, free culture, and free knowledge, as well as eliminating barriers that may impede creation and sharing.
  • To identify and support examples of best practices in the use of ICT and media, including the internet, mobile telephones and related technologies.
  • To generate interest and to facilitate dialogue about the economic, political, and social importance of free access to knowledge and culture along with the use of free technology for social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.

The trip will last throughout the month of September ending in the city of La Plata, Argentina on September 29, 2012. The full list of scheduled stops:


Ver Librebus en un mapa ampliado

The primary organizer of the initiative is the Chilean NGO Derechos Digitales, in collaboration with its partner the Via Libre Foundation, as well as a host of other team members, and institutional and logistical partner organizations, including Global Voices Online as a Media Partner.

LibreBus photo by FrancisJervis and used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

Throughout the month-long journey, passengers on the bus have been tweeting on the official Twitter account (@LibreBus) using the hashtag #LibreBus. In addition, there is also a LibreBus Facebook Page and photos being uploaded to their Flickr account.

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