This is a part of the Mindshare Elections Interviews series. Voting is open to all Fedora contributors. The voting period starts on Friday, 26 November and closes promptly at 23:59:59 UTC on Thursday, 9 December 2021.

Interview with Fernando Fernández Mancera

• Fedora Account: ffmancera
• IRC: ffmancera (found in #nmstate, #nm, #fedora-mindshare, #fedora-join)
• Fedora User Wiki Page

Questions

What is your background in Fedora? What have you worked on and what are you doing now?

I am using Fedora workstation on a daily basis, for personal and professional use. I also do packaging tasks for nmstate and nispor packages from Fedora 32.

In 2020, I have actively participated as a mentor for the Fedora organisation in the Google Summer of Code and Outreachy programmes. I have also participated in several Fedora events like the Fedora Nest 2020 and Fedora 36 release party.

Please elaborate on the personal “Why” which motivates you to be a candidate for Mindshare.

As a free software enthusiast, I have always liked to motivate potential contributors to step forward, as others motivated me. I love working in mentoring programs like Outreachy or GSoC. I find that the work of organisations like Fedora make a difference in the spread and adoption of free software.

I also feel that I am very much aligned with the ideas of inclusion and diversity that Fedora advocates so I feel that I can help in the efforts.

I am part of a GNU/Linux user group and therefore have some experience in organising promotional and outreach events in local communities.

Fedora is a good place to grow and improve, helping others at the same time and that’s why I would like to be part of the Mindshare committee.

How would you improve Mindshare Committee visibility and awareness in the Fedora community?

I believe that one of the best ways to improve the visibility of the Mindshare committee is to promote mentoring programmes. This can let people outside the community know what Fedora is and how it works, as well as promote the committee’s work internally.

I also find the ambassador position interesting and how this committee can work with them so that their work is really valued and has a very positive impact on the community.

What would you like to contribute to the Mindshare Committee during your term?

I would like to be able to contribute to mentoring programmes, not only as a mentor but also as an organiser. I would also like to be able to communicate with other organisations that promote these types of programmes so that Fedora can participate in as many programmes as possible, as long as they are aligned with our community.

Last but not least, I would like to be able to promote Fedora more in my local community. I would like to draw up a plan on how to organize local events and test it out, this way, it will serve as a guideline for other organizers in the community.