Mahabir spoke at the Software Freedom Day Celebration in Kathmandu on September 15th, where he was met with great enthusiasm from the audience. The event was well managed and very informative.

Here are some excerpts from his speech, translated from the original Nepali.

. . . .

Thank you for inviting me to Software Freedom Day. I think it is a very
important day to celebrate. Let me know tell you what Free Software
means to me.

First, free software means powerful tools that can always be changed and be improved by anyone, any where. Secondly and more importantly, I believe that Free Software and Free Content can help FREE people, specifically we Nepalis, from poverty, ignorance, and violence. Can software and content really do all of this? Software isn’t just 1′s and 0′s. It is the combined intelligence from some the most clever and dedicated people in the world.

When I started the Nepal Wireless project I wasn’t trying to provide villagers with routers, radio repeaters, and microprocessors. I was trying to provide the villagers with access to software and educational content. Computer hardware and Internet connectivity are just a means to this end. I am not an engineer. I started as an educator, I still am an educator, and I will always be an educator. To take education to the remotest and poorest parts of Nepal we need to leverage ICT.