International Conference on the Gift Economy
Nov 12-14, 2004: Las Vegas, Nevada

A Radically Different World View is Possible

The gift economy inside and outside of Patriarchal Capitalism

Abstract: Andrea Alvarado

The talk by Andrea Alvarado will present the gift giving philosophy of open source technology. Open-source software (OSS) is software for which the source code is freely and publicly available, though the specific licensing agreements vary as to what one is allowed to do with that code. Free Software is a movement that stems out of an ethical and political stance to mean freedom from corporate control in order to give information as gift giving.

A second part of the paper develops the case of Feminist International Radio Endeavour (FIRE), the first women's internet radio worldwide, which "connects voices, technologies and actions, amplifying women's voices worldwide." FIRE has been a pioneer in providing written and audio content on the Internet for several years. The case of FIRE is but one example of the way in which women and people do this on a day to day basis. Millions more experiences exist, that make up the world wide movement to democratize and socialize they voices, hopes, dreams and struggles for a better world, free of corporate greed and full of people's sharing and gift giving.


Biographical Information

Andrea Alvarado is journalist, radio producer and audio technician. She has worked as a trainer in radio production, digital edition and new technologies courses for some years for different social communication organizations. She is an activist of non-commercial communication, communication rights and feminism, and she holds a strong relationship with community radios in Central America, and is part of strengthening projects for these radios. She works as a producer for Radio Internacional Feminista/FIRE.

Articles about
the Gift Economy

Radio Interviews

Il Dono/ The Gift: A Feminist Analysis

Gift Economy Website

Conference Endorsers