I got a Media and Stakeholder Advisory from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, that there will be
a meeting of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on Thursday, August 6 and Friday, August 7 from 10 AM to 6 PM in Washington, DC.:
PCAST will hold its inaugural meeting on August 6-7, 2009. During this meeting, PCAST will discuss possible studies it might undertake.
If you are interested in either observing the PCAST meeting, or making a comment (5 minutes or less) to PCAST at its meeting, please email pcast@ostp.gov. If attending the meeting, please indicate if you are planning to attend August 6, August 7, or both days. You are welcome to send written comments to PCAST at any time.
PCAST is a group of scientists and engineers who advise the President and the Office of the President, providing policy recommendations. The purpose of the meeting is to set priorities for the coming year.
I know many of you are stakeholders, CEOs and executives of companies and leaders and contributors to software projects, but you don't have to be: the general public can contribute also. I'd so dearly love to go and speak about FOSS, but I don't feel it would be wise, due to the death threat situation, but you can go and represent yourself. And it will be streamed. There is even an opportunity to send written comments at any time. I'll give you the details in a moment, but if you've ever complained that the government is clueless about tech and FOSS, this is your opportunity to contribute in a positive way.
The fact that Groklaw was sent the notice is, to me, a sign that the White House is not clueless about tech or FOSS, by the way. And I noticed when I visited their web site that anyone can send written materials for them to consider also. Is this something Groklaw as a group would like to do? I'll leave it to you. If so, we could work right here, in public, as we did when we wrote a group letter to SCO. I believe this is what they call an educational moment.
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