Episode 155: Yadira Sánchez Benítez on creating liberatory, pluriversal spaces in Open Source

Guest Yadira Sánchez Benítez Panelists Richard Littauer | Amanda
Casari | Leslie Hawthorn Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain!
The podcast where we talk about sustaining open source for the long
haul. Today we have joining us, Yadira Sánchez Benítez, who’s been
on this podcast before, and we decided to bring her back since
there’s so much more we wanted to discuss with her. Yadira is a
lecturer in Data Science in London at UAL. She’s also a creative
technologist, examining the role technology plays in our everyday
lives and ecosystems, engaging, and actively dismantling the
tech-violent pipelines reinforcing hegemonic structures and
reimagining and co-creating spaces where technologies and art are
pluriversal and liberatory, which we’ll learn more about today.
Also, Yadira tells us about her Fellowship with the Software
Sustainability Institute, what open source means in community work,
her work with other communities that have language barriers to get
them more involved, and she talks about the importance of being
aware of privileges we hold in different spaces. Download his
episode now to learn more! [00:02:29] Yadira explains how she gets
paid for what she does, how she got into that position, and her
Fellowship with the Software Sustainability Institute. [00:05:36]
We hear some examples of what hegemonic control of open source
production is in the aspect of community work. Also, Yadira tells
us a little bit about AlterMundi, based in Argentina, that’s doing
amazing work in the area of open source from a different
perspective. [00:09:45] We find out if there’s a way for people who
want to learn more to get better engaged with what’s coming out in
these communities across Central and South America. [00:13:04]
Leslie saw Yadira’s really cool wearables and electronic art in her
portfolio and wonders if she’ll see her at a future Chaos
Communications Congress Conference to show them off, and she tells
us more about her creative work. [00:19:31] Amanda wonders what
Yadira’s experience has been working in statistical processes or
data centered processes that are taken over by larger groups, and
she shares her thoughts on how practitioners can work together to
prevent this kind of weaponization. [00:24:26] Richard wonders how
we can work with people who are in tech and don’t have roots to
indigenous areas, and what can we do in tech to help heal those
wounds and accept that he’s as legitimate a person as anyone else.
[00:28:29] Yadira shares thoughts on how to easily help decolonize
your open source projects or how to make it easier for people who
don’t have the privilege. [00:34:59] Find out where you can follow
Yadira and her work on the web. Quotes [00:06:31] “We rely a lot in
documentation and platforms to propagate the work that we do.
However, when you work with communities that may not have fast
internet or access to these platforms, that doesn’t work.”
[00:26:19] “We need to be more aware of the privileges we hold in
different spaces and times.” [00:26:57] “How can I act in
solidarity with people when I’m in a position of power or
privilege?” [00:29:28] “It’s very important to ask the question –
open source for whom and for what?” Spotlight [00:36:46] Amanda’s
spotlight is an essay, Apache Appropriation by Natives in Tech.
[00:37:13] Leslie’s spotlight is the Outreachy program. [00:37:41]
Richard’s spotlights are the Middlebury Abenaki course and the
Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation. [00:38:19] Yadira’s
spotlight is a talk on YouTube: Indigenous Futures: A Conversation
with Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil-Twenty Summers 2022. Links
SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/)
podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) Richard
Littauer Twitter
(https://twitter.com/richlitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
Amanda Casari Twitter
(https://twitter.com/amcasari?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
Leslie Hawthorn Twitter (https://twitter.com/lhawthorn) Yadira
Sánchez Benítez Twitter (https://twitter.com/Yadira_Sz) Yadira
Sánchez Benítez LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/yadira-sanchez/) Yadira Sánchez
Benítez Instagram
(https://www.instagram.com/descuartizadorahack/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D)
Yadira Sánchez Benítez Website (https://pueblerina.glitch.me/)
Sustain Podcast-Episode 121: FOSS Backstage 2022 with Cornelius
Schumacher, Yadira Sánchez Benítez, & Thomas Fricke
(https://podcast.sustainoss.org/121) Software Sustainability
Institute (https://www.software.ac.uk/) APC Association For
Progressive Communication-AlterMundi
(https://www.apc.org/en/member/altermundi) Chaos Computer Club
(https://www.ccc.de/en/) Milpa
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milpa) Three Sisters (agriculture)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)) Apache
Appropriation
(https://blog.nativesintech.org/apache-appropriation/) Outreachy
(https://www.outreachy.org/) Middlebury Language Schools-Abenaki
(https://www.middlebury.edu/language-schools/languages/abenaki)
Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation
(https://abenakitribe.org/) Indigenous Futures: A Conversation with
Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil-Twenty Summers 2022 (YouTube)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VXbGmHG6X8) Credits Produced by
Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr
at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by
DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/)
Special Guest: Yadira Sánchez Benítez.