Amidst the devastating conflict in Gaza and a divided narrative in the tech industry, a new coalition called Tech for Palestine emerges. More than 40 tech figures, including founders, investors, and engineers, have joined forces to raise awareness, advocate for peace, and empower Palestinians through open-source tools and resources.
This initiative marks a shift in the tech landscape, where support for Israel has been prevalent but calls for Palestinian rights have often faced opposition. Paul Biggar, founder of billion-dollar company CircleCI and the driving force behind this movement, aims to break the silence and provide a platform for those hesitant to speak publicly.
His viral blog post criticizing the industry’s inaction resonated with many, including Idris Mokhtarzada, founder of fintech unicorn Truebill, who pledged support for building the Tech for Palestine platform.
Initial projects include a GitHub badge advocating for a ceasefire and website banners supporting the same cause.
Paul Biggar has announced Tech for Palestine with the following words on X:
Twitter: @tech4palestine
Website: https://t.co/3A6ui11BAx
GitHub: https://t.co/cwSoLiixRx
Discord: https://t.co/xOzNJAKNh5— Paul Biggar 🇵🇸🇮🇪 (@paulbiggar) January 2, 2024
What is Tech for Palestine?
Tech for Palestine is a newly formed coalition of over 40 tech industry figures, including founders, investors, and engineers, aiming to support Palestinians through various initiatives.
Here’s a breakdown of its key aspects:
Mission:
- Raise awareness about the conflict in Gaza and advocate for peace
- Provide Palestinians with open-source tools and resources to empower them
- Break the silence within the tech industry, where support for Israel has been dominant but calls for Palestinian rights often faced opposition
Activities:
- Building a platform featuring projects run by small groups to share resources and advice for supporting Palestine
- Creating open-source tools like GitHub badges and website banners advocating for a ceasefire
- Planning future collaborations with Palestinian organizations, offering mentorship and cloud credits to boost the Palestinian tech scene
Significance:
- Represents a shift in the tech industry narrative, giving voice to those advocating for Palestinian rights
- Provides a platform for tech professionals to contribute despite facing career pressures
- Offers hope for long-term support and empowerment of Palestinians beyond immediate conflict response
Tech for Palestine is a promising initiative that seeks to harness the power of the tech industry to raise awareness, advocate for peace, and support Palestinians in building a brighter future.
What is your role on Tech for Palestine?
The Tech for Palestine organization welcomes volunteers and endeavors to connect them with projects and other initiatives within the ecosystem. Although the process of connecting people is still developing and somewhat haphazard, the organization is working to improve it.
Existing projects can be found in the Tech for Palestine Discord channel‘s #projects category, and volunteers can offer their talents by joining the community’s Discord and introducing themselves in the #volunteer channel. Volunteers can also post in the weekly volunteer thread in the forum to express their interest in working on a particular project.
If an individual has an existing project that aligns with Tech for Palestine’s goals, they are free to join the community and share their project with its members. The project can be kept external or moved under the organization’s umbrella and/or GitHub org, depending on the individual’s preference. A channel can be created in the Discord for the project, either as the main project channel or for liaising with the individual.
New projects that fit within the organization’s goals are welcome, and individuals do not need permission to start them. In fact, the organization has a list of projects that it would like to see someone start. If an individual is interested in starting a new project, the organization can add a channel in the Discord and work with them to gather resources, such as volunteers.
Finally, individuals with ideas for new projects can post them in the Ideas forum and ask for volunteers in the Volunteers forum. The organization is always eager to support new projects that align with its goals.
Whatever the political reasons, it is everyone’s right to live and experience technology. There are many people who feel this way and this is exactly why online protests have started, even in Roblux.
Featured image credit: wirestock/Freepik.
