Endorsements and Nominations
Santhosh Thottingal
Santhosh has made great contributions to Malayalam/Indic language computing research, FOSS, Indic fonts and font technology. He received the President’s Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman in 2019. Some of his contributions are highlighted in this post
Kovid Goyal
- Nothing needs to be said about Kovid’s work over the last 2+ decades. Most people are still surprised to know some of their favorite projects are maintained by a developer from India, which is enough reason to give him this award
- Few people have built and maintained successful projects that are used across the world over the course of a decade
Ramya R.
- Tech can make a social impact, and Ramya’s work on Humanitarian OSM speaks to that. She has spent more than a decade working on public interest technology that is used in disaster relief and other humanitarian causes. Notes from a Maintainer - Ramya Ragupathy, HOTOSM and MapLibre
Purvi Shah
- Purvi’s work through Pratham Books and StoryWeaver has touched millions of children globally, in hundreds of languages.
- Few people know it but Purvi had an incredible impact on the publishing ecosystem through her work on increasing the adoption of CC licenses. While most of the users might not realize it, the story weaver FOSS platform has enabled fundamental literacy in numerous languages across the world. While she likely hasn’t touched a line of code, she has definitely had an impact on the digital commons
Jessica Prabhakar
- Jessica had been the backbone of the Bangalore Linux Users’ Group (BLUG) since its inception in 1995–96, continuing her dedicated involvement until at least 2011. For nearly two decades, she was the silent yet driving force behind countless events organized by BLUG and the India Linux Users’ Group (ILUG), like IT.com and FOSS.in.
Behind the scenes, Jessica tirelessly reached out to sponsors, speakers, and contributors, ensuring that every initiative had the support it needed. She never sought the spotlight, but her quiet leadership and unwavering commitment kept the community thriving. Her guiding principle was always clear: the community comes first.
Jessica’s contributions exemplify selfless service and enduring impact, making her a truly deserving candidate for this recognition.