I am applying for Ubuntu Membership and would like to share my contributions to the Ubuntu community, my wider open-source work, and what I hope to contribute in the future.
About me
My computer gave up on me ten minutes before a presentation at City Hall in Cardiff, Wales, in 2018. I installed Ubuntu that afternoon, and I have been riding the Ubuntu donkey cart ever since.
I am from Kunene, in north-western Namibia, where I grew up with very little access to technology. I was one of very few people around me with a computer, and I learned by sharing what I had and learning from others. I came into open source through the Python community in 2015, and since then I have helped build Python and Django communities in Namibia and across Africa. In 2025, after several years of trying, I established the Ubuntu Namibia LoCo.
Where I grew up, Ubuntu is not a brand. It is the understanding that you cannot go far without other people, and that what you build matters because of the people who can build on it after you. That has shaped how I approach open source and community building.
Contact information
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Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/~ngazetungue
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Ubuntu Namibia: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ubuntu-namibia/
Contributions
Ubuntu Namibia LoCo - 2025 to present
My first experience contributing to Ubuntu was in 2022. I had been trying for several years to establish a LoCo in Namibia, and in 2025 I finally established the Ubuntu Namibia LoCo, which is now recognised as a LoCo.
I lead its programme, communications and activities, while encouraging other members to take ownership of parts of the community. Building a community that can continue without depending on its founder is important to me.
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ubuntu-namibia_ubuntu-summit-2604-extended-namibia-canonical-activity-7465336692368089088-Z9Ht?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAA0wD1IBIafco_2nGTY7fIO-l33yumakv88
- https://lnkd.in/p/dEB-6GvH
Ubuntu Summit Extended - 2025 and 2026
I organised and hosted Ubuntu Summit Extended in Namibia in 2025 and 2026.
The 2025 edition brought around 30 people together through watch parties, talks and an installation session at venues including Zoo Park and the University of Namibia. For many attendees, it was their first Ubuntu or open-source community event.
We ran the event again in 2026. One thing I was particularly pleased about was seeing community members take ownership of parts of the programme. The installation clinic, for example, was run by community members rather than by me.
Ubuntu at PyCon Namibia - 2026
I organised an Ubuntu booth at PyCon Namibia 2026. The booth gave Python developers, students and other attendees a place to ask questions, see Ubuntu in use, get help installing it and meet people from the Ubuntu community.
Ubuntu had already been used on workshop machines and conference projectors at our events for years, but having Ubuntu installed is not the same as having an Ubuntu community. The booth gave Ubuntu a visible presence and helped connect Ubuntu with people who were already active in another open-source community.
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See the report of one participant : Event Report - PyCon Namibia 2026
UbuCon Africa - Arusha, Tanzania, 2025
I was part of the organising team for DjangoCon Africa, which hosted the first UbuCon Africa. I led communications and design over several months, including the event identity, call for proposals campaign, speaker announcements, social media, conference coverage and post-event communication.
UbuCon Kenya - 2026
I contributed remotely to UbuCon Kenya through event identity and design, including the logo, social media graphics and banners.
UbuCon Kenya organiser report i featured
Ubuntu Summit - 2022 and 2024
I spoke at the Ubuntu Summit in Prague in 2022 and The Hague in 2024, sharing my experiences from building open-source communities in Africa and learning from contributors from around the world.
Below is my talks links:
Python and Django communities
Since 2015, I have helped organise and grow Python and Django communities and conferences in Namibia and across Africa, as well as contributing to events in Europe and the United States. This includes PyCon Namibia, pan-African Python events, DjangoCon US in Chicago, DjangoCon Africa and DjangoCon Europe.
My work has included organising, communications, design, speaking and supporting other community organisers. I am a Fellow of the Python Software Foundation and an Individual Member of the Django Software Foundation.
I include this work because it is where I developed much of the community-building experience I now bring to Ubuntu. It also gives me opportunities to connect Ubuntu with other open-source communities, particularly through events such as PyCon.
Connecting Africa with the wider Ubuntu project
A big part of my contribution is connecting African communities with the wider Ubuntu project in both directions. I bring the experiences and perspectives of African organisers and contributors into the wider Ubuntu community, while creating opportunities for people here to participate in Ubuntu without having to travel thousands of kilometres.
Through Ubuntu Summit Extended, UbuCon Africa, PyCon and other communities, I have seen how much can happen when people are given a way to connect, share what works and build on each other’s experience.
I want African communities to be contributors to the wider Ubuntu project, not just participants in it.
Plans for the future
I want my future contribution to build on what has already started rather than begin something separate.
Build a stronger bridge between LoCos and the wider Ubuntu project
I want to make it easier for people who are active in LoCos to find ways to contribute to Ubuntu beyond their local activities. I would like to create opportunities for LoCos to engage with Ubuntu teams and contributors, share specific contribution opportunities, and bring recurring challenges, ideas and feedback from LoCos back to the relevant Ubuntu teams.
The aim is to make the relationship between local communities and the wider Ubuntu project a two-way connection.
Help young people find their way into Ubuntu and open source
I want to create more opportunities for students and young people to discover Ubuntu early and see themselves as potential contributors, not just users.
My experience bringing high school and university students into technology communities through activities such as Education Day at PyCons has shown me the value of giving young people access to contributors, practical experiences and a community they can continue growing with. I would like to work with LoCos and other communities to develop similar opportunities and clearer paths from learning and participation into contribution.
Strengthen collaboration between LoCos and develop new community leaders
I want to help LoCos share knowledge, resources and opportunities while encouraging more community members to take ownership of activities and projects.
I want to help create communities where leadership and contribution are shared rather than depending on a small number of organisers.
Document community work and make it reusable
I want to capture the practical knowledge that LoCo organisers and contributors gain from doing the work: how to start activities, welcome contributors, organise events, collaborate with other LoCos and connect with Ubuntu teams.
I also want to document successful activities, lessons learned and contributions so that useful knowledge is not lost and other communities can learn from and build on it. I want this knowledge to become part of the wider Ubuntu project and be useful to other communities.
Bring African LoCo leaders together through a continental UbuCon
I would like to work with LoCos across Africa to explore and build a UbuCon that brings community leaders and contributors together to share experiences, discuss common challenges and build relationships that continue beyond the event.
My contribution would be in communications, design and organising, building on my experience working with open-source communities and conferences.
Finally, I have spent the past decade building communities, connecting people and creating opportunities for others to participate in open source.
I want to keep building communities where geography is not a barrier, where people can find each other, learn from one another and contribute to something bigger.
I want the next person deep down in Mountainous Namibia, or anywhere else in Africa to find the door already open, and people on the other side who make them feel that they belong there.
