From Karachi to Düsseldorf: How open source shaped Saad Bin Rafiq’s journey

Saad Bin Rafiq

By Eclipse Foundation Team “If you want people who go the extra mile, you will find them in Pakistan” When Saad Bin Rafiq first encountered JavaScript in 2008, he didn’t yet know the word open source. What he did know was curiosity, and the feeling that a few lines of code could change everything. Growing […]

Caribbean contributors: Brayan Muñoz, Java professional and young professor

Smiling man wearing a black quarter-zip athletic top with a white collar and a red bird logo on the chest, standing against a blue abstract background with flowing wave lines.

By Eclipse Foundation Team  How a Gen Z developer is shaping the Dominican Republic’s open source community From zero experience to global impact: Some developers grow up tinkering with computers. Others write their first line of code before they even know what a compiler is. But for Brayan Muñoz, the journey began in a completely […]

Caribbean contributors: Eudris Cabrera, networker and Java Champion

By Eclipse Foundation Team  “Everything I have is thanks to Java and open source” When you meet Eudris Cabrera, one of today’s most active Latin American voices in the Java and open source world, you quickly notice – apart from the genuine enthusiasm he radiates – that his story is much bigger than code. It […]

Caribbean contributors: Fred Peña’s journey into Java and open source

By Eclipse Foundation Team  “Different opinions create better solutions” When Fred Peña saw a friend programming as a 13-year-old teen in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, he could hardly imagine that this curiosity would grow into a lifelong passion for technology, teaching, and community building. Fast forward 22 years: Today, “Freddy” is a recognised leader in […]

Olawale Fabiyi: From West Africa to Southeast Asia – and back again

A man in a dark coat, dress shirt, and striped tie sits on a brown tufted leather sofa. He is turned slightly to the side with his hands clasped, looking thoughtfully into the distance. Behind him is a large mural depicting historical figures in a village scene.

Friday, November 14, 2025 – by Eclipse Foundation Team  “The future of African technology will be built on open source” From his first baby steps in digital design in his father’s print shop to shaping digital transformation in The Gambia, Olawale Fabiyi’s story traces the evolution of a self-taught programmer who turned limited access into […]

Behind the Code: Nhan Luong (Vietnam) powers Eclipse Autowrx’s SDV vision

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 – by Eclipse Foundation Team  Nhan Luong Powers Eclipse Autowrx’s SDV Vision Have you ever wondered who the committers behind Eclipse Autowrx are? Eclipse Autowrx is an SDV project that pursues a digital-first approach for the creation of next-generation customer experiences. Meet Project Lead Nhan Luong, Senior Software Architect at Bosch Vietnam. After spending […]

A Brazilian dream: Otavio Santana’s rise through open source

Monday, June 30, 2025 – 13:12 by Tatjana Obradovic “Sometimes, all someone needs is to believe it’s possible” Brazil stands at the heart of the Global South, shaping global technology and community movements. Follow us as we explore Otavio Santana’s inspiring journey from his beginnings in Salvador, Brazil, to the international stages of Java stardom. Discover […]

Elsa Zacharia’s Eclipse platform journey

From contributor to committer At a Glance:   Involved in open source since: 2023 Works for: IBM India Eclipse Foundation contributor since: 2023 Involved in: Eclipse Platform Committer to: Eclipse Platform Eclipse Foundation committer since: 2024 1. What’s your background as a developer?  I graduated with a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from A.P.J. […]

Connecting people, inspiring learning

Stories from open source contributors in Uganda Tuesday, January 21, 2025 – 09:51 by Thabang Mashologu Open source technologies have a unique ability to connect people, transcend boundaries, and foster learning. This is exemplified by the collaboration between Ugandan developers Tayebwa Noah and Jessie Ssebuliba, and Germany-based Hendrik Ebbers, CEO of Open Elements, Eclipse Committer, and a […]

Learning from Lesotho

Supporting Girls Coding Academy’s hackathon Monday, February 3, 2025 – 16:31 by Clark Roundy Sometimes, research sparks more than just insight – it inspires action. That’s exactly what happened with our State of Open Source in the Global South report. Among the findings, one key takeaway stood out: open source projects and technologies, such the Eclipse Desktop IDE, […]