Hi all
Cross posting this from the OpenFlexure Forum, with a few edits.
The OpenFlexure porject has some very exciting news. We have established a new UK Charity, the Humanitarian Technology Trust. The Trust is supporting the open source development and global manufacturing of technologies that benefit humanity. Our first project is supporting OpenFlexure Microscope’s development so that it can be manufactured for diagnostic use.
You can visit our website and read our full press release here:
I am also happy to announce that I am taking on the role of Chief Executive at the Humanitarian Technology Trust. This role will allow me to focus on OpenFlexure development, on network and partner support.
We also have a fantastic Board of Trustees:
- Adrian Bowyer, of RepRap fame
- Anna Sera Lowe, who many of you will know from GOSH: @annasera
- Andrew Lamb, who I am also sure many of you know, but he doesn’t seem to be on the forum!
By launching a Charity to support OpenFlexure (and eventually other similar projects) we are pushing for a sustainable future for the Microscope’s development. As the microscope matures it is getting harder to do this as a purely academic project. That being said, the academic team at the University of Glasgow and the University of Bath are still fully committed to OpenFlexure, the power of open source is collaboration, and their research projects will continue to add new features and modes to the microscope.
How can you support us?
The best way you can support us, is to join fantastic OpenFlexure community if you are not already part of it. We need our community to keep telling us the stories of what they are doing with the microscope, keep providing feedback on the design, on suggesting changes, and to keep reporting any issues you have. This great community is our core strength as a project.
Other things you could do if you really want to help us raise funds and make the Humanitarian Technology Trust successful:
Buy OpenFlexure merchandise!
OpenFlexure Merchandise helps us fund the project, it also looks pretty awesome.
Buy OpenFlexure Kits
While the project doesn’t sell these kits, any vendors with this logo is a vendor that is financially supporting the project with a percentage of each sale.
Share our press release with your network
As we start the charity we need to get our name out there, you can help us with that.
Donate
As a charity, donations and grants are expected to be our main source of income. If you are able to donate to the charity that would be fantastic. Donations to the charity enable us to continue to push the OpenFlexure project forward.
