As the digital transformation and the technological development progresses, the tools, methods and practices of activistsare changing and a unification of engineers and social reformers can be witnessed in contemporary forms of activism.This thesis presents a case study research that explores how practices from the Free and Open Source softwaremovement can lead to a democratisation of technology in the environmental activism project Precious Plastic.Furthermore it analysis the broader societal implications of this democratisation with a focus on human well-being andthe natural environment. By discussing Kelty’s (2008) concept of recursive publics and Haff’s (2018) work on OpenSource as a development model in the context of Feenberg’s (1992) critical theory of technology, central Open Sourcepractices were identified that have the potential to foster a democratisation of technology. This guided a qualitative textanalysis of the development discussions of two phases of Precious Plastic. Two major factors could be identified thatdetermine the extent to which the democratisation of technology through Open Source practices is possible. Theopportunity to contribute to a project and the power of a central gatekeeper. Other aspects, like an increased sense ofbelonging, the discussion of the own infrastructure and the projects future, or the efforts to involve as many actors as pos-sible in the technology, were found to have fostered a deeper and broader discussion among the participants. This studysuggests to extend the term Open Source activism (Aitchison and Peters, 2011), to describe a form of activismthat has the creation of technology at its core and brings together a variety of actors with similar practices who negotiateand shape the aim and the purpose of technology, leading to an increased compatibility of the technology with ournatural and human limits. However, this concept needs to be refined and improved with further studies before it can begenerally applicable.

O presente trabalho faz uma análise do movimento do software livre, um importante movimento de conotação mundial criado para superar as barreiras impostas ao fluxo do conhecimento pela propriedade privada das idéias. O nosso foco não é a luta entre as duas formas de tecnologia de software, livre e proprietária, mas compreender melhor a dinâmica do movimento que foi criado por Richard Stallman. Assim, o objetivo é mostrar que apesar de sua globalidade, o software livre não é recebido e desenvolvido da mesma forma, ao contrário, em cada país ele é recriado a partir das práticas e concepções políticas acerca do papel da tecnologia para o desenvolvimento social e econômico. Para justificar nossa hipótese, escolhemos analisar a América Latina, um continente que enxergou no software quando livre, através de seus governantes, a ferramenta capaz de proporcionar o desenvolvimento e até a independência nacional frente aos países desenvolvidos. Como contraponto de análise, discorremos também sobre o impacto da tecnologia livre, ou melhor, de código aberto, no país ícone da sociedade informacional, os Estados Unidos, onde as empresas privadas (em especial Apple e Google) e as universidades impulsionam a criação e a inovação tecnológica. No confronto analítico entre o poder de criação estatal x privado ou livre x aberto, a junção privado/aberto foi mais incisiva na criação de um terceiro modo de produção de software, que chamamos de híbrido - meio fechado, meio aberto. Esse software híbrido parece ser o modelo que manterá os países hegemônicos na liderança da corrida tecnológica. / The present work performs an analysis of the free software movement, an important movement worldwide developed to overcome the barriers imposed to the knowledge flow by the idea private property. Our focus is not the fight between the two software technology forms, free and proprietary, but to understand in a better way the dynamic of the movement created by Richard Stallman. Thus, the purpose is to show that, despite its globality, the free software is not received and developed the same way, on the contrary, in every country it is recreated from the practices and political conceptions about the technology role for the social and economical development. In order to justify our hypothesis, we chose to analyze Latin America, a continent which saw in the free software, by means of its governors, a tool capable of providing the development and even the national independence before the developed countries. As an analysis counterpoint, we also approached the free technology impact, that is, the open source, in the informational society icon country, the United States, where the private companies (especially Apple and Google) and the universities trigger the technological development and innovation. In the analytical confrontation between the state vs. private or free x open development power, the private/open junction has been more assertive at a third software production means, which we call \"hybrid\" - half closed, half open. Such hybrid software seems to be the model which will keep the hegemonic countries in the technological race leadership.

O presente trabalho faz uma análise do movimento do software livre, um importante movimento de conotação mundial criado para superar as barreiras impostas ao fluxo do conhecimento pela propriedade privada das idéias. O nosso foco não é a luta entre as duas formas de tecnologia de software, livre e proprietária, mas compreender melhor a dinâmica do movimento que foi criado por Richard Stallman. Assim, o objetivo é mostrar que apesar de sua globalidade, o software livre não é recebido e desenvolvido da mesma forma, ao contrário, em cada país ele é recriado a partir das práticas e concepções políticas acerca do papel da tecnologia para o desenvolvimento social e econômico. Para justificar nossa hipótese, escolhemos analisar a América Latina, um continente que enxergou no software quando livre, através de seus governantes, a ferramenta capaz de proporcionar o desenvolvimento e até a independência nacional frente aos países desenvolvidos. Como contraponto de análise, discorremos também sobre o impacto da tecnologia livre, ou melhor, de código aberto, no país ícone da sociedade informacional, os Estados Unidos, onde as empresas privadas (em especial Apple e Google) e as universidades impulsionam a criação e a inovação tecnológica. No confronto analítico entre o poder de criação estatal x privado ou livre x aberto, a junção privado/aberto foi mais incisiva na criação de um terceiro modo de produção de software, que chamamos de híbrido - meio fechado, meio aberto. Esse software híbrido parece ser o modelo que manterá os países hegemônicos na liderança da corrida tecnológica. / The present work performs an analysis of the free software movement, an important movement worldwide developed to overcome the barriers imposed to the knowledge flow by the idea private property. Our focus is not the fight between the two software technology forms, free and proprietary, but to understand in a better way the dynamic of the movement created by Richard Stallman. Thus, the purpose is to show that, despite its globality, the free software is not received and developed the same way, on the contrary, in every country it is recreated from the practices and political conceptions about the technology role for the social and economical development. In order to justify our hypothesis, we chose to analyze Latin America, a continent which saw in the free software, by means of its governors, a tool capable of providing the development and even the national independence before the developed countries. As an analysis counterpoint, we also approached the free technology impact, that is, the open source, in the informational society icon country, the United States, where the private companies (especially Apple and Google) and the universities trigger the technological development and innovation. In the analytical confrontation between the state vs. private or free x open development power, the private/open junction has been more assertive at a third software production means, which we call \"hybrid\" - half closed, half open. Such hybrid software seems to be the model which will keep the hegemonic countries in the technological race leadership.