Name: Donna Metzlar
Network: Genderchangers
Interview by: Gabriella Coleman
Date: 3 - 7 March, 2009
Location: Winter Camp 09, Amsterdam
URL: networkcultures.org/wintercamp

Tali Smith and Donna Metzlar spoke on behalf of Genderchangers, a group initiated in Amsterdam but has since grown beyond its local roots into an Internet based network. Tali Smith was one of the original founders and Donna Metzlar has been one of the more active members in the last number of years. They wanted to do a joint interview (though we were unable to do so due to the camera set up) so we did a back to back interview. They preferred speaking together because they were uncomfortable speaking for the entire network, which indeed points to the problem of representation that many of these informal networks face. As a group, they seek to build an environment where women can learn about technology (free software as well as hardware) and support each others in this quest by hosting classes, tutorials, etc. Genderchangers is primarily an online network (though there are a core of participants in the Netherlands) but they also hold a tech festival every year in a different location, which has proved to be an important part of their past, present, and future and is a way to recruit new members (eclectictechcarnival.org/). At Winter Camp they composed a new manifesto entitled WTF: Women, Technology and Freedom available genderchangers.org/inc/index.php/Manifesto.

Read the blogpost of the final presentation of Genderchangers here:
networkcultures.org/wintercamp/2009/03/08/genderchangers-wtf/