Who are you?
I am Cecília Tivir, a Mozambican researcher in Artificial Intelligence applied to education, an educator, and an open-source community organizer. Throughout my career in technology, I have worked to build inclusive spaces for women and underrepresented groups; I co-founded the Mozambican Association of Women in Technology (Wansati Lab), organized Django Girls workshops across various Mozambican cities, co-founded the Python Mozambique community, and co-founded the PyLadies chapters in Maputo and Beira. My connection to the Python community began in 2016 when I met the PyLadies Porto Alegre group in Brazil. It was an experience that inspired me to bring Django Girls to Mozambique as a welcoming entry point into programming. Since then, I have been connecting the regional community to the global ecosystem by participating in and volunteering for PyCon Africa and contributing to PyLadies Global.
What would you bring to the PSF Board of Directors?
I bring the direct perspective of someone who organizes communities at the grassroots level in emerging regions, such as Africa and Portuguese-speaking countries. I do not come with years of experience in the foundation's financial or operational governance, and I fully acknowledge that. What I do bring is concrete field experience, a practical understanding of the barriers hindering the sustainable growth of the Python ecosystem outside major hubs, whether due to event application bureaucracy, a lack of translated materials, or an absence of localized mentorship. This experience, combined with my background in research and education, allows me to offer the board a perspective that complements those with internal management experience, helping the foundation turn goals of inclusion and representation into processes that truly work for local organizers.
What motivated you to run for the PSF Board of Directors?
What motivated me to run was realizing that the sustainable growth of emerging ecosystems, particularly in Africa and CPLP nations, requires dedicated governance, intentional representation, and direct access to resources. After years of organizing the community, seeing firsthand the efforts and limitations of those who lead locally, I understood that it was time to bring these regional voices into the foundation's decision-making process, and not just continue asking the foundation to listen to us from the outside.
What problem or challenge do you want to address if you are on the board?
The issue I aim to address if elected to the board is the barrier to access and participation faced by organizers and educators in emerging regions. This translates into three concrete areas of action. First, simplifying application procedures to reduce the administrative friction encountered by community leaders organizing local PyCons, meetups, and PyLadies or Django Girls gatherings in Africa and other emerging regions. Second, fostering cross-border collaboration among chapters in Portuguese-speaking countries and across Africa through shared educational materials, translation initiatives, and localized mentorship frameworks. Third, expanding PSF and PyLadies mentorship structures to equip local community leaders with practical handbooks covering legal, financial, and operational aspects, thereby ensuring the long-term stability of these chapters.
Where do you see the PSF 5 years from now?
Over the next five years, I envision the PSF making concrete progress toward the goals the council itself has already put up for public discussion—particularly regarding regional community self-sufficiency and integrating inclusion into every decision rather than treating it as a standalone project. The foundation’s strategic plan emphasizes strengthening partnerships with community groups across the open-source ecosystem and supporting Python communities in building their own capacity through collaboration and shared resources. This is precisely where I want to contribute. I envision a PSF that translates these goals into tangible processes for organizers—whether they are running a Django Girls event in Maputo or a PyLadies meetup in Beira—by offering streamlined applications, translated materials, and structured mentorship. At the same time, the PSF would responsibly sustain critical Python infrastructure like PyPI and CPython, ensuring these efforts align with the foundation's actual funding and staffing capabilities. I see a PSF that is more transparent in its decision-making and fosters stronger connections between regional communities and central governance, ensuring that language and geographic distance no longer act as barriers to contributing to or leading in the open-source world.
What areas of the Python community are you involved with?
I am primarily involved with the PyLadies community, serving as a co-founder of the Maputo chapter and a mentor for the Beira chapter. I am also active in PyCon Africa, having participated as both a volunteer and a speaker. I have been a regular volunteer for PyLadiesCon since 2023 and co-organize workshops for beginners in Python, Data Science, and AI. I was honored with the Outstanding PyLady award in 2025 and have been an individual member of the Django Software Foundation since 2024, reflecting my ongoing commitment to education, diversity, and community organizing within and around the Python ecosystem.
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