iDempiere enthusiasts share many examples of how iDempiere changed people’s lives for the better. Here we present to you our hero of the month for her contributions during the month of October.
Vanessa has been an active community member since last year’s conference, she is in charge of the social media presence of the project, she designs marketing content to keep the community informed, an area in which the project had a significant weakness. Additionally, she was a key part of the team that designed the new website, an important milestone for the project. An uncommon open-source software project contributor, but a really important and welcome one. These are some of the things the community shared in the poll about Vanessa’s contributions:
” …her work on all the “social” stuff should be rewarded… “
” …her contribution is really important at this moment and for the future (long term) of the project… “
“… Without a good social media and communication job, all this powerful platform [iDempiere] will remain ‘hidden from the world'”
![](https://www.idempiere.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VanessaCastro-1024x682.jpg)
Vanessa Castro Fuertes
Colombia
I am passionate about design, drawing, photography, and art in general. Since a very young age, I have always felt this affinity for everything that has to do with colors, shapes, and designs, but it was not until 2017 that I decided to focus on this area. From this moment on I’ve been learning everything I can about it, and it makes me very happy to be part of iDempiere doing something I enjoy so much.
How long have you been part of iDempiere?
The first time I heard about iDempiere was in 2013 but it wasn’t until 2019 when I got involved.
How and why did you get involved with iDempiere?
I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 iDempiere world conference, during the conference I was in charge of promoting the event on social media, as well as recording videos and taking photos to share them with the community. Since then I try to create media content to keep the community informed about important events and create awareness. At the same time, I worked together with Diego Ruiz in the creation of the new website.
The reason why I decided to get involved in the project is that I share the philosophy of open source, this community is really strong and united and the work of each member is valued and recognized, no matter how small.
What is your experience in other OS projects?
I have been a user of different open-source software and my experience with it has been really good, so I always try to find first the open-source alternatives.
Is there something that makes you passionate about open source in general and iDempiere in particular?
Something I really like about open source, and specifically about idempiere, is synergy. It’s nice to see how people from different parts of the world, with different cultures and languages, come together to build something so powerful!
Furthermore, I am very excited to have the opportunity to practice everything I learn day by day in a real-world project, the fact that it has a positive impact in iDempiere makes it even better.
How does it feel to win the October 2020 Hero of the month title?
If I’m honest, I’m very surprised because there are so many talented people in this community always contributing, that’s why I feel very flattered and it makes me happy to know that the community likes what I do and it motivates me to continue and improve.
![Diego Ruiz](https://www.idempiere.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/index.png)
I am a systems engineer with a great passion for open source, software development, and technology in general. I have been part of the iDempiere community since 2012. I believe the enterprise world is one of the most aggressive environments out there. Companies tend to ruthlessly compete against each other. That is why seeing competitors co-exist and cooperate in harmony in iDempiere (and OSS communities in general) is so interesting to me.