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10 Days of Mozillians: meet Monique!

Firefox is turning 10! In order to celebrate, meet 10 Mozillians from all over the world.
They share with us how they feel about Mozilla and the Web : their memories, their daily life as a Mozillian, their expectations for the next 10 years and more.
Monique is the first Mozillian of our Anniversary series, but more portraits will follow 😉

Monique Brunel

“Mozilla gives me the opportunity to contribute to a better Web in a very strong community.”

Monique BrunelHi Monique!

So first things first: may you quickly introduce yourself and tell us more about you in general?

My name is Monique Brunel but I am also known under the nickname “webatou” (on Twitter, IRC …) which is the name of my blog.
I’ve been a librarian in a school for about twenty years, then accessibility consultant for websites.
I live in Mons, Belgium, and I retired some time ago.

Could you please give us 3 keywords that describe you?

Yes! My keywords: Open Web, Web for all, sharing.

Awesome! And how and when did you discover the Web?

I started using a computer in 1989, and a few years later I read articles about the Internet in computer magazines. I finally got a connection in 1999 and I immediately put my first website online (it was for the athletic club of which I was the secretary).

If you had one thing to say to the world about the Internet and its potential, what would it be?

Keep the web open, safe and accessible to all!

Yes! And what about you and Mozilla: how and why did you start contributing to Mozilla?

The first time I contributed to Mozilla was at FOSDEM 2004, I helped hosting the stand with the Mozilla Europe team.

If you had one word or sentence to describe Mozilla, what would it be?

To me, Mozilla is the organisation that guarantees the openness of the Web!

Do you have a Mozilla-related anecdote you’d like to share with us?

In October 2013, I had the chance to meet Vint Cerf (one of the two inventors of the Internet) in Mons… I introduced him to Firefox OS running on the Firefox OS smartphone I had just received from Mozilla Reps!

Monique / Vint

Tell us about something that you find particularly interesting or special about you and/or your local community!

I am proud and happy to have contributed to the creation of Mozilla Belgium with Benoit Leseul, it was at FOSDEM 2011!
Belgium is a small country and there’s not many Mozilla events over there, but we are actively participating in those that take place in France.

What’s your best memory with your fellow community members?

I’m thinking about the first participation of a student, Anthony Maton, to an event in Belgium… and from that day, Anthony became a very active contributor. This makes me proud!

I understand that! Now let’s talk about the 10 years to come: what do you expect from Mozilla in the future?

Mozilla gives me the opportunity to contribute to a better Web in a very strong community.

What exciting things do you envision for Mozilla in the future?

Make the Web a platform with Firefox OS, so that smartphone users can benefit from the open nature of the Web.

And what do you wish for Mozilla and for the Web?

I wish Mozilla to exist for a long time while keeping on enhancing freedom of choice for users. And the Web must always be open and accessible to all!

Thank you Monique for your time and commitment!

One comment on “10 Days of Mozillians: meet Monique!”

  1. Monique wrote on

    Thank you so much to Mozilla and Tristan for this portrait 🙂

    The most difficult question was about choice of a anecdote to share… there are so many! I wanted to relate also the organization of the first “Firefox OS App Days” in Belgium, in Mons 😉