[Kictanet] Toolkit for free/open sourcesoftware policy inAfrica

[alice at apc.org]

(Apologies for cross posting)

> INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC AND MEDIA
> 
> bridges.org, 10 August 2005
> 
> TOOLKIT TO HELP GOVERNMENTS NAVIGATE THE MINEFIELD OF FREE/OPEN  
> SOURCE SOFTWARE POLICY IN AFRICA
> 
> Over the last few years free/open source software (FOSS) has emerged  
> as an alternative to proprietary software and -- many hope -- a  
> solution to Africa's digital divide. FOSS comes with a number of  
> rights that distinguish it from proprietary software, including the  
> right to access the source code and make modifications; the right to  
> use and share it freely; and it is usually available without license  
> costs.
> 
> A variety of interest groups such as the local ICT industry,  
> multinational software vendors, industry associations, academia and  
> civil society are increasingly lobbying their governments to take  
> action. The suggestions that are being put forward range from  
> mandating the exclusive use and procurement of free/open source  
> software to an unregulated free-market approach. In addition, African  
> governments are urged to define their positions regarding the  
> inclusion of FOSS in the official proceedings leading up to Phase II  
> of the World Summit for the Information Society in Tunis. However, a  
> practical overview of the areas in which governments can make  
> interventions, and the strategic approaches they can take have been  
> missing, and many advocacy efforts fail to address the link between  
> FOSS and broader social and economic development goals.
> 
> The bridges.org report, "Free/open source software (FOSS) policy in  
> Africa: A toolkit for policy-makers and practitioners" is targeted at  
> governments that are investigating whether and how they can integrate  
> FOSS into their strategies for social and economic development. It  
> provides a broad overview of how FOSS fits into national ICT policy- 
> making, outlines the areas where governments can take policy decision  
> related to FOSS as well as some of the possible approaches, and lists  
> activities related to FOSS policy from across Africa. It recommends  
> an approach to FOSS policy-making linked to national development  
> goals and discusses some example development goals and how FOSS  
> policies could be shaped to address them. In addition, a set of  
> annexes provides a collection of useful resources that complement the  
> report, including a background reading list of key documents and  
> reports and a list of organisations working in the field.
> 
> One of the annexes and an important part of the toolkit is a table  
> containing country-specific information on FOSS policy activities for  
> Africa. It is intended as a starting point for a resource that is  
> owned by the community. The annex is provided as a separate document  
> under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license  
> to allow modifications and extension.
> 
> The development of the Toolkit was supported by the UK Department of  
> International Development Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA)  
> programme.
> 
> The full report and policy table are available at http:// 
> www.bridges.org/foss/index.html
> 
> 
> ENDS ###
> 
> Contact:
> 
> Philipp Schmidt
> research at bridges.org
> 
> ------------------------------------------
> 
> About bridges.org
> 
> Bridges.org is an international non-profit organisation with a  
> mission to promote the effective use of ICT in developing countries  
> to improve people's lives. One area of focus is informing policy  
> decisions that affect people's access to and use of ICT. Bridges.org  
> also conducts technology research and provides social consulting  
> services to ground-level projects using ICT, helping with project  
> planning and evaluation and relaying lessons learned. It brings an  
> entrepreneurial attitude to its social mission, and is committed to  
> working with, instead of against, government agencies and the  
> business community. For more information please see http:// 
> www.bridges.org.
> 
> 
> 
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