<p align="CENTER">Software Freedom Day 2012<strong> - 1st September
2012<br></strong>Open Source Developers Challenge <strong>- 31st
August 2012<br>Strathmore University, Nairobi</strong></p>
<p align="CENTER">Theme:<strong> “An Innovative, Open Future for
Sustainable Socio-Economic Development”</strong></p>
<p>The success of the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
development model has made immeasurable contributions to the
development of information and communication technology (ICT). FOSS
is software that gives the user the freedom to use, to alter and to
share it. Since the software source code is readily available, the
users are able to make changes to suit their requirements. FOSS
therefore has very many benefits compared to the proprietary and
closed source alternatives. This openness means that FOSS is the
embodiment of innovation and collaboration.</p>
<p>This leads to better software, and ease of access to technology.
The end result is that better and affordable solutions become
available to enhance the quality of life of people from all over the
world. This is is even more evident in poor countries where the large
masses of unemployed youth can easily arm themselves with technology
tools that can give them an opportunity to earn a living and improve
their quality of life.</p>
<p>Today, open source runs most of the technologies that we use. More
than half of all mobile devices being sold run the open source
Android operating system. More than a 3rd of worlds Domain Name
Server (DNS), run on BIND, literally the glue that keeps the Internet
together, which is open source. Over 70% of the web pages on the
Internet are hosted on the open source Apache web server, while about
95% of the world's super computers run on Linux, arguably the most
successful open source project. Nearly all the popular social media
applications like Facebook, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, YouTube etc,
are built on open source tools.</p>
<p>The Internet would probably not be as pervasive as we know it
today if it was not for free and open source software. Today we have
a future that promises openness. The Kenya Government is only the first country in
sub-Saharan Africa to launch Open Data. The Open Educational
Resources and Open Learning are becoming important resources. The
Wikipedia (built on open source) is a blazing success in Open Content
development and collaboration.</p>
<p><b>The Software Freedom Day 2012 (1st September 2012)<br></b>The Software
Freedom day is a concept that was started by the Software Freedom
Foundation and is aimed to celebrate the FOSS movement and community.
It is also meant to educate the public about the benefits of using
FOSS.</p>
<p>SFD is held every 3rd Saturday of September and organized by local
FOSS communities. However, a team organizing an SFD event in their
locality are free to alter the date to suit the local requirements
and circumstances. LPA-Kenya last organized the SFD in 2007. We are
now planning this event to be a yearly celebration in line with our
strategic plan.</p>
<p>The conference will also be preceded by various training workshops
which are aimed at imparting practical skills in the leading open
source tools, which will be facilitated by some of the leading open
source experts in Kenya.</p>
<p>This year´s SFD Kenya will be graced by Jon ¨maddog¨ Hall, the
Director of Linux International. Mr Hall, or maddog as he is widely
known, is a globally renowned Open Source advocate, having supported
the early development of Linux. This involvement brought him to a
very close working relationship with Linus Torvalds, the creator of
Linux. He has worked for Western Electric Corporation, Aetna Life and
Casualty, Bell Laboratories, Digital Equipment Corporation, VA Linux
Systems, and SGI. It was during his time with Digital that he
initially became interested in Linux, and was instrumental in
obtaining equipment and resources for Linus Torvalds to accomplish
his first port, to Digital's Alpha platform. He resides in the USA.</p>
<p>The guests of honour will be the Hon. Prof. Ayiecho Olweny, the
Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Education and Dr Bitange Ndemo,
the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications.
Other distinguished guests will be senior leaders in Government,
Academia and from the business community.</p>
<p><strong>Open Source Developer Challenge (31st August 2012)</strong><br>Along
with the SFD, the Linux Professional Institute (East Africa) will
sponsor the Open Source Developers challenge. This event is targeted
at students who are interested in developing software applications
and solutions using Open Source tools.</p>
<p>This challenge is open to students in all Universities and
tertiary training institutions who are studying Computer Science and
other related courses. There will be various prizes to be won e.g.
laptops, tablets, smart phones, training manuals, LPI exam vouchers
and many more. The winners will be announced and awarded during the
cocktail that will be hosted on the evening of Friday, 31st August
2012. Project submissions will be done through the IT Heads of Departments or Deans.<br></p>
<p><strong>Conference Objectives:</strong></p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Celebrate the FOSS Movement in
Kenya
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Officially launch the LPA-Kenya
strategic plan
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Raise Awareness about FOSS in the
public and private sector and the general public
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Create interest about FOSS in
Educational institutions
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Present FOSS opportunities
suitable to the local industry.
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Bring the local FOSS community
together for networking opportunities
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom:0in">Inspire the upcoming generation of
Open Source developers and systems administrators
</p>
</li><li><p>Present opportunities for FOSS Business models
</p>
</li></ol>
<p>Along with the SFD event, LPA Kenya will also conduct various
training workshops on leading open source tools in the week preceding
the conference. For more information and booking details, please
visit the LPA website at <a href="http://www.lpakenya.org/" target="_blank">www.lpakenya.org</a><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
</font></span></p><br>-- <br><b>----------------------------------------------------<br>Kind Regards,<br>Evans Ikua,</b><br><a href="http://lanetconsulting.com" target="_blank">lanetconsulting.com</a>,<br><a href="http://lpi-eastafrica.org" target="_blank">lpi-eastafrica.org</a>,<br>
<a href="http://ict-innovation.fossfa.net" target="_blank">ict-innovation.fossfa.net</a>,<br>Skype: @ikuae<br>Cell: +254-722-955831<br><br>