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ID: 83806Added: 2005-06-21 22:36Modified: 2009-01-23 11:13Refreshed: 2012-02-10 01:12 
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Context: Why is this project important? Developing countries' access to information and communication technology (ICT) is severely limited by the high cost of software. Open Source represents an alternative to purchasing expensive software from proprietary software vendors. Open Source software is usually available free of cost, making it very accessible and minimizing the ‘digital divide’ in many instances. Many people and organizations across the world are taking advantage of Open Source software. In Asia and the Pacific, Open Source activities are sporadic and disconnected. A lack of networking translates into various different innovators undertaking their own projects without tapping into expertise that are already available, or applications that are already developed. The Project: How does this initiative address the development problem? This project supports the development of an International Open Source Network (IOSN) based in Asia-Pacific. Specific activities include two regional consultation sessions to broaden awareness of Open Source issues and the establishment of a small secretariat to initiate a network of individuals and organizations for information exchange on Open Source solutions. The regional consultations represent an opportunity for the Open Source community, technologists, and officials from Asian and Pacific countries to come together and exchange information on national Open Source policies and localization, and develop a regional agenda and action plan for Open Source. The small secretariat acts as a reference point and resource base for the Open Source community. It coordinates training sessions for Open Source software and applications, addresses issues of Open Source licensing, and provides a commons for sharing intellectual property. Phase II of the project began in October 2005. Objectives: To create an International Open Source Network (IOSN) based in the Asia-Pacific in order to network users and advocates in the region so that resources and capacities will be better known and available to all. More specifically, for each of the two components, the project aims to: Regional Consultations:
Secretariat:
Development Impact The IOSN portal has been developed and serves as a comprehensive online resource centre on Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) for the Asia-Pacific region. The portal provides news on FOSS, discussion forums, mailing lists, information on the state of FOSS in Asia-Pacific countries and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list. To encourage sharing and collaboration, the portal employs many interactive applications such was wikis, blogs, task management systems, photo galleries and forms. It also features multi-lingual pages with full support for searching, sorting, and indexing all content. It has over 1000 members from the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, has had over 100,000 unique visitors, and over four million hits over a four-month period at the end of 2004. The IOSN website (www.iosn.net) was launched in April 2003. Information on FOSS that is relevant to the Asia-Pacific region was gathered from the Internet and grouped into categories and sub-categories to facilitate easy access to these resources. These categories are located prominently on the home page of the portal. Less than a year after the project's inception, in May 2004, there were on average 61 visitors to the portal daily, corresponding to 806 hits per day. IOSN organized the Free/Open Source Software Asia-Pacific (FOSSAP) Consultation in February 2004 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. FOSSAP brought together policy-makers and FOSS experts in the Asia-Pacific region to share their experiences, raise awareness of specific FOSS-related issues, discuss developments in the region and provide an opportunity to network. More than 40 participants from 20 countries attended FOSSAP, including director generals, senior ministry officials, directors of ministries and regulatory agencies, key national interest groups and non-governmental organizations. A series of primers on FOSS have also been developed. These primers serve as resource materials for policy-makers and planners. 1500 copies of the first primer, “General Introduction to FOSS” were printed and distributed throughout Asia-Pacific and globally. More than 7000 copies of these primers had been downloaded from the IOSN website as of November 2004. The primer was also translated into Farsi and Vietnamese for use by the Iranian and Vietnamese governments. Soft copies of several other primers are available online (http://www.iosn.net/foss-primers). In 2004, IOSN launched a FOSS Micro-grant Programme for Pacific Island Countries. The goal is to develop human resources and expertise in FOSS in the Pacific, which will help alleviate some of the high costs of ICT in the region. Grants are awarded to individuals or teams for carrying out the development of original and innovative FOSS solutions. Phase II of the project began in October 2005. Outputs Websites:
IOSN publications:
Newspaper articles:
Journal Articles:
Key Words* TELECOMMUNICATIONS | INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | INTERNET | COMPUTER PROGRAMS | INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES |
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