Dear Colleagues, I have been quietly absorbing all of this, and am still absorbing. :-) But let me say this: we at Kabissa have a very practical orientation and don't really push Open Source in our trainings or through our services and Web site unless it's just staring in our faces as just plain better. Open Source Content Management Systems and other server-based tools and desktop applications like Firefox and Thunderbird spring straight to mind.
In the meantime, I hope you and other software developers in Africa are aware of and considering attending Africa Source II, which will be an ideal opportunity for discussing these concerns in a retreat setting. The deadline for applying is October 24th. I've pasted the announcement below - the latest version of which can always be found at: http://www.tacticaltech.org/africasource2 Best wishes, Tobias -- Tobias Eigen Co-Executive Director Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa http://www.kabissa.org Washington DC Office 1519 Connecticut Avenue Suite 200 Washington DC, 20036 USA Tel: +1-202-265-6116 (GMT-5) Fax: +1-702-441-8964 Seattle Office 9670 Olympus Beach Road NE Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USA Tel: +1-206-965-9345 (GMT-8!) ************************************************ Africa Source II - Free and Open Source Software for Local Communities Kalangala, Uganda - Jan 08-Jan 15, 2006 Please note that the deadline for sending in applications has been extended until October 24th, 2005. Africa Source II will be an eight day hands-on workshop aimed at building the technical skills of those working with NGOs on the continent. It will take place in one of the most beautiful parts of the Kalangala Island on Victoria Lake during the beginning of January 2006. Africa Source II will bring together more than 100 NGOs and NGO technology support professionals working at the local level across the region, together with a handful of field leaders from Africa, Europe, North America and Asia. Africa Source II will be a free and open source software (FOSS) event. It's primary goal will be to increase the practical use of FOSS desktop applications and tools amongst the non profit sector in Africa. Specifically, Africa Source II will focus on how Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) can be integrated into the mission-critical work of NGO's. We will be bringing together nearly 100 NGO Support Proffessionals and NGO Staff from across Africa to learn new skills, exchange tips, and share experiences. All participants will have a history of work with service and advocacy NGOs, educational organisations, NGO resource centres, community centres and health information organisations. Participants with a range of experience will learn from one another about how FOSS can help make their NGO's more efficient, build capacity and assure that they are complying with software licensing laws. They will be given an opportunity to develop their understanding of FOSS, including exploring the challenges and the future potential of FOSS adoption. There will be a range of sessions for participants to take part in and will include: * How to help NGO's plan for, migrate to and adopt FOSS applications * How to use FOSS applications to handle information, publish content using citizen's media tools and engage constituency * How FOSS can increase accessibilty through localisation, translation into local language and dialects During these sessions participants will get an opportunity to learn from peers about how FOSS has impacted their work through case studies and skill shares. The workshops will be lead by a range of facilitators from the respective region with strong experience in deploying free and open source solutions and of working in the non- profit sector. They will be joined by a handful of others with relevant experiences from developing and transition countries, as well as a select number of leaders in from specific fields The camp will focus on learning by doing, rather than by listening. We aim for a "workshop vibe" as opposed to a "conference vibe"; we hope that elements like the location, shared housing, and the nature of the sessions keep the energy level high and the interest in active participation over passive learning strong. Like other source events, Africa Source II will be intentionally designed to foster community building, this creates an atmosphere conducive to learning, but more importantly is essential if longer term relationships are to be built. Building on the previous Africa Source event (Namibia, March 2004), which brought together African FOSS developers working in the social sector, Africa Source II will instead work at a different level, concentrating on bringing together those working with NGOs and technology at the practitioner and intermediary level. Besides new ideas, skills and contacts that participants will gain they will also leave the workshop equipped with an event specific version of NGO-in- a-box, a collection of Free and Open Source Software that will be relevant to their work. The Association for Progressive Communication APC (regional network), Fantsuam Foundation (Nigeria), Schoolnet Africa (regional network), Translate.org.za, WOUGNET (Uganda), Creative Commons South Africa, Aspiration (US) and The Tactical Technology Collective (the Netherlands) will collaborate to organise the content of the workshop and to build strong relationships between the participants. The project partners are committed to examining the challenges of implementing FOSS in the African context, stretching its potential to fit the needs on the ground, and building local capacities to realise this. Our local partners there are East African Center for Open Source (EACOSS), Linux Solutions and WOUGNET. Previous source events have taken place in Croatia - September 2003, Namibia - March 2004 and India - February 2005. As well as in Middle East & Northern Africa future source events will take place in Central Asia and Middle East. Interaction and learning between these regional events is facilitated through the exchange of project models and individual expertise. For more information please visit: http://www.tacticaltech.org/africasource2 Applications will be announced and invited between September and November 2005. Participants will be selected by the Advisory Group based on their interest and experiences. There will be a small registration fee for the event. A limited number of travel and registration fee scholarships will be available and may be applied for on application. If you would like to receive an application form or have any questions please write to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
