On 3/9/09, vinay ವಿನಯ್ <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi All, > > The FOSS manifesto has been put up as a petition - > http://www.public-software.in/FOSS-manifesto > > Please go ahead and view the petition and endorse it. > > The idea is to collect as many signatures as possible and then submit > the petition along with the list of signatories to various political > parties. > Hence, more the number of signatures, greater the weight of the petition. > > Please also pass on this message to anyone else you know outside of the > community, who might be willing to endorse the petition. > > Thanks to Deeproot Linux for helping put this up! > > Thanks, > Vinay. > > > Venkatesh Hariharan wrote: >> A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties >> http://osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/draft-foss-manifesto-for-indian.html >> >> With elections approaching in April 2009, it was time to create a >> draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties. This is a first >> draft and I have written this keeping in mind that most Indian >> politicians would not be familiar with FOSS. Hence, the usage of >> simple language that anyone can understand. If you feel that any >> section here needs improvement, please let me know. >> Comments/suggestions welcome. >> >> venky >> ==== >> >> A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties >> >> The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon >> political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of >> the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos. >> FOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of >> users to study, change, and improve its design through the >> availability of its source code. The open, inclusive and participatory >> nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian >> democracy. Since software is the foundation of the knowledge economy, >> India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, >> proprietary software systems. >> >> We believe that encouragement of FOSS will result in: >> >> * Development of the domestic IT industry >> * Creation of jobs >> * Encouragement of skills development and upgradation >> * Enable localization of software to Indian languages >> * Reduction of India's dependence on monopolistic proprietary >> software vendors >> * Encourage the usage of open standards >> * Bridging the digital divide >> * Rapid modernization and computerization of India's education system >> * Technology upgradation of India's Small and Medium Enterprises >> * Efficient usage of budget outlays for e-government >> * Faster technology development through Collaborative Innovation >> >> We call upon political parties in India to support the Indian FOSS >> community by: >> >> 1. Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This >> will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation >> in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools >> affordable. >> 2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and >> making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students >> the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs. >> 3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and >> ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary >> software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should >> be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the >> sharing of code and best practices. >> 4. Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from >> royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the >> government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a >> democracy. >> 5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories >> like Wikipedia in Indian languages. >> 6. Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in >> scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing >> of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to >> secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS >> model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of >> knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India. >> 7. Eliminating software and business method patents that have lead >> to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian >> traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes >> when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue >> monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing >> of knowledge. >> >> India has one of the most youthful populations in the world and it is >> important that they have access to the tools with which the >> information society is built. The freedom to modify the source code, >> the ability to share knowledge and build communities make Free and >> Open Source Software the best, long-term model for India's >> development. We therefore urge all political parties to encourage the >> usage of FOSS for India's development. >> > > -- > Vinay Sreenivasa > IT for Change > 91-98805-95032 > [email protected] > > http://itforchange.net > http://india.is-watch.net/ > http://is-watch.net >
I have a username 'vivekvc' registered on http://www.public-software.in, but when I try to access the URL http://www.public-software.in/node/add/sign-petition. I get the message 'Access denied You are not authorized to access this page.' Kindly do fix this so that I can sign the petition at the earliest :-) Regards, -- Vivek Varghese Cherian Website : http://vivekvc.freeshell.org Blog: http://vivekvc.wordpress.com IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint: 0F53 447E A8D1 C4F7 C14E F117 A040 E935 7DFA D159 -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
