In today�s report: o FOSSFA REGISTERED IN KENYA o FOSSFA FORUM SUCCESFUL IN NIGERIA o FOSSFA�s IDLELO CONFERENCE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE o FOSSFA DATABASE TOPS 30 PROJECTS o FOSSFA�s SECRETARIAT ACQUIRES TECHNICAL CONSULTANT o FOSSFA INVITED TO SPEAK AT ITU TELECOM o APC-GTZ ACTION APPS TRAINING DUE FOR NOVEMBER
FOSSFA REGISTERED IN KENYA Due to most of our partners requiring to work with registered organisations, we have now finalized the registration process of FOSSFA in Kenya. Our hope is to see a board of directors to run the foundation elected democratically during the first open source conference scheduled in Capetown in January 2004. The secretariat will now have the necessary papers to open a bank account and will utilize the auditors/accountants of Circuits and Packets Communications who host the secretariat.
FOSSFA FORUM SUCCESFUL IN NIGERIA Two FOSSFA members helped put up a successful Open Source Forum during the ACT summit held this week. AITEC and DIREQLEARN were instrumental in seeing the event successful as Denis Brandjes reports. (sic) �The ACT Summit being held in Abuja, Nigeria, has certainly highlighted the cause regarding Free Software and Open Source Software. The Open Source Forum component of the Summit has seen a variety of stimulating and at times provocative presentations and demonstrations. This includes more technical sessions, but also a number of sessions regarding the OSS vs proprietary software debate, all held under the backdrop of a huge Microsoft banner (one of the Summit sponsors). OSS enthusiasts and interested parties seemed to be in abundant supply, and the cause in general received a lot of attention.
In addition, a number of exhibits featuring OSS/Linux were to be found, showing the growing realisation of the importance of alternatives. In addition, FOSSFA was represented officially on a large exhibit featuring thin-client Linux-based technology solutions. The exhibit was organised and staffed on behalf of FOSSFA by DireqLearn, in conjunction with AITEC (exhibit space), MicroDevices (PC equipment) and Q-Kon (VSAT). This exhibit received a lot of attention and traffic, with a large number of OSS followers indicating their intention to register themselves and interests at fossfa.org, and get involved. All in all, a worthwhile experience, and indicating the growing commitment to OSS/Linux, particularly in Nigeria.�
FOSSFA�s IDLELO CONFERENCE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE The conference website for the IDLELO is now online and participants can register online at http://idlelo.uwc.ac.za. A local organizing committee is finalizing the list of keynote speakers and you are all requested to frequently visit the official website for an update. Any queries on the conference can be emailed to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FOSSFA DATABASE TOPS 30 PROJECTS The FOSSFA database available at http://www.fossfa.org/database has now topped 30 projects and double the number of OSS enthusiasts registered as of today. The secretariat will soon start reviewing the material reported and deriving best practices and lessons learned to determine successes and hindrances on the OSS movement in Africa. For those who have not registered their projects, you are kindly requested do so, so that we can all learn from your lessons in the true spirit of open source.
FOSSFA�s SECRETARIAT ACQUIRES TECHNICAL CONSULTANT With support from USAID, the secretariat has recruited Nicholas Kimolo to be our main technical consultant who will be handling FOSSFA technical issues as well as maintaining and constantly updating our portal. Nicholas is Bachelor of Science (Computer Science Graduate) a Certified Public Accountant in Kenya (CPA-K) and also hold certification as a Certified Information Systems Audit (CISA). Nicholas has also developed a number of OSS tools based on Ngoma Linux (Our company's Linux Version) of which we base our solutions. He is an asset to FOSSFA and I hope you will all be able to tap into his resources and from others. Nicholas officially joins FOSSFA on 1st October 2003 but can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] at the moment.
FOSSFA INVITED TO SPEAK AT ITU TELECOM FORUM This is a reminder that FOSSFA has been invited by the Secretary General of ITU to speak at the ITU Telecom Forum in Geneva, October 2003. Due to the high number of delegates from governments and the private sector in the forum, we wish to make a very huge impact of who we are and what we expect our governments to do. The secretariat has been preparing the frame of the issues we wish to raise during the forum and will be released to the Council members for their review and input by 15th September 2003. Our interest right now is to generate interest on what you might feel is important and relevant to be raised in the forum so that we can incorporate your views. Comments should be sent to the secretariat by 10th September 2003 at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
APC-GTZ ACTION APPS TRAINING DUE FOR NOVEMBER The Association for Progressive Communications APC who is also a FOSSFA member and GTZ are organising an APC ActionApps Reseller Workshop that is taking place in Addis Ababa from November 17 - 21, 2003.
APC ActionApps are an open source content management platform based on PHP and MySQL. Using templates and web forms, APC ActionApps provide users with an easy way to post and maintain web content. Well over a hundred organizations around the world are currently using ActionApps to run their sites. See http://www.apc.org/actionapps/for more information.
This APC ActionApps reseller training workshop is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft f�r Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). It aims to build the capacity of small to medium African ISP and web service providers to generate revenue through reselling an open source content management system, at the same time contributing to the development of African content on the web.
FOSSFA�s Secretariat would like to propose that we nominate the Training and Capacity Building Team Leader Gideon Chonia and the Nicholas Kimolo to represent us in the workshop. Other members in AFLUG wishing to join the workshop should visit http://www.apc.org/actionapps/english/general/gtz.html and fill their details as per the application.
Bildad Kagai Coordinator Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) P. O. Box 919 Nairobi 00100 Kenya Suite B2, Tetu Apartments, State House Avenue Email. [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL. http://www.fossfa.org Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. 254 20 272 6965
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