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Issue 3, 2 November 2006

by Khairil Yusof — last modified 2007-10-31 02:35 PM

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IN THIS ISSUE

Spotlight

  • Apply Now to Asia Source II: Free and Open Technologies for NGOs and SMEs, Sukabumi, Indonesia, 22-30 January 2007

Asia-Pacific Reports

  • Start a FOSS Pacific Research Project with IOSN PIC
  • Asia Teams Celebreated Software Freedom Day

IOSN News

  • FOSS @ Work: An International Workshop for Small and Medium IT Enterprises, Manila, Philippines, 12-15 November 2006
  • Linux System Administrator Training of Trainers in Bangkok, Thailand and Quezon City, Philippines
  • 14 New FOSS Case Studies From Across the World Online
  • Introductory Course on FOSS, Apia, Samoa

Links from Asia-Pacific

  • Options and Solutions: Old Hardware
  • "Pirate Party" Movement
  • From Bangladesh: Ubuntu Bangladesh
  • From Vietnam: Hacao Linux
  • From Pacific Island Countries: Pacific Island Countries FOSS Mailing List


Spotlight

APPLY NOW TO ASIA SOURCE II: Free and Open Technologies for NGOs and SMEs, Yawitra Resort, Sukabumi, Indonesia, 22-30 January 2007 <http://www.iosn.net/regional/asiasource-2007>

This follows the much-remembered and talked-of eight-day Asia Source held in Bangalore in January 2005. This camp was one in a series of international camps on the use of free and open source software being organized across the developing world.

Asia Source II seeks to build the skills and networks of professionals working in the non-governmental organization (NGO) and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sectors in South Asia and South East Asia. The event will bring together about professionals from the more technical to the more content-oriented to share knowledge and skills among “those who know technology” and “those who need technology”. Participants will be coming from NGOs, educational organizations, NGO resource centres, community centres, health information organizations, SMEs and SME support agencies.

The deadline for application is 25 NOVEMBER 2006.

The event will focus on four key areas: (i) Open Publishing and Broadcasting; (ii) Alternative Hardware and Access; (iii) FOSS Implementation and Migration; and (iv) Information Management, as follows:

TRACK ONE
Open Publishing and Broadcasting: Communication Strategies and Writing Effectively. Graphic Design, Web Tools [Content Management Systems, Blogs, Wikis] and Audio/Video Production and Streaming. Script Writing and Story Boarding. File Formats and Conversion Utilities. Shooting and Editing Methodologies
Who should attend: Campaigners, Content Developers, Web Masters, Activists, Fundraisers, Graphic Designers, Film Makers, Radio Professionals, New Media Practitioners and Archivists.

TRACK TWO
Alternative Hardware and Access: Refurbished Hardware, Thin Clients, Hardware Hacking, Wireless Solutions and Community Radio.
Who should attend: Server Administrators, Network Administrators, Trainers, e-Riders, Rural Community Organizers, Relief Workers, Privacy Activists and ICT4D Professionals.

TRACK THREE
FOSS Implementation and Migration: Moving an NGO or SME from proprietary software to FOSS. Participatory Design and Planning, Evaluating FOSS, End-User Training and Support Techniques, Dealing with Desktops, Proxy Server, Firewall, Mail Server and Groupware. Change management and migration strategies.
Who should attend: Server Administrators, Network Administrators, Trainers, e-Riders, ICT4D Professionals and Software Developers.

TRACK FOUR
Information Management: Mapping Information Sources and Requirements. Best practices for Creating Specifications, Information Architecture and User Interface Design. Web-based Databases, Geographical Information Systems, Customer Relationship Management, Application/Communication Security and Disaster Management Systems.
Who should attend: Heads of Organisations, Senior Management, Campaigners, Activists, Fundraisers, Archivists, Community Organizers, Environmentalists, Relief Workers and Health Workers.

Workshop participation fee is USD 75.00 – subsidies to cover the participation fee and/or international travel are available for a limited number of qualified applicants.

The event is organized by IOSN, Tactical Technology Collective in the Netherlands, InWent – Capacity Building international of Germany, ICT Watch in Indonesia, and Aspiration Tech of USA. t is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries in Indonesia, UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme, and the International Development Research Centre of Canada.

Find out more about the event and application details at http://www.iosn.net/regional/asiasource-2007, or email asiasource2@iosn.net

  

Asia-Pacific Reports

Start a FOSS Pacific Research Project with IOSN PIC <http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/ >

The Pacific Island Countries (PIC) node of the International Open Source Network (IOSN) is formed by a consortium of 4 regional organizations: Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC), South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), Secretariat of the South Pacific Community (SPC), and the University of the South Pacific (USP). This consortium is led by USP, which coordinates IOSN PIC from its Faculty of Science and Technology’s School of Computing, Information, and Mathematical Sciences.

IOSN PIC focus areas include: FOSS applications in PIC; FOSS techniques to support the creation, storage and delivery of teaching and training materials; incorporation of FOSS in academic courses; Linux System Administrator Training of Trainers and certification;
legal issues related to FOSS; localization of FOSS; and awareness raising.

Research and Development Microgrant

USP and IOSN runs a Microgrant Programme for PIC. This Programme is a competitive grants scheme available to individuals or teams in the Pacific Island Countries. The grants are provided specifically for the development of software applications that will be released as Free/Open Source Software (FOSS). The software application can be an enhancement of an existing application or a new application.

The funding available for each microgrant is USD900 per project and for a duration of not exceeding 6 months. Extension of time may be considered if justified.

Projects supported under this programme include:

  • A Fijian Spell Checker that is now available in OpenOffice.org version 2.0.4 launched recently on 13 October 2006.
  • A Point of Sale System suitable for use in a retail environment in the Pacific Islands.
  • TikiMaps inside TikiWiki.org Content Management System.
  • An adaptive mass conservative streamline tracking software for two-dimensional flows.

For more information, please visit http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/usp-microgrants/

Start a FOSS Pacific Project

IOSN PIC aims to foster research in the area of FOSS applications and development in the region, and is currently seeking ideas and expressions of interest for possible projects. IOSN will not be involved in every case in managing and implementing all projects, but it can assist in seeking funds from donors and providing technical advice. For more information, please contact Dr. Marko Schütz <schutz_m AT usp DOT ac DOT fj>.

IOSN PIC is one of three centres of excellence of IOSN. Others include IOSN ASEAN+3 and IOSN South Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.iosn.net

Other resources related to FOSS in PIC

(PICFOSSCAR's third edition is planned for December 2006. Please share short reports of any activities related to FOSS in the region.)

  

Asia Teams Celebrated Software Freedom Day

Software Freedom Day is a global, grass-roots effort to educate the public about the virtues and availability of FOSS. Local teams from all over the world organized events on 16 September 2006. Find out more at http://softwarefreedomday.org/

 

IOSN News

FOSS @ Work: An International Workshop for Small and Medium IT Enterprises, Heritage Hotel, Manila, Philippines, 12-15 November 2006 <http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/foss-at-work>

The International Open Source Network (IOSN) ASEAN+3, UNDP-APDIP, InWEnt-Capacity Building International of Germany and University of the Philippines Manila are hosting a workshop on FOSS for Small and Medium Enterprises in the IT industry (SMITE).

While there are many SMITEs working with and on FOSS solutions, many others in the region are still unfamiliar with FOSS. IOSN ASEAN+3 is organizing a workshop for developers, senior IT staff and IT decision makers of SMITES, to provide orientation and technical training on FOSS architecture and community management skills.

The workshop will:

  • be an opportunity to network experienced FOSS developers with potential FOSS developers;
  • be an opportunity to share experiences and best practices, and promote collaboration; and
  • enhance the technical skills of developers through power training

Topics

  • Overview of FOSS
  • Business models for FOSS
  • FOSS collaboration and project management tools
  • Content management systems
  • Productivity (OpenOffice + localization)
  • IP-based voice services
  • Developing multimedia with FOSS
  • SMS programming with FOSS
  • And more 

Workshop participation fee is Php 5,500.00 (or USD100.00) - subsidies are available for qualified applicants.

Register online at http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/foss-at-work/registration-form.

Find out more at http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/foss-at-work or email asean3@iosn.net

 

Linux System Administrator Training of Trainers, Bangkok, Thailand (28 August – 9 September 2006) and Quezon City, Philippines (9 – 21 October 2006)

Two regional training of trainers sessions were held over the last two months in Bangkok, Thailand and Quezon City, Philippines.

A major barrier against adoption and deployment of FOSS in developing countries is the lack of human resources with FOSS skills. These introductory programmes aims to address the problem by training trainers so that they can train others in their countries, and therefore kick-start a self-sustaining development of FOSS human resources. The course introduces Linux trainers to training with open content Linux system administration training materials and low-cost certification examinations of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI).

The training of trainers session held in Bangkok attracted 20 participants from Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia and Thailand. It was co-organized by IOSN, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), NECTEC Human Resources Development Center and Linux Professional Institute. The session in the Philippines was co-organized by IOSN ASEAN+3 and Linux Professional Institute. Both events were supported by InWEnt-Capacity Building International of Germany and Open Society Institute.

For more information, please visit

http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/thailand/tot/linux-training-of-trainers
http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/tot/training-of-trainers

 

14 New FOSS Case Studies From Across the World Online <http://www.iosn.net/publications/case-studies>

The case studies looks at the successful deployment of FOSS in select projects from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. In each case study, the reasons for choosing to use FOSS together with the development, implementation and impact of the FOSS applications are discussed. The benefits obtained and challenges encountered as well as any valuable lessons learned are also highlighted.

These case studies are from a forthcoming IOSN publication entitled, “Breaking Barriers: The Potential of Free and Open Source Software for Sustainable Human Development – A Compilation of Case Studies from Across the World.”

To submit a case study on how your project has successfully deployed FOSS, please email info@iosn.net. The case study should follow the same format as follows:

  • Summary
  • Background of Organization 
  • Objectives of Project
  • FOSS Application (Description, Choice of FOSS, Development and Implementation, Deployment, Impact)
  • Lessons Learned
  • Current Status of Project
  • Benefits and Challenges
  • Other Information
  • Conclusion
  • Contact Information (Project Name, Organization, Contact Person(s), Street/Postal Address, Email(s), Telephone, Fax)
  • Website(s)

 

Introductory Course on FOSS, Apia, Samoa, 28-31 August 2006 <http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/introtoossapia2006/apiareport>

The course “An Introduction to Open Source Software”, organized by IOSN PIC was held back-to-back with PacINET 2006 (http://www.picisoc.org/tiki-index.php?page=PacINET+2006), bringing together 22 participants from Pacific Island Countries. Participants came from Fiji, Japan, Kiribati, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands representing regional organizations (Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries), UNDP, government departments (Mineral Resources Department, Fiji, Ministry of Finance, Samoa, Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development, Kiribati, National Provident Fund, Samoa), and the private sector (Solomon Telekom, SamoaTel, Computer Services Ltd, Samoa).

The venue consisted of a training room with 16 PCs (1GHz Pentium III, 256MB Ram, CD-ROM) on which the Live-CD Knoppix version 5.0.1 was used. The course was run as 4 days of 3 lectures each with some time for hands-on experience in the afternoon. Mitsubishi Research Inc. authored and released the materials used in the course.

Morning and afternoon tea as well as the training venue were provided by the Secretariat of the Pacific Region Environment Programme. The Samoa Information Technology Society took care of local organization and the initial contact was provided by the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Information Society.

Participants praised content and delivery of the course, averaging "very good" to "excellent" and "relevant" to "extremely relevant". Suggestion for improvement included: running the course for a longer duration (a week or a week and a half) and using the additional time to accommodate more hands-on exercises and group discussions; providing examples that relate to the Pacific Island Countries; and selecting venues that are closer to amenities in town.

More information is available at http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/introtoossapia2006/apiareport

 

Links from Asia-Pacific

Options and Solutions: Old Hardware <http://polishlinux.org/choose/linux-on-old-hardware/>
By Borys Musielak

Is [GNU]Linux a good choice for your old PC? This article examines the main issues connected with using GNU/Linux on some very old hardware. The article also covers choosing a distro, a desktop and the key applications for such a configuration.

"Pirate Party" Movement <http://www.pp-international.net/>

The three main directions of the movement are: (1) copyright revision to provide right for non-commercial use, (2) fundamental overhaul of the patent system (e.g. patents on plants, genes, business processes, trivial algorithms,etc. and (3) strengthen citizens privacy rights.

FROM BANGLADESH: Ubuntu Bangladesh <http://www.ubuntu-bd.org/>

FROM VIETNAM: Hacao Linux <http://hacao.com/>

Hacao Linux is a small Vietnamese Linux distribution, based on Puppy Linux (http://www.puppylinux.org/) by Nguyễn Quang Trường. The Hacao Office.2.01 VN version integrates the free office suite OpenOffice.org 2.0.3 in Vietnamese and can be installed to a 256 MB USB drive.

FROM PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES: Pacific Island Countries FOSS mailing list <http://lists.apdip.net/mailman/listinfo/iosn-pacific>

[iosn-pacific] provides a forum to discuss FOSS issues in Pacific Island Countries.
Archives: http://lists.apdip.net/pipermail/iosn-pacific/

IOSN NEWSLETTER: FOSS in Asia-Pacific is compiled by Frederick Noronha and supported by the International Open Source Network <http://www.iosn.net>

IOSN promotes the adoption of free/open source software, open standards and open content for sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region. IOSN is a network with a small secretariat based at the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok and three centre of excellence -- IOSN ASEAN+3, IOSN PIC (Pacific Island Countries) and IOSN South Asia, based in Manila, Suva and Chennai respectively. To find out more, contact the centres of excellence.

IOSN ASEAN+3: asean3@iosn.net
IOSN PIC: pic@iosn.net
IOSN South Asia: southasia@iosn.net

IOSN is an initiative of UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information, and supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada.

To include Asia-Pacific related news about FOSS in this newsletter, please email <frededericknoronha@gmail.com>


This newsletter is released under the Creative Commons Attribute 2.5 license. Reproduction of the contents of this newsletter is encouraged, provided acknowledgement of the source(s) is made.
 
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