FOSS focus near the Angkor Wat

In a historic region home to 12th century temple structures at a town called Siem Reap, FOSS campaigners, supporters, funders and officials from across Asia are prioritising their issues. The focus is on capacity building, localisation, development paradigms of FOSS, open content, e-governance and more.

Building capacity is important in a world where this form of software -- which can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed -- is trying to make its dent in schools, universities, IT education, government policies and strategies of global agencies. Localisation means "translating" software, not just for language but also in a culture-sensitive manner that fits the context. (Asia also needs software that runs on earlier-generation hardware!) "Open content can be particularly relevant in a situation where students don't have access to textbooks (because they can't afford them), and we need to find ways to bridge this knowledge deficit," says IOSN.net manager Sunil Abraham.

Policy and e-governance are also being discussed at this point. With upto 50% of software sales going to governments in the region, e-governance is seen as a "huge area for FOSS growth" too.