Fossap

FOSSAP is the Free and Open Source Software Asia-Pacific Consultation. The second such event was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia in early September 2005. Some 18 months earlier, the first such event was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Organisers

It is organised by the International Open Source Network, which is part of the United Nations Development Programme's Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme. FOSSAP-II was sponsored by UNDP-APDIP with Intel Corporation as its co-sponsors. Local hosts were the National ICT Development Authority (NiDA) of Cambodia and the Open Forum, Cambodia.

Goals

According to the organisers, FOSSAP II was aimed at providing "an effective policy-level platform for the exchange of information and experiences in the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for development". FOSS has earlier been described as FLOSS, or Free/Libre and Open Source Software.

They also argued that "there is a growing need for awareness on the benefits of FOSS, assistance with formulation of national policies, and case studies of FOSS implementation. This consultation sees its primary target as policy-makers "who can influence national Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policies".

Update on FOSSAP-II

Twenty countries joined a three-day Asia Pacific consultation on free and open source software, which ended on September 3, 2005 on an optimistic note which saw non-proprietorial software playing an increasingly important role in this talent-rich, resource-poor region.

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 prioritised their issues. The focus was on capacity building, localisation, development paradigms of Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS), open content, and e-governance.

Cambodian deputy prime minister Sok An, in a speech delivered on his behalf, argued that Free and Open Source Software could help a country like Cambodia to have a "lot of savings in license fees", make software readily available locally and reduce usage costs drastically, eliminate software piracy, and enable Cambodian students to closely study the software code and "understand its behaviour".

Richard Stallman, the founder of the two-decades-old Free Software Foundation, said at the end of the conference: "People here represent a broad spectrum in beliefs and their goals. There are people from both the Free Software and Open Source movements. It looks like we can work together and make programs that ensure users can be in control of the software they use. I've seen a lot of useful things come up here."

Building software capacities was also seen as important in a world where this form of FOSS 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.

Software localisation -- or translating software into local languages -- was another issue strongly discussed. There were interesting issues that came up about localisation of software into the Khmer language. One of the suggestions to come up was that FOSS needed its "global ambassador" to promote its case. Participants included techies, government officials, educators, professionals using and supporting FLOSS, and others.

Participation

Participants of FOSSAP II came from Bangladesh including the Bengal Linux Project; Myanmar and the Burma IT Project; Cambodia including its National ICT Development Authority (NiDA) and the Open Forum Cambodia; China including the Chinese Co-create Association; Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, FOSSFP Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Other participants came from the United Nations Development Programme, the Uniced, the Free Software Foundation, Intel, etc.

Sessions looked at FLOSS in government and the public sector, case studies of FLOSS in education, FLOSS in ICT4D, or Information and Communication Technologies for Development, government-lead community initiatives, FLOSS community initiatives lead by GNU/Linux user groups,

There were special parallel sessions to discuss FLOSS and policy, FLOSS and capacity building, FLOSS and localisation, FLOSS and open standards, FLOSS and development practise, FLOSS and e-government. software localisation teams in the FLOSS world.

External links

* [http://www.iosn.net/events/fossap-2004/index_htm FOSSAP-I]
* [http://www.iosn.net/events/fossap-2005/ FOSSAP-II]
* [http://www.iosn.net/events/fossap-2005/blog FOSSAP-II blog]