" ITREALMS: OSFON, partners train 22 on FOSS model

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Monday, November 07, 2011

OSFON, partners train 22 on FOSS model


A two-week training for ‘Future Trainers on “FOSS Business Models” ended in the Western African city of Abuja with 22 participants from the region.

The training was organized by Open Source Foundation for Nigeria (OSFON) in collaboration with Free and Open Source Software Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The first regional Train the Trainers on FOSS Business Models in Western Africa, was designed to enable interested people, institutions and businesses to act as trainers on the subject of building a business with FOSS.

Vice chairman, OSFON, Mr. Seun Ojedeji told ITRealms Online that the session which commenced on October 24, was a two-week training exercise to empower West African citizens on FOSS innovative models.

Participants, he said, received intensive training on FOSS business models in Africa, learn how ICT enterprises could use FOSS as a business, obtain necessary business skills to establish and operate a FOSS business in Africa, and acquire knowledge and skills to adopt FOSS training as a business.

The main goal of the Training of Trainers, he said, is to share skills and qualifications to equip African ICT companies with the knowledge needed to successfully integrate FOSS into their business.

Those who took part in the exercise, he said, are expected to give trainings on FOSS Business Models a part of their regular business and/or teaching activities.

He hinted that successful applicants will have convincingly demonstrated how they plan to carry out at least two trainings on the subject in their own country in 2012 or earlier, and how they make trainings on FOSS business models a permanent part of their business and/or teaching activities in the future.

ITRealms Online also gathered that some of the topics discussed in the course of the training covered ‘introduction to emerging FOSS business models, African business models: case studies; communicating FOSS, FOSS specific business knowledge and skills, as well as introduction to general business skills and FOSS training.

This, he said, heralds the preparation for Idlelo 5 which Nigeria won the hosting right earlier in the year and is preparing in top gear for the continental event for open source software enthusiasts.

He gave some insights into Idlelo, saying that it’s a Southern African word, which means “Common Grazing Ground.”

Idlelo, according to him captures the essence of FOSSFA’s existence as well as the fundamental objective of the forthcoming conference.

He noted that the original idea of an African conference on FOSS and the Digital Commons was born at about the same time as FOSSFA itself.

Ojedeji further said that programme areas for OSFON include supporting initiatives to entrench policy framework for the National Open Source Software and Standard; National Open Source Software and Standard bureaus; Open Source Software and Standard advocacy, and consultancies.

Additionally, he said, OSFON focus encompasses Open Source Software and Standard solutions for administration, governance and citizen management; training for government and other Information Technology (IT) managers to facilitate the migration from proprietary to Open Standards.

The vision of OSFON, the scribe said, is to promote and advocate the use of FOSS and the FOSS model in the development of Nigeria, stressing that the mission is to promote and educate decision makers in government, education, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), businesses and citizens on the advantages of using the Linux Operating System, Free and Open Source Applications and Open Standard.

The aforementioned, he said, were shared among the recently ended workshop participants.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D Short URLs: goo.gl, mcaf.ee, cli.gs

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