DigitalSENSE News: FUOE plans Software Freedom Day’12 in Nigeria

DigitalSENSE News: FUOE plans Software Freedom Day’12 in Nigeria: The Information and Communication Technology Centre of the Federal University Oye, Ekiti State has advanced plans to host a five-day Software Freedom Day, 2012...

For the first time, SFD will be celebrated in Ekiti State, and this event holds at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye Campus.

The event is organized by the Information and Communication Technology Centre in conjunction with Computer Science Department.

Participants are welcome to either attend the Pre-conference trainings, main conference OR both, kindly fill the form below accordingly. Read more.

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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

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FOSSFA, OSFON take Idlelo-5 to Abuja’12

The Free and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) has endorsed Nigeria’s quest to host its fifth African conference on FOSS and Digital Commons, known as IDLELO 5.

The conference which has been slated for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja will be held on March 19, 2012 and hosted under the auspices of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Open Source Foundation for Nigeria (OSFON).

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online endorsed by the FOSSFA chairperson, Ms Nnenna Nwakanma and OSFON chief proponent and Managing Director, Mandriva Linux Africa, Mr. Dele Ajisomo said IDLELO 5, will be held on the theme “Open Source Solutions for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

They also said that IDLELO 5 is coming on the successful series of conferences held in Cape Town, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Dakar, Senegal and Accra, Ghana.

Equally, they noted that IDLELO is the premier African continent’s open source gathering, which held every two years, the continent dedicates a one-week period to appraise its open source and free software initiatives, expertise, community, challenges and experiences.

“This March event is the continent’s rallying point for critical issues in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as they are directly related to the development of its people, governments and business enterprises,” they said.

IDLELO 5 will be one event for FOSS practitioners, developer and advocates as well as governments, education and businesses to showcase results, share experiences and challenges, review progress on the continent in diverse domains and chart a way forward for an African future grounded in true ownership of technology that will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The FOSSFA and OSFON leadership pointed out that IDLELO 5 will consist of hackathons, awards, tutorials, hands-on trainings, demos, field visits and presentations on key FOSS and information technology areas.

“It will welcome a diverse number of parallel events, an exhibition and a business round table. The conference will welcome FOSS and IT keynote speakers, project, companies, solutions and innovations, not just in Africa, but across the global FOSS community,” part of the statement revealed, even as IDLELO 5 will mark the 10 years FOSSFA.

Therefore, they said, IDLELO 5 offers a real opportunity to discuss new issues, tackle complex problems and find advanced enabling solutions able to shape new trends in FOSS and related technologies on the African continent.

Remmy Nweke
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LPI partners InWent-FOSSFA on capacity building

The Sacramento, United States-based Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is partnering German-based InWent Capacity Building International and Free and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) to conduct dual promotional examinations for the Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC) in the African community.

President and chief executive officer, Linux Professional Institute, Mr. Jim Lacey, said that the capacity building programme is two-phased as the first part would hold next week Saturday at the Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya, while the last part has been slated for February 2011 in South Africa.

These exam labs, he said, are part of a larger ‘train-the-trainers’ programme jointly sponsored by FOSSFA and InWent Capacity Building International of Germany.

Selected participants, ITRealms Online gathered have been nominated from about six countries across the continent, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia and South Africa.“We are pleased to assist FOSSFA in their efforts to develop skilled trainers in the professional use of Linux. In particular, we applaud their efforts to recruit potential trainers within academic institutions, government agencies, small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs),” he said.

Lacey also said that these types of enterprises recognize the value in adopting Free and Open Source software and have the opportunity of becoming leaders in Linux training in their respective countries and business sectors.

Also speaking, FOSS Certification Manager, ict@innovation, FOSSFA, Mr. Evans Ikua, noted that ict@innovation, which is a FOSSFA project is excited to be partnering with the LPI to help increase the number of qualified and certified Linux engineers and system administrators on the continent.

“This partnership will go a long way in enhancing the promotion and use of FOSS solutions which will in effect lead to a wider adoption of FOSS,” he said, stressing that they believe this training would have a positive impact in the development of the Information Technology (IT) industry in the participating countries.

“We are looking at a much longer term engagement with the LPI,” Ikua declared, adding that registration for the exam labs in both Kenya and South Africa are open to all interested individuals and can be made in advance at LPI event site.

The Linux Professional Institute is globally supported by the IT industry, enterprise customers, community professionals, government entities and the educational community.

LPI’s certification program is supported by an affiliate network spanning five continents and is distributed worldwide in multiple languages at more than 7,000 testing locations. Since 1999, LPI has delivered over 270,000 exams and 90,000 LPIC certifications around the world.

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Linux achieves 250,000 certification worldwide

California-based world’s premier Linux certification organization, Linux Professional Institute (LPI) has announced that they delivered over 258,000 exams and 85,000 certifications worldwide.

Director of Communications, Linux Professional Institute, Mr. Scott Lamberton made this disclosure at the weekend in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online.

He quoted the president, Linux Professional Institute, Mr. Jim Lacey, as saying that this development is an important milestone.

“It signifies the long-standing commitment to the LPI programme from both individual Linux professionals and the industry at large,” he said, stressing that they have seen impressive growth in the last year due to the enthusiastic response from Information Technology (IT) professionals to the revised LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 exams.

Mr. Lacey credited the impressive results to a number of factors including the desire of IT professionals to keep their skills current in a highly competitive economic climate.

“IT professionals know that life-long learning and demonstrated skills play an important role in their career pursuits and we also understand that engaging with the global Linux community is at the heart of LPI’s success. The efforts of all who assist the organization on a daily basis made this milestone a reality,” he said.

Lacey pointed out that this demonstrated the value of vendor-neutral certification overall, and showcases the incredible efforts made by the network of global affiliates to promote Linux professionalism.

Reacting to the development, stakeholders recognized LPI’s contribution to the advancement of Linux education and professionalism.

Some of those who responded include the senior vice president, skills certification, CompTIA, Mr. Terry Erdle, Director of Linux Strategy at IBM, Jean Staten Healy, vice president of marketing and developer services at the Linux Foundation, Amanda McPherson among others.

In his comment, Erdle from CompTIA, said technology adoption curve has continued to accelerate by placing increasing importance on the need to continually update the skills of the high-tech workforce.

“On-going education, training and certification of technology workers isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity,” he declared, adding that LPI fills a vital role in the professional development of current and future IT workers and this milestone is testament to the value that employers and individual workers place on their certification.

“CompTIA is pleased to partner with LPI as we work together to develop a strong Linux workforce,” he said.

For Healy, Director of Linux Strategy at IBM, “IBM recognizes LPI as a key resource to help IT professionals gain Linux skills.

“Linux continues to grow as a core technology for many of our clients, and they require a skilled technical community to help them meet their business goals,” Healy said.

And for McPherson, LPI has achieved another impressive milestone and this achievement is a testament to two things.

“One, LPI’s growth and durability as a Linux certification leader and two, the growing number of Linux professionals; We see tremendous job growth for Linux professionals even in this down market and LPI certification is a great piece of that story,” she said.
 
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Nigeria, Kenya battle to host Idlelo 5

Nigeria and Kenya are now on the battle line to which of them would host the 2012 edition of the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) continental bi-annual conference tagged Idlelo 5.

The fifth African conference on FOSS and Digital Commons will mark the 10th anniversary of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa and has been billed to hold in the first semester of 2012.

Disclosing these to ITRealms Online at the recently ended Idlelo 4 in the city of
Accra, the re-elected chairperson of FOSSFA, Ms Nnenna Nwakanma, said that at the end of the call for proposal on May 17, 2010, two countries expressed interest to host Idlelo 5 in 2012, namely Nigeria and Kenya.

The 2010 weeklong Idlelo 4 conference was held at the Kofi Annan Indian Centre for Excellence on Information and Communication Technologies (KAICE) in addition to a three-day pre-conference workshops and trainings on FOSS-related applications.

Also, Ms Nwakanma said FOSSFA council is studying the two proposals and would revert to members in the coming weeks, not exceeding this month, but enjoined the two contending countries to go back to their countries and continue to enhance opportunities that could aid their chances.

Nigeria’s proposal was made by Mandriva West Africa with office in Nigeria on behalf of FOSS community in the country and led by Dr. Dele Ajisomo, while the Kenyan proposal was submitted by the Strathmore University of Kenya and led by Dr. Joseph Sevilla.

The contending countries were equally asked to submit in addition to FOSSFA secretariat, affirmation of supports from related government, collaborating institutions and its agencies.

ITRealms Online gathered that usually following the decision on the choice of a country, FOSSFA’s programme committee would be set up to open invitation for papers and presentations of all topics and in all disciplines related to Free and open Source Software and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in general.

Accordingly, sessions often consist of three 30-minute presentations and proposals which should be geared to that length, even as the committee may introduce a different format for some sessions after the proposals have been reviewed.

Noteworthy is that Idlelo conference was instituted to bring together Information Technology (IT) and FOSS experts from all over Africa and the world at large.

Further, the programme committee tends to capitalize on this strength by encouraging sessions that would address subjects of interest to a wide range of FOSS experts and put experts from different disciplines in dialogue with each other.

Additionally, the request for proposals to host Idlelo 5, FOSSFA said that bidders must be a member of the continental body, with affirmation from the government and has in existence, a national network of FOSS actors, propose a host institution and certain of at least three national partners in addition to the capacity to organise a high-level IT conference and having earlier participated in, at least, one Idlelo before the time of submitting proposal.

FOSSFA insists that proposal must be sent via electronic mail to its secretariat.

So far, Idlelo has been hosted in South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and Ghana, maintaining that all countries have equal chances to bid.


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Ghana leverages FOSS to leapfrog ICT industry

Ghanaian government has advanced plans to leapfrog its Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) industry with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

The Minister of Communications for Ghana, Mr. Haruna Idrisu, made this disclosure in Accra recently while declaring open the fourth African conference on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and Digital Commons at the Kofi Annan Indian Centre for Excellence in ICT Accra.

Mr. Idrisu who represented the Vice president of Ghana, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, said at the conference with the theme “Development with ownership” that the government’s plan is to leapfrog by using ICT advantage.

“… We want to own our application. We cherish the passion of young people to take their place to position Africa to assume its rightful place in the world,” he declared.

He also challenged the conference to come up with how African governments could resolve the challenges between the proprietary and open source software to its own advantage.

“Find out how we can use open source to drive electronic learning (e-learning),” he said, while enjoining African states to increase investment in ICT and urged for development of Open Source (OS) application in fighting cybercrime.

In his address, the chairman of the occasion and Director, ICT at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Sola Afolabi, said that they were excited that Ghana, a member state is hosting the Idlelo 4 meeting, this year.

“Ghana is proud member of ECOWAS and ECOWAS is proud to be here,” he asserted, stressing that ECOWAS is implementing some regional projects to transform the community from community of things to community of people through its regional Wide Area Network (WAN).

Today, he said, Open Source has grown to become a key in mission critical applications, pointing out that nowadays Africa has seen FOSS as a veritable option for accelerated development and maintenance in addition to advancing capacity.

Therefore, Dr. Afolabi said that ECOWAS is interested in partnering with FOSSFA in implementing the outcome of the conference.

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FOSSFA commends Omatek, urges African patronage

The Free and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) has commended the management of Omatek Computer Plc for its effort in building capacity for the citizens of the continent.

Speaking after leading participants at the ongoing Idlelo Four conference of FOSSFA and Digital Common at the Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), the chairperson of FOSSFA Council, Ms Nnenna Nwakanma, said they are proud of Omatek and their products.

She also urged Africans, especially the government on the continent to look inward by patronizing the likes of Omatek who provide employment for the citizens of Africa and to help the continent to grow economically.

She advised Africans to forego the mentality of thinking that Africa and Africans because the only nation that can strive in this century are those who have something upstairs.

Nwakanma further made an exclusive appeal to African women and youths to tap into the advantages offered by open source and get exposed in Information Technology (IT), because according to her, it is only those who have knowledge that would survive in the coming centuries.

Welcoming FOSSFA members to the Omatek Factory in Accra, Ghana, the General Manager, Mr. Nana Benneh, expressed delight for the opportunity by FOSSFA members to know what the company is doing and where the two could partner in advancing the African course in ICT.

Taking the group round the factory, the Production Manager, Omatek Ghana, Mr. Saied Onifade, revealed that they currently assemble about 200 Personal Computers (PCs) per day and has plans to delve into solar inverter in Accra, even as they do commercial assembling for people or companies who wish to have branded that are different from Omatek.

He explained that Omatek computers are tropically made to comply with the weather situation in this part of the world.

This, he said, stands Omatek out among the foreign brands which do not conform to these additional features, stressing that every PC after being assembled is sent into the burning room for several hours followed by a system report that would show the composition so as to ensure that every system complies with the Omatek standards.

He pointed out that Omatek originated from Nigeria and has been in the market for over 20 years, although it has just been in Accra for about three years, noting that the Accra factory was set up to serve the Ghana market and other West Africa states.

Onifade further said that Omatek usually load both Microsoft and Open Source (OS) operating systems in every PC so as to give customers the choice.

He went on to disclose that Omatek has partnership with Madriva, an Open Source distributor to load its elearning package in some of the PCs meant for educational institutions in the bid to bridge the gap between the cities and rural communities in Africa.

Equally speaking, a member of FOSSFA council and director-general, Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in ICT, Ms Dorothy Gordon, applauded participants for creating the time to visit Omatek.

She called for the evaluation of FOSSFA members on the continent and to encourage new membership and grow awareness.

“We need to find out where the user groups are in Africa and who are their contact points and keep in touch with them to drive the open source home,” she asserted.

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FOSSFA, Digital Commons confab opens in Accra

The fourth conference of the Free and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) and Digital Commons, would today, Monday open at the Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI) also known as Kofi Annan Centre for Excellent in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Accra, Ghana.

Chairperson, FOSSFA, Ms Nnenna Nwakanma, made this disclosure weekend at the end of pre-conference workshops organized for some selected media practitioners and stakeholders on the continent on Campware, FOSS business model and Internet Governance policy framework.

According to her, the event would be declared open by the vice president, Republic of Ghana, Mr. John Dramani Mahama and would last till Friday, May 21.

With the theme Development with ownership, she said Idlelo 4 is poised to be the rallying point for ICT experts, exchange, showcasing, innovation, training and projects.

As at the time of filing this report, the exhibition structures are being mounted at the venue.

She also said that the conference would explore the use of open technologies in all domains of African economy, and provide an in-depth assessment of FOSS investments and use in the education sector in Africa.

Specialized tracks, Nwakanma said, would include but not limited to FOSS in governance, business, health, media innovation, civil society, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and open education resources.

She pointed out that the knowledge creation and sharing event would leverage on the outcomes of the 14th African Summit of Heads of State on ICT for Development of January 2010 to provide a forum for a ministerial round table on e-government practices, policies and trends.

The conference, she said, has planned for a community summit of users, especially women and the youth, and the software developer community, stressing this community forum will allow for an open consultation of global open source engineers, coders, geeks, and community managers with the end users of technology, while integrating user concerns and issues to the broader technological innovations, plans, strategies and trends.

Idlelo is a Southern Africa word that means 'a common grazing ground' with technical hands-on trainings, a community summit, plenaries, panels, workshops, professional examinations, awards, instalfests and high level roundtables.

The first edition (2004) of Idlelo held at the University of Western Cape in South Africa, the second (2006) at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya and the third (2008) at the Universite Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar Senegal.

Meanwhile, she said that first-ever African FOSS Reporter Award Competition 2010, unveiled a few months ago would be announced to recognize outstanding reporting for a general audience and honours individuals for their coverage of FOSS.

The competition, she added is run in partnership with Deutsche Welle and supported by Open Source Institute for West Africa (OSIWA) as part of an initiative to raise public awareness on FOSS.

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FOSSFA links up with European hub

The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), is set to link up with the European hub of open source cum Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub located in Berlin.

This comes as top executives and staff across of FOSSFA embark on intercontinental working tour.

Leader of the FOSSFA team on working tour and council chairman, Ms. Nnenna Nwakanma, said they would be on the longest out-of-the continent working trip to Berlin, Europe’s Open Source hub.

“The Foundation’s executives and staff from the Western, Eastern and Southern Africa shall be touring Berlin and its environs for one full week,” she said.

According to her, the FOSSFA team, among other activities shall be working with The Technology Foundation Berlin, which supports selected technology sectors mainly through networking.

Noting that as the Berlin centre of innovation it brings science and Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) together for innovation on the Open Source Business Foundation, has its members cut across companies, institutions and persons inspired by open source software.

Nwakanma also said that the highpoint of the visit will be Linux Tag, which is about Europe’s oldest Linux Tradefair, which normally registers 12,000 attendees. Other organizations and events scheduled include Open Berlin, The Open Source Business School, LiSOG, newthinking, Linux Association, LXDE, and Linux Verband.

Parallel to these, she said, is FOSSFA and Inwent - Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung gGmbH is dedicated to ICT@INNOVATION.

The joint project serves the need of Open Source SMEs in Africa, even as the team shall also join the Linux Professionals Institute (LPI) in the celebration of their 10th anniversary.

Nwakanma further said the mission will be marked as a monument in time within FOSSFA.

“It is my firm belief that we shall build ties that shall spread across Africa, Europe and beyond, to the global open source community. The study tour represents an opportunity for Africa to learn, exchange, showcase and engage at the highest levels of open source innovation and industry,” she said.

Over the past two months the teams in Berlin, Bonn, Accra, Kampala and Johannesburg, she said, have been building up steam towards this mission and expectations are running very high, excitements are almost overwhelming, and the passion for this open source “package” can best be described as ‘feverish’.

ICT@INNOVATION International Coordinator, Andrea Goetzke and Geraldine de Bastion, Tour Lead, said they are looking forward to the tour and to welcome their colleagues from Africa to Berlin.

“Not only the LinuxTag but a number of exciting FOSS events are taking place this week - so if you are working with FOSS and would like to make new contacts and widen your network Berlin is the place to be,” they said.

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Experts predict boom for Open Source

Experts at the just concluded Intellect Annual Regent Conference 2009, which held in London, have predicted that traditional technology vendors face tough times as the occasion calls for alternative technologies available in Open Source.

Chairman of analyst house TechMarketView, Mr. Richard Holway, was quoted as saying in a report by ZDNet that in a recession people would actually get an accelerated adoption of new technologies.

Chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC, Mr. John Gantz, concurred, saying that the economic crisis would force some companies to make technological changes they may not have made.

Some of these alternative technologies, experts listed to include software-as-a-service (SaaS), open-source software and cloud computing, all of which go against the business models of the tech old guard or at best the proprietary methods.

Holway also said some companies would find it increasingly difficult to remain relevant as businesses realize the benefits of this technology during and after the economic slump.

These emerging technologies will provide better value for money as businesses struggle with cash flow but could also prove to be better bets in the long term as well.

"Leading technology users will use the downturn to pull further ahead," Gantz said.
Holway noted that he thinks there are now bigger opportunities for change than ever before, warning "I believe the power of Microsoft over the next period will be severely weakened. The whole model that Microsoft has got is under severe threat."

Ian Smith, ex-regional senior vice president for Oracle UK and now managing partner at AndersonBick Consultants, said: "SAP, Oracle — if they're not prepared to change, potentially, they are dinosaurs. If these companies aren't smart, they could become dinosaurs."

Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of hosting company Memset, said open-source technology could also be a big winner as a result of the economic crisis.

She said: "I think the current period could be a catalyst for a large move to open source. Again, I think that's a big threat to Microsoft."

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Use Open Source to fight poverty - Odum

Finland-based Nigerian Chief Technology Officer of WoodGong Communications, Mr. Sunny Odum has advocated for the adaptation of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the country, saying that it’s truly free.

“Free and Open Source is truly what the name implies,” he said, stressing that in a developing country like Nigeria, there is need to tap into FOSS in order to alleviate poverty.

“Granted that we in the developing world is so scared to copy technologies from the developed world, are we also not capable of using FOSS that we are even encouraged to rip and use, hook, line and sinker?” he wondered.

Mr. Odum in a paper entitled “Global Economic Turmoil, Free and Open Source Software and Nigerian Information Technological Development” made available to ITRealms Online, said that people in the developing country like Nigeria, “need not pay a dime on software if they adopt, adapt and develop FOSS.”

In accordance with FOSS philosophy, he quipped, “What can we not do: from desktop to servers and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms to super computers.”

Lamenting that in 2004, Nigerian software import was reported to be about US $1 billion, pointing out that this kind of fund could be channeled to vital infrastructural development.

For him, he did not see the reason why a country like Nigeria that is blessed with abundant human resource cannot optimize technology for poverty eradication, noting that technology is not god and does not reside in any where.

“Technology does not belong to anyone. Technology is everywhere. In fact, techné is the art or process or know-how or means to an end or outcome. Technology is derived from the Greek word techné, which could as a matter of fact be originally Egyptian,” he asserted.

Mr. Odum emphasized that technology is a mere combination of articulation of thinking and organized process of reaching a pre-determined outcome or solution.
“Therefore, from time immemorial, technology has accompanied even the most primitive of humanity and many animals. So, what is this fallacy about technology transfer? Is it not possible that one human being or animal can copy another human being or animal?” he said.

Odum further cited an instance that when A copies the knot tying skill of B, has B transferred his skill to A?

“Is there a technology transfer between A and B?,” he assumed.

Hence, he did not see any qualms in Nigerians copying existing technologies even when the nation is too reluctant to develop its own?

“Again, Nigeria is endowed with huge population and human resources, massive raw materials and excellent weather conditions. What is stopping intelligent Nigerians from developing or copying existing technologies to eradicate poverty in Nigeria?” Odum asked.

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‘Open Source to save mankind by 2020’

THE 2008 Open World Forum conference in Paris ended at the weekend with experts projecting a brighter future that Open Source software will save mankind by 2020, financially.

According to the authors of the report, “2020 FLOSS Roadmap,” made a number of predictions about the role of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in the next 12 years with an estimated 80 per cent recommendations for the industry.

IDG News Service reports that the use of the French word “libre” as in free is in ‘unfettered’ terms to clears up the ambiguity in the English word “free,” which could also mean without cost.

The report also stated the optimism that by 2020 FLOSS will have entered the mainstream of the software industry and contributed to reducing the digital divide between rich and poor.

“Social networks will rely on ubiquitous, open cloud-computing services and will allow people to interact not just with friends, but also with governments and businesses,” the authors said.

Stressing that vendor lock-in worry will facilitate the use and acceptance of FLOSS, and such software will be at the heart of green data centres and other business models with low ecological impacts.

Investors, legislators, educators, electors and even consumers, the report projected will also have a role to play.

“Governments must favour open standards and open services,” they said, so as to make this prediction a reality.

Thus is not just a matter of ideology, but also of necessity if data is to be exchanged between different services and systems.

This, they further said, requires a stable and neutral legal context in which a clear definition of open standards and services could be made and imposed.

“Clear legal frameworks could also help avoid the proliferation of software licenses,” the report said.

Investors, whether state or private, should fund research leading to the development of strategic FLOSS technologies, and governments and businesses should set up academic and professional training programs to educate a new generation of software developers about FLOSS.

There are some risks ahead, said the authors, including experts from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Spain and the US, although the majority of them are French.

Among those risks, is the use of cloud-computing capacity on the scale required by some government systems which will result in an over-reliance on a small group of powerful suppliers.

This, they warned, could signal a return to the era of monopolies in some markets, with the risk that entire countries could be held ransom by their service providers.
In addition, organisations unable to pay the price for these elite services could be left running on unreliable or unsecure, second-class systems.



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JACITAD advocates for Open Source award

A non-governmental organization with focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the Joint Action Committee for ICT Awareness and Development (JACITAD) has advocated for the setting up of an Open Source Media Awards to encourage Nigerian media practitioners to develop heightened interest on the Open Source standards.

Open source standard is known to be a development methodology that offers practical ease of access to a product’s source code in terms of goods and knowledge. Typical example is the open source software which is the most prominent example of open source development and often compared to user generated content. This is against the proprietary software like Microsoft where users are made to pay for their software ever before touching same for deployment.

This was part of the groups input at the just concluded second meeting of the Committee on the nation’s draft policy on Information Technology, held at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, last weekend.

JACITAD president, Mr. Sola Fanawapo made this disclosure and said that as the nation through the National IT Development Agency (NITDA) in the proposed policy in clause 7.3.3 (ii) plans to set up quizzes and software development competition on the Open Source platform among students and youths as a way of stimulating interest and encouraging learning in this tool.

“It is also imperative to also introduce a media based Open Source awards to encourage incisive write ups and publicity to Open source,” he suggested.

The group also supported the need to set up a committee to introduce courses in Open Source in IT curricular at different levels of education, but noted that it is out of place for the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) which acts as the umbrella body for the sub-groups of IT professional groups and the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) to be proposed as members when the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) which is relevant to IT education and as well takes care of the IT education functions of NCS and ISPON , is still there.

JACITAD equally endorsed the reasons expressed in Clause 2.1 for the review of the 2001 IT policy document to make it comprehensive and accommodate new technologies as they evolve dynamically.

It further noted that in clause 5.3, all the goals set to achieve by the objectives of the new IT policy, were proper, “but mass mobilization and sensitization should also be added,” stressing that majority of Nigerians still see IT as elitist and should be sensitized and carried along, more so if the new policy is meant to succeed.

In addition, JACITAD pointed out that in clause 5.3, 6.3, 7.1.2 and all other relevant clauses where committees were suggested to have the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) and its affiliate bodies like the Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (ITAN), ISPON and others amount to replication of representation.

“We view it as a replication of representation and would wish that NCS should be made to be the only representative, taking care of the interests of its affiliate bodies,” the group stated in its seven-point agenda presented at the meeting.


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