Richard Jobity
2005-05-30 16:58:41 UTC
Policy-level considerations
It is difficult to resist the appeal of concepts like information
sharing, collaboration, and freedom of knowledge -- which form the
foundation of the free/open software movement that is taking hold across
the globe. But in Africa, ICT is a means to an end that is most valuable
when it supports social and economic goals, facilitating healthcare
delivery, making small businesses more competitive, or improving
education and government service delivery. So the African discussion of
ICT implementation necessarily moves beyond philosophical underpinnings
to pragmatic concerns.
After all, what is the value of computers in communities that lack clean
water and struggle to provide basic education to their children, unless
these computers can be integrated into strategies that will ultimately
improve living conditions? Sustainability plans linked with the
effective delivery of social services could make public computer labs
worth subsidising over the long term.
Free/open source software is now enjoying widespread interest among
government officials in Africa, and a few international companies are
contributing to its development and pushing for its adoption across the
continent. These efforts mostly focus on resolving the key issues
affecting the corporate and government sectors: migration costs and
strategies, compatibility with existing software, and availability of
training and technical support. Some proprietary software companies are
also working to solve important problems in public computer labs,
especially enabling their software to run on less powerful and cheaper
hardware, and reducing or waiving licensing costs.
But meanwhile, specific software applications (whether FOSS or
proprietary) that could make computers more useful to local communities
-- such as putting ICT to work to improve healthcare and education, and
designed with cultural factors in mind -- are still missing.
If proprietary software vendors pay closer attention to the practical
problems facing public computer labs, and build on the commitment to
deliver on social and development goals, their value proposition for
Africa remains high. However, the momentum in Africa is currently in
favour of FOSS, whose supporters are riding on a growing wave of
enthusiasm based on successes in other developing countries. FOSS
supporters in Africa have an opportunity to capitalise on this
enthusiasm, but need to overcome serious hurdles to translate the hype
surrounding FOSS into tangible benefits. Above all they need to support
communities of software developers who have the means and interest to
develop and maintain locally relevant applications.
http://www.bridges.org/software_comparison/SoftComp_Final_24May05.pdf
http://www.bridges.org/software_comparison/SoftComp_ANNEX_Final_24May05.pdf
--
Richard Jobity, Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago | ph: (868) 620-5550
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"Survival lies in organization, in careful long range planning, in
consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the
scale of financing only available through joint effort and in the
political power available only through united action."
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It is difficult to resist the appeal of concepts like information
sharing, collaboration, and freedom of knowledge -- which form the
foundation of the free/open software movement that is taking hold across
the globe. But in Africa, ICT is a means to an end that is most valuable
when it supports social and economic goals, facilitating healthcare
delivery, making small businesses more competitive, or improving
education and government service delivery. So the African discussion of
ICT implementation necessarily moves beyond philosophical underpinnings
to pragmatic concerns.
After all, what is the value of computers in communities that lack clean
water and struggle to provide basic education to their children, unless
these computers can be integrated into strategies that will ultimately
improve living conditions? Sustainability plans linked with the
effective delivery of social services could make public computer labs
worth subsidising over the long term.
Free/open source software is now enjoying widespread interest among
government officials in Africa, and a few international companies are
contributing to its development and pushing for its adoption across the
continent. These efforts mostly focus on resolving the key issues
affecting the corporate and government sectors: migration costs and
strategies, compatibility with existing software, and availability of
training and technical support. Some proprietary software companies are
also working to solve important problems in public computer labs,
especially enabling their software to run on less powerful and cheaper
hardware, and reducing or waiving licensing costs.
But meanwhile, specific software applications (whether FOSS or
proprietary) that could make computers more useful to local communities
-- such as putting ICT to work to improve healthcare and education, and
designed with cultural factors in mind -- are still missing.
If proprietary software vendors pay closer attention to the practical
problems facing public computer labs, and build on the commitment to
deliver on social and development goals, their value proposition for
Africa remains high. However, the momentum in Africa is currently in
favour of FOSS, whose supporters are riding on a growing wave of
enthusiasm based on successes in other developing countries. FOSS
supporters in Africa have an opportunity to capitalise on this
enthusiasm, but need to overcome serious hurdles to translate the hype
surrounding FOSS into tangible benefits. Above all they need to support
communities of software developers who have the means and interest to
develop and maintain locally relevant applications.
http://www.bridges.org/software_comparison/SoftComp_Final_24May05.pdf
http://www.bridges.org/software_comparison/SoftComp_ANNEX_Final_24May05.pdf
--
Richard Jobity, Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago | ph: (868) 620-5550
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.weakblog.com
mail @ richjob-rN8RZ5IIEiHQT0dZR+***@public.gmane.org | icq: 5183191 | aim: richjob | ym: richjob
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Survival lies in organization, in careful long range planning, in
consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the
scale of financing only available through joint effort and in the
political power available only through united action."
-------------------------------------------------
Visit the CIS Project on the WWW: http://www.cis.org.tt
View the offlist archives: http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.education.cis
-------------------------------------------------
Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS and World Bank
--- You are currently subscribed to cis as: gec-cis-Uylq5CNFT+***@public.gmane.org
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-cis-221309I-T6/***@public.gmane.org