[Fsf-friends] [UNDP Consultation] ICT Working Group Calls for Promotion of Free and Open Source Software (fwd)

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

This was put out on Irfan Khan's s-asia-it@apnic.net mailing list. FN

---------- Forwarded message ----------

[with thanks to DigitalOpportunity.org for the lead]


UNDP Consultation on ICT4D and Media Partnerships

 
ICT Working Group Calls for Promotion
of Free and Open Source Software

 

New Delhi, 31 May [2003]:
 

Free and Open Source Software should be promoted as the new mantra in 
the area of using Information and Communication technology (ICT) for 
Human Development. This was the key message of the discussions during 
the second day of the Consultation on ICTs for Development and Cross-
Media Partnerships, organised jointly by the United Nations 
Development Programme, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore 
(IIMB) and the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New 
Delhi.

 

Describing Open Source Software as an area of far-reaching relevance 
for rural development and community-based initiatives, Mr. R. 
Chandrashekhar, the Joint Secretary for E-Governance, Ministry of 
Information Technology, said that a number of fora within the 
Government were actively promoting and advocating for non-proprietary 
software. “We have to keep in mind a discerning consumer who wants 
quality and value delivered at an affordable price, and Open Source 
Software meets this requirement well”, he said.

 

Speaking at the Consultation, Dr. S Ramakrishnan, the head of 
Software Development in the Department of Information Technology, 
Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, made a strong 
case for the promotion of Free and Open Source Software. He called 
for greater localisation of Open Source Software and vendor support 
for user groups. Dr. Ramakrishnan also said that in the last few 
months there has been increasing debate and discussion within the 
Government about promoting Open Source Software. He said that the 
Government recognises a tremendous scope for public-private 
partnerships and is considering pilot initiatives and supporting the 
NGOs working the field. He said the need of the hour is to ‘spread 
the word’ and encourage people to look at Open Source Software as an 
efficient alternative. He said workshops like these helped demystify 
Open Source Software and break the prevailing myths.

 

The Consultation highlighted successful case studies in the use of 
Open Source Software in various areas. Mr. Sanjay Jaju, District 
Collector of the West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh and pioneer 
of the much-acclaimed e-governance initiative Saukaryam, discussed 
how the use of Open Source Software has enhanced the administration 
work in his district. Mr. Kishore Bhargava of Link Axis Technologies 
talked about the potential of Open Source Software in the field of 
education and explained how its low cost, flexibility and easy 
adaptability could prove to be the key to expanding education 
opportunities in the country.

 

Mr. Venkatesh Hariharan of IndLinux made a compelling case for 
promoting Open Source Software in the area of Indian language 
computing. He said that India was in a condition of ‘Digital 
Brahminism’ where the English-educated and computer literate minority 
enjoyed a position of privilege. He called for the development of 
localised software for the 900 million-strong non-English speaking 
population of the country. He quoted the example of China where the 
law mandates every computer in the country to be equipped with a 
Chinese language interface, and said it was disappointing that we do 
not have an interface for Hindi, which is the fourth largest spoken 
language in the world.

 

The recommendations of the Consultation emphasized that Open Source 
Software has implications for human development, and thus the issue 
of technology should be considered not in isolation but in the 
context of development. Discussions during the Consultation yielded a 
consensus about Open Source Software being the way forward, and the 
need for developing support mechanisms for bringing about an open 
source software revolution.
 

source: http://www.undp.org.in/NEWS/PRESS/press262.htm




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