FOSS Policy and Development Implications forum

Khairil Yusof writes “The Free and Open Source Software(FOSS) e-discussion, is being launched to debate on Policy and Development Implications of using FOSS and to build wider consensus on FOSS as an innovative Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) framework, which can be used to stretch the development dollar and dramatically scale up the impact of various interventions. This forum is a joint initiative of Bridges.org, (Cape Town, South Africa); Free and Open Source Software Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), (Nairobi, Kenya); OneWorld South Asia (OWSA), (New Delhi, India); UNDP-APDIP International Open Source Network (IOSN), (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP/UNDP), (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

The issues being considered central to this debate are:

            * Opportunities and drawbacks of FOSS for developing countries –
                the roles of government, civil society, business in the process
            * FOSS & Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – stretching the
                development dollar for scaling-up impact
            * The global Intellectual Property Concern – Business monopoly of
                first world nations software giants versus third world
                collaborative efforts.
            * Enabling legal/regulatory/policy framework for country specific
                strategic evolution FOSS.
            * Open-source processes outside the software sector – Free
                Medicine, Seed Bank, Open Access, Open Archiving etc.
            * Comparison of proprietary software vis-à-vis FOSS in terms of
                technical merits –reliability, stability, and vulnerabilities,
                especially in the context of national ecurity.
            * FOSS versus Public Domain Software and Freeware – the Total Cost
                of Ownership (TCO) of FOSS.
            * Understanding why individuals contribute to FOSS projects and
                what motivates FOSS developers to “donate” their time and are
                these motivations different in developed and developing
                countries? Are there constraints, especially in developing
                countries, that could be addressed by government or private
                sector interventions?

For those interested in joining or following the debate, you can find instructionson subscribing at the link provided below:

http://lists.apdip.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fo ss-pdi“