The International Open Source Network has as its slogan "software freedom for all". It is a Centre of Excellence for free software (also known as FLOSS, FOSS, or open-source software) in the Asia-Pacific region.
IOSN says it "shapes its activities around FOSS technologies and applications. It is "tasked specifically to facilitate and network FOSS advocates and human resources in the region."
IOSN's website says: "FOSS presents itself as an access solution for developing countries. It represents an opportunity for these countries to adopt affordable software and solutions towards bridging the digital divide. Only the use of FOSS permits sustainable development of software; it is technology that is free to learn about, maintain, adapt and reapply".
It explains its emphasis on Free and Open Source Software for the following reasons:
Beginning 2008, IOSN is now managed from three centers of excellence: University of the Philippines Manila (ASEAN+3), CDAC in Chennai, India (South Asia), and a consortium composed of members from the academe and government in the Pacific Island Countries (PIC).
IOSN's objectives include:
IOSN is an initiative of the UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme and is supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes developing local capacity towards long-term self-sufficiency and prosperity.
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source code is openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily improve the design of the software. This is in contrast to proprietary software, where the software is under restrictive copyright licensing and the source code is usually hidden from the users.
Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme was an initiative of UNDP and "aims to promote the development and application of information and communication technologies for sustainable human development". Its sphere of work was the Asia-Pacific region. APDIP was based within the UN premises in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
BytesForAll is a South Asian initiative to focus on how information technology and the internet can help in taking up social development issues. It is one of the oldest ICT4D networks in South Asia. It was launched at a time when ICT4D was yet to become a buzz-word on the development circuit, and was still largely unnoticed for its potential.
Rajnesh Dhirendra Singh is a Fijian entrepreneur and engineer. He holds several positions in the regional and international Information and Communications Technology community including the Internet Society and IPv6 Forum, and is an active Internet advocate and speaker on Internet technologies.
Ungana-Afrika, Swahili for "connect africa", is a non-governmental organisation based in Pretoria, South Africa that provides a wide range of ICT services for civil society within and outside of the continent. It aims to better empower civil society organisations, networks and related stakeholders, in terms of ICT capacity and resources, so they may more efficiently achieve their unique social missions.
The Code-Breakers is a two-part (2x22') BBC World documentary on free open-source software (FOSS) and computer programming that started on BBC World TV on 10 May 2006. It investigates how poor countries are using FOSS applications for economic development, and includes stories and interviews from around the world. The film examines whether free and open-source software might be the bridge for the widening digital divide. A 40-minute version of The Code-Breakers is available for free download online as of 2014.
National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software (NRCFOSS) is an organisation created and financed in India by the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India in April 2005.
Asia Source was an event series that promoted and coordinated the use of free and open-source software (FOSS) in Asia. It took place three times: the first event was hosted in Bangalore, India in 2005, the second in Sukabumi in West Java, Indonesia in January 2007. The third event was held in Silang, Cavite in the Philippines in 2009.
ma3bar (معبر) is the Arab Support Center for Free and Open Source Software initiated by UNESCO and UNDP-ICTDAR and hosted by The University of Balamand. The center's main goals are to develop FOSS awareness and to encourage FOSS use and development in the Arab Region. The target groups for the Center are Universities, Research Centers and Governmental Institutions all over the Arab Region, as well as Arab FOSS communities and interested agencies.
The Asia-Pacific Telecentre Network (APTN) is a collaborative initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and telecentre.org. The APTN Secretariat is hosted at ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). APTN is dedicated to promote innovation and knowledge sharing amongst telecentres in the Asia-Pacific region where telecentres are growing exponentially each year. APTN is working towards creating a platform of networks of telecentres, to share experiences on issues of their interest and to cooperate on the development of solutions for common problems of the telecentres themselves in order to empower poor and disadvantaged communities with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Asia Pacific Region. In other words, APTN will serve as the focal network or the knowledge hub for communication and information technology in the Asia Pacific region.
Satish Babu is a Free Software activist, early Internet advocate, and development professional based out of Kerala, India. He is the founding Director of the International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), an autonomous academic/research institution of the Government of Kerala, India, where he worked from March 2011 to September 2015. He was earlier the CEO of SIFFS, an NGO of small-scale artisanal fishers of south India; a co-founder and President of InApp Information Technologies; and is associated with international and national professional societies such as IEEE, Internet Society (ISOC), ICANN, and the Computer Society of India (CSI).
The first open-source software project in Kosovo was the adjustment of the Open Office Packet in December 2003.
Sahana Software Foundation is a Los Angeles, California-based non-profit organization founded to promote free and open-source software (FOSS) for disaster and emergency management. The foundation's mission statement is to "save lives by providing information management solutions that enable organizations and communities to better prepare for and respond to disasters." The foundation's Sahana family of software products includes Eden, designed for humanitarian needs management; Vesuvius, focused on the disaster preparedness needs of the medical community; and legacy earlier versions of Sahana software including Krakatoa, descended from the original Sahana code base developed following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The word "Sahana" means "relief" in Sinhalese, one of two national languages of Sri Lanka.
Synergy International Systems, Inc. is an information technology and consulting company based in Washington, D.C. that provides web-based software to international development agencies, country governments, NGOs and private sector partners. The key products focused on monitoring and evaluation (M&E), national development effectiveness, and aid management, judicial system modernization, social protection, public financial management, disaster relief and reconstruction, environment, education, and public health. There is a company-maintained a global learning center in Yerevan, Armenia. The company's services include software development and customization, IT strategy consulting, systems integration, capacity development and technical support. Synergy has developed management information systems for public and private sector clients in 65 countries.
The history of Free Software in India can be seen from three different perspectives - the growth of Free Software usage, the growth of Free Software communities, the adoption of Free Software policies by the governments. India was quite late to the free software scene with adoption and penetration growing towards the end of the 1990s with the formation of pockets of Free Software communities spread across the country. The communities were typically centered around educational institutions or free software supporting organizations.
Dorothy K. Gordon is a Ghanaian technology activist and development specialist. She was the founding director general of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE). She left AITI-KACE in 2016. She is former board member of Creative Commons and currently serves on its advisory council. She also serves on the board of Linux Professional Institute
Digital public goods are public goods in the form of software, data sets, AI models, standards or content that are generally free cultural works and contribute to sustainable national and international digital development.
