Approximately 200 participants drawn from the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community, industry players from all over Africa and the Diaspora, government officials, international organizations, private sector and civil society actors attended the IDLELO2 FOSS Conference on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Held from 23-25th February 2006, participants shared best practices on the economic value of FOSS and launched the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology e-Government Academy. “IDLELO” is a Zulu term for a common grazing ground.

Content creation is a weakness in Africa, and the use of affordable applications and tools such as FOSS can unleash Africa''s creative capacity especially in providing solutions not just for e-government or e-commerce, but advance the use and development of local languages to spread IT access by all Africans. Open Source is also aimed at avoiding costly IT proprietary software packages that African countries have to bear as they undertake e-Government applications. Consequently, FOSS enables users to modify applications to suit the unique requirements of a particular culture and region, regardless of economic size.

In a speech read on his behalf, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya’s Minister for Information and Communication assured participants of the Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for the development of the local software industry, “as a direct way of creating employment and reducing poverty”.

He also pointed out that the Government is building the capacity of the civil service by offering relevant training, adding, “We will continue supporting institutions with positive initiatives, such as the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and its eGovernment Academy, which are good examples of what can be achieved through collaboration with the private sector.”

Addressing the meeting, Ms. Nenna Nwakanma, the new Chair of the FOSSFA Council Executive Committee, pointed out, “There is no doubt that ICT will leapfrog Africa’s development agenda and accelerate MDGs and cautioned that its sustainability will be determined by “whether we can create software that we can share, customize, and localize in a free manner.” “FOSS is our choice and FOSSFA our front, said Ms Nwakanma, adding, “the question is no longer whether we will move or not, but how fast we move.”

In line with the framework of implementing the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), ECA has been supporting FOSS initiatives on the continent since 2002 and has promoted innovative Information Society solutions to ensure information for all. ECA co-organized this meeting jointly with the Government of Kenya, the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), and the International Weiterbilung und Entwicklung gGmbH (Inwent).

Thierry H. Amoussougbo, ECA ICT Regional Adviser noted, “FOSS plays a great role in the development of democratic and sustainable use of information and communication technology (ICT), by allowing computer professionals in diversified cultures and languages to produce suits of applications targeted to their communities.” He said, “it is an essential tool in meeting the MDGs, such as facilitating access to health information and informatics, promoting the use of online educational resources, and should therefore be clearly highlighted in the National Information and communication Infrastructure (NICI) policies, strategies and plans.”

The Conference resulted in the formulation of strategies, recommendations and projects to strengthen the contribution of FOSS to accelerate MDGs and stimulate a local and thriving FOSS industry in Africa. In addition, FOSSFA strengthened its institutional framework by formally adopting its constitution and electing a new council to take the organization forward for the next four years. The secretariat of FOSSFA was handed over to South Africa-based CSIR Meraka Open Source Centre.

NOTE: The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), an outcome of the ICT Policy and Civil Society Workshop held in Addis Ababa from the 6th to 8th November 2002, Ethiopia, is a regional organization that was formed to promote the harnessing of Open Source software for Africa development. FOSSFA works with all stakeholders to ensure that Open Source is available as a platform to engineer solutions that meet the needs of Africans at affordable prices.

For more information, please contact Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org)
For more on ECA’s activities on ICTs and the use of FOSS, click on www.uneca.org/disd