[Air-l] Fwd: [F/OSS-Discuss] Press Release: FOSS infrastructure for Open Digital Villages Development
Jeremy Hunsinger
jhuns at vt.edu
Wed Apr 11 06:18:55 PDT 2007
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Fouad Riaz Bajwa <fouadbajwa at gmail.com>
> Date: April 11, 2007 6:14:41 AM MST
> To: discuss at opensource.mit.edu
> Subject: [F/OSS-Discuss] Press Release: FOSS infrastructure for
> Open Digital Villages Development
> Reply-To: fouadbajwa at gmail.com, Dicusssion list for Free/Open
> Source Software researchers <discuss at opensource.mit.edu>
>
> Press Release:
> http://www.ifossf.org/news/
> foss_infrastructure_for_open_digital_villages_dev
> elopment
>
> FOSS infrastructure for Open Digital Villages (ODiVs):
>
> iFOSSF and oneVillage Foundation Partner to Create a Difference
>
> April 10, 2007 San Jose CA USA - oneVillage Foundation has
> partnered with
> the International Free and Open Source Software Foundation (iFOSSF) on
> efforts to develop "Telecenter Portals and Applications." OVF
> believes that
> iFOSSF's knowledge and vision is vital to the development of its Open
> Digital Villages (ODiVs), the first of which will be in Winneba, Ghana
> (WODiV).
>
> Background: OVF staff helped organized and participated in the
> AirJaldi
> Summit in Dharamsala, India in Oct. 06, which showcased one of the
> largest
> wireless networks in the world - The Dharamsala Wireless Mesh. At
> the event,
> low-cost wireless mesh network technology including cantennas (about
> antennas made out of cans) was tested. The Wireless Roadshow
> Workshop also
> enabled participants to discuss plans for organizing events to promote
> wireless connectivity around the WODiV including the
> WSFIIAfrica2007 Summit,
> planned for later this year in Winneba.
>
> The local Linux User Group (Winneba Linux User Group - WiLUG) is
> playing a
> key role in the development of the WODiV. In December of last year,
> WiLUG
> volunteers received their first Drupal open source training as well
> as a
> series of other trainings increasing awareness of Linux and FOSS.
> oneVillage
> Ghana, in collaboration with the University of Education Winneba Ghana
> (UEW), Wireless Ghana and other institutions has been developing a
> plan for
> a WiMax backbone and WiFi mesh local distribution system to serve a
> region
> with two other towns and a population of 105,000.
>
>
> Converging the Networks:
>
> - Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) offers benefits for people in
> developing countries including facilitating access to and increasing
> ownership of ICT for Human Development;
>
> - Community Wireless Networks is changing the way we see and share
> information by promoting the development of economically
> sustainable local
> wireless networks;
>
> - Sustainable technology "Bioneers" are developing new appropriate
> technologies to empower local people economically and socially without
> degrading and destroying the environment.
>
>
> WODiV Goals:
>
> - Develop portal infrastructure that can be replicated to other
> communities;
>
>
> - Promote access and develop confidence in FOSS applications by
> identifying
> and integrating applicable
> - ICT4SD FOSS tools for each region;
>
> - Provide FOSS training and job skill development, training
> students on how
> to use for their own and their community's empowerment;
>
> - Operate as model for rapidly replicating booming multimedia ICT
> training
> facility/social enterprises;
>
> - Provide center for youth & people all ages to learn basic &
> advanced ICT
> skills;
>
> - Promote sustainable human habitats and production systems;
>
>
> What is an Open Digital Village?
> The (WODiV) is being designed to be a practical example and best
> practice of
> what FOSS can do as part of a Holistic ICT for Sustainable Development
> (ICT4SD) strategy. ODiVs Provide educational training in both
> business and
> technical aspects and information technology services to
> government, health
> centers, and private enterprise, and include the following main
> components:
>
> - Local Portal to enable access throughout the network and the
> development
> of local support services to facilitate rapid ICT development;
>
> - Local wireless network to enable low cost connectivity in the
> region;
>
> - Community center for trainings, ICT services and community meetings.
>
> The WODiV will use UEW as a focused leverage point for coordinating
> the
> efforts of graduating student teachers participating in program.
> Once the
> Winneba facility is fully established, this program will be replicated
> throughout Ghana as the teachers graduate and are deployed to
> outlying rural
> regions. In terms of scalability, WODiV is the first step in a more
> comprehensive Multipurpose Community & Unity Center (UCs)
> Development Model
> that will be put in place in Winneba. UCs such as the one planned in
> Winneba, will offer educational and research services, eventually
> expanding
> to incubate ICT & green technologies to promote sustainable economic
> development in each region where the centers are located.
>
> Areas of Collaboration: On business and partnership network
> development,
> iFOSSF will serve as the Research & Development arm for OVF on
> technology
> development, while OVF will focus on marketing, business
> opportunity and end
> user requirements identification, including:
>
> - Research on issues & technologies related to ICT4SD;
>
> - Develop human capacity to use, customize, localize, develop and
> service
> FOSS applications;
>
> - Develop assets-based approach as a practical model of improving
> collective
> human intelligence to effectively address world urgent issues;
>
> - Improve quality of life in the communities of focus through the
> implementation of ICT best practices that most directly impact and
> improve
> people's lives on a practical level;
>
> The Methodology: A Complete Ecosystem Approach to Sustainable
> Development:
> Centers will operate as connection points/portals to connect both
> online and
> offline activities into one seamless global network for sustainability
> development. Key to this process is facilitating local/global
> exchanges of
> information and collection that are relevant to local needs. This
> methodology for WODiV will be a assets-based approach called the
> oneVillage
> Foundation Initiative and will eventually be replicated in other
> areas as
> relevant to OVF and iFOSSF's mission and focus.
>
> Field agents will collect, analyze and then post refined content on
> the web
> suitable for distribution in our networks both locally and
> globally. They
> will be backed up by a global network of innovators in the
> sustainability
> and IT fields as well as other appropriate sectors and fields.
> ODiVs will
> stimulate culturally and socially appropriate knowledge exchanges
> between
> participating communities and networks.
>
> The following practices will enhance the capacity of communities and
> networks to cope and creatively address challenging issues,
> fulfilling both
> organizations' missions to implement collective intelligence:
>
> - Promote ICT and sustainable development research in the field;
>
> - Collect network content to develop local knowledge portal
>
> - Collect local content relevant to global network
>
> Desired Outcome of Partnership: Demonstrate on a practical level
> through the
> WODiV that many disciplines and fields play a vital role in
> stimulating the
> movement towards sustainability. These often disparate approaches
> will be
> converged to facilitate a larger collective effort of people
> collaborating
> and working together to harness their own talent and capacities while
> serving and reinforcing the collective good of humanity.
>
> Download: OVF-iFOSSF Partnership Press Release 04/06/07
>
> For More Information:
>
> - About iFOSSF contact Jenny Huang Hsueh: jenny {at}
> ifossfoundation.org
>
> - About OVF and the WODiV contact Jeff Buderer Program Development
> Manager:
> mailto: jeff {at} onevillagefoundation.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at opensource.mit.edu
> http://opensource.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/discuss
jeremy hunsinger
Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research,
School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
(www.cipr.uwm.edu)
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