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Free and Open Source Software in Africa is a project of Daniel Ihonvbere, a technology enthusiast based in the United States of America.
Free and open-source software (F/OSS, FOSS) or free/libre/open-source software (FLOSS) is software that is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. This approach has gained both momentum and acceptance as the potential benefits have been increasingly recognized by both individuals and corporations.
In recent years, national governments and agencies have been adopting open source software and tools.
For example. as reported on Wikipedia:
The German City of Munich was amongst the first to announce its intention to switch from Microsoft Windows-based Operating Systems to an open source implementation of SuSE Linux in March 2003, having achieved an adoption rate of 20% by 2010.
In 2004, a law in Venezuela (Decree 3390) went into effect, mandating a two year transition to open source in all public agencies. As of June 2009 this ambitious transition is still under way. Malaysia launched the "Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Software Program", saving millions on proprietary software licences till 2008.
In 2005 the Government of Peru voted to adopt open source across all its bodies. The 2002 response to Microsoft's critique is available online. In the preamble to the bill, the Peruvian government stressed that the choice was made to ensure that key pillars of democracy were safeguarded: "The basic principles which inspire the Bill are linked to the basic guarantees of a state of law." In September, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced its formal adoption of the OpenDocument standard for all Commonwealth entities.
In 2006, the Brazilian government has simultaneously encouraged the distribution of cheap computers running Linux throughout its poorer communities by subsidizing their purchase with tax breaks.
In February 2008, the Dominican Republic passed a law to facilitate the migration of all public entities (government, education, etc.) to Software Libre, and to adopt open standards in the public sector. In April, Ecuador passed a similar law, Decree 1014, designed to migrate the public sector to Software Libre.
In February 2009, the White House moved its website to Linux servers using Drupal for content management. In March, the French Gendarmerie Nationale announced it will totally switch to Ubuntu by 2015.
Open Source in Africa:
Africa has made great strides in recent times in all areas from politics to economy and gender equality. One of the most visible areas of development and growth has been in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) arena. In less than a decade, the continent has seen the emergence of leaders who grasp the benefits that technology provides. In Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana etc., more resources are being devoted to the teaching of ICT courses and the encouragement of NGOs to assist in these areas.
At the same time, it is interesting to note the impact Free and Open Source Software is making. We hope to use this medium to track the adoption and use of Free and Open Source Software in Africa and highlight the efforts of those behind the push.
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