Title: It’s Different. African Open Source Technology and ICT4D
Author: Nana Kwabena Owusu
Source: www.233tech.com
Publisher: Ignite
Date (published): 16/04/2010
Date (accessed): 07/05/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
An interesting conversation sparked by a blog post on the Ushahdi blog is the main reason for this post. The post by Erik Hersman raises issues about open source software and tools created in Africa and ICT for Development (ICT4D). In the post Erik contends that although it is great that these tools are being used for development oriented Non Profit work, the technology (tools and software) themselves should be separated and not classified as ICT4D tools.

via http://twitter.com/ICT_Works

Title: All for the ‘e’: Initiatives in a limited access environment
Authors: Brian Sikute, Victor Mensah
Pages: 9 pp.
Date (published): 11/03/2010
Date (accessed): 06/04/2010
Type of information: conference paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has staked a claim as an indispensable backbone for development in all sectors. While a vigorous promotion of ICT is underway in almost all fields, the challenges of access, to most people, cannot be disregarded, much more so in a Capacity Development and Training environment.
This paper aims to share the initiatives being developed and implemented in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training in an environment with limited ICT access. The paper discusses ideas for the creation of an all inclusive environment for ICT skills development based on the findings of a brief survey on the ICT infrastructure capacity of some institutions of higher learning in Lusaka, Zambia. The paper then presents the results of some initiatives being implemented by the Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centre for Africa in supporting the development and use of ICTs, especially for education.

ICT and Development - Research Voices from Africa. International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Technical Commission 9 – Relationship Between Computers and Society. Workshop at Makerere University, Uganda. 22-23 March 2010

Title: Brazil launches new version of their electronic government portal
Source: Free Software in Latin America
Date (published): 07/03/2010
Date (accessed): 08/03/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
The Brazilian federal government has launched a new version of their portal, offering more than 500 online services to Brazilian citizens, built entirely with free software...
Technology: The Brazil Portal is developed with Plone 3.1.7 and runs on Zope Application Server 2.10.6, programmed in Python 2.4.4. “The use of free platforms is the direction of the federal government. And the choice of the tools for the construction of the Portal would not be different. So, we chose Zope/Plone,”

via http://twitter.com/glynmoody

Title: Global Dialogue on Exploring the Results of Governmental Open Source Software Policies: Brazil Experience
Publisher: The World Bank Group
Date (published): 17/12/2009
Date (accessed): 12/12/2009
Type of information: conference webcast
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and media files)
Abstract:
This learning and knowledge sharing event was organized by the Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (GICT) Department and the ECSPE e-Government Practice Group (e-Gov PG) of the World Bank, in collaboration with the e-Development Thematic Group (e-Dev TG), to explore the results of Open Source policy initiatives and identify lessons learned, and facilitate knowledge transfer among the interested countries and developers of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) solutions.

Currently, 40 client countries are implementing large-scale projects to support public financial management (PFM) reforms through a lengthy and costly process of modernizing existing infrastructure or developing new information system solutions as they seek to improve effectiveness of their PFM practices, reduce corruption, and ensure sustainability of information and communication technology solutions. Similarly, a large number of education, health and other sector projects with substantial ICT components are being implemented in all regions. These meetings are designed to promote knowledge and experience-sharing across member countries to better understand the challenges and opportunities in using FLOSS in public sector reform projects.

Title: French army sides with Mozilla in Microsoft email war
Authors: Marie Mawad and David Lawsky
Publisher: Reuters
Date (published): 09/12/2009
Date (accessed): 12/12/2009
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
A new email client unveiled by Mozilla this week contains code from an unusual source -- the French military, which decided the open source product was more secure than Microsoft's rival Outlook.

The story of how the French government became involved with the open source movement, which has transformed much software around the world from proprietary to free, goes back six years.

Title: The Open University UK: creating a win-win situation by sharing code and content
Author: Gregor Bierhals
Pages: 12 pp.
Source: Open Source Observatory and Repository (OSOR), osor.eu
Publisher: IDABC
Date (published): 27/10/2009
Date (accessed): 12/12/2009
Type of information: case study
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML, pdf, odt)
Abstract:
In 2005 The Open University (OU) UK, one of Europe's largest distance learning universities, established that it was time to deploy a new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), for both The Open University itself as well as for their OpenLearn project aimed at providing free open educational resources (OER) to the general public. A team with different sub-tasks was formed, which investigated future learning environments and how learning material was presented and disseminated through those. Next to this, the OU also researched open learning models, as part of the OpenLearn project. The team of researchers and technical staff, after setting out the components required to meet the OU's needs the most appropriate match was determined. The choice fell on the VLE Moodle, which is an open source product. Today the Moodle VLE has been successfully implemented at the OU and the OU has further published a significant amount of their learning material under a Creative Commons license as courses on the Moodle VLE based OpenLearn website, which are freely available to anyone interested. The OU continues to collaborate closely with the Moodle community , as this provides a very large platform for feedback and information. All the OU's development are given back to the Moodle community, which improves the product for the OU and the rest of the community.

Title: The Open Source Software Ecosystem
Author: Charles M. Schweik
Pages: 49 pp.
Source: NCDG Working Paper No. 09-002
Publisher: National Center for Digital Government, Center for Public Policy and Administration, Department of Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Date (published): 29/11/2009
Date (accessed): 05/12/2009
Type of information: research paper, draft
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Open source research in the late 1990s and early 2000's described open source development projects as all-volunteer endeavors without the existence of monetary incentives (Chakravarty, Haruvy and Wu, 2007), and relatively recent empirical studies (Ghosh, 2005; Wolf {{243}}) confirm that a sizable percentage of open source developers are indeed volunteers.1 Open source development projects involving more than one developer were seen to follow a “hacker ethic” (Himanen, 2000; von Hippel and von Krogh, 2003) where individuals freely give away and exchange software they had written so that it could be modified and built upon, with an expectation of reciprocation. An early puzzle, of particular interest to economists, was why people would voluntarily contribute their ideas and time to these projects (Lerner and Tirole {{243}}. We'll focus on these fine-scale behavioral questions in Chapter 3, and will explain that there are clear reasons – such as distance learning, signaling, enjoyment, and “user-driven innovation” based on a need (von Hippel, 2005) – that motivate these volunteers to participate.

Title: Microloans in rural areas through mobile phones
Author: Jorge L. Alonso G.
Source: FrontlineSMS:Credit
Date (published): 03/12/2009
Date (accessed): 04/12/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English, Spanish
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Soon the rural populations of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will have access to microloans, savings and insurance against the unexpected …… and all through their mobile phones. This is indicated by trends in microfinance institutions (MFIs), increasingly advanced mobile payment systems and the emergence of open source programs that serve as a bridge between the two.

This post will briefly explain how MFIs and mobile payments work, how open source software can facilitate financial inclusion and what challenges face this process.
(via http://twitter.com/e_agriculture )

Title: LexPublica: Open Sourcing the Legal Process
Author: Glyn Moody
Source: open...
Date (published): 02/12/2009
Date (accessed): 04/12/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"There is a crying need for access to legal help. No one can afford lawyers."...LexPublica aims to solve this problem by opening up the world of legal knowledge to everyone." It's plans are splendidly ambitious - nothing less than to create a global legal commons...

"LexPublica creates free contracts for small businesses, along with supporting information to help you use them. We're a community of lawyers and non-lawyers committed to making legal knowledge more accessible to businesses and the general public."

Title: Kasahorow, the many tongues of Africa
Author: Nana Kwabena Owusu
Source: www.233tech.com
Date (published): 17/11/2009
Date (accessed): 18/11/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Ghanaian languages are one of the most difficult and paradoxical topics to discuss in Ghana...Kasahorow is a project spearheaded by a Suuch Solutions (a Ghanaian company) to bring Africa’s languages alive. Kasahorow brings together editors and contributors from all over Africa to help create dictionaries for African languages...Kasahorow is a commercial project but it has several of its end products being open source...Kasahorow also brings African languages into the mainstream by releasing add ons and plugins for open source software and technologies.
(via http://twitter.com/whiteafrican )