LPIC-1 Certification

LPI is a recognized worldwide premier organization advocating and assisting in the professional use of Linux, Open Source, and Free Software. EFOSSNet has been in the process of certifying its members with LPI's level one certification programme after its two extensive trainings in July 2006. LPI 101 was conducted on October 29, 2006 and LPI 102 on November 15, 2006. This certification programme was sponsored and organized by EFOSSNet and APC. For more information about LPI certification programme, go to their website >>> .

SOFTWARE FREEDOM DAY,SEPTEMBER 16, 2006

Software Freedom Day(SFD) is a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the virtues and availability of Free and Open Source Software. Lucynix Ethiopia, a women initiative of EFOSSNet is celebrating SFD at British Council, Addis Ababa on September 16, 2006 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm in Collaboration with British Council, UNECA, CATIA, and EITPA. The event includes various activities: demonstration of FOSS solutions, demonstration of student initiatives on software developed in Ethiopia, Q&A competition, distribution of FOSS solutions and more.

THREE BIG EVENTS CONCLUDED,JULY 21, 2006

EFOSSNet has concluded its training and workshop events started on July 11, 2006 on July 21, 2006. There were two trainings and a workshop: the two trainings, FOSS office training and FOSS professional training were held in parallel. The first was conducted for three days by local trainers and the latter for ten days by an Italian Linux developer named Enrico Zini. The last was a FOSS policy workshop held on July 21, 2006 aimed at creating a policy-level awareness of FOSS on which IT decision makers and IT professionals attended. Final report of these events will soon be available for download. EFOSSNet has conducted these training in collaboration with CATIA, UNESCO, UNECA and EITPA.

EFOSSNET ANNUAL WORKSHOP, APRIL 16, 2006, NAZARETH

EFOSSNet has hold a one day annual workshop in Nazareth, Rift Valley College, on April 16, 2006. On the workshop different case studies around FOSS were presented: Dr. Dawit Bekele, EFOSSNet Coordinator opened the workshop with welcoming remark, Yared Getachew (Mekele University) compared and contrasted Open Office with MS-Office, Ethiopian Linux Users Group proposal by Mr. Iginio Gaglidardone and Melisachew Wudage, Dr. Dawit Bekele gave a guide as to how interested individuals may engage in OSS development projects and that wrapped up the morning session. The Afternoon session was commenced with an energizer as the whether in Nazareth was too warm, atendees were asked to tell any funny story they encountered at work and they could not stop doing so. This was very important to keep the workshop lively. Afterwards, Ato Abebe Chekol, EFOSSNet Secretary, presented an annual report and Ato Yared Deneke talked about Legal and Ethical use of Open Source & Open Content.More than 100 people: members of EFOSSNet, computer science students and some staffs of Adama University and Rift Valley College, and invited guests attended the workshop. EFOSSNet would like to acknowledge Rift Valley College for arranging the wokshop in Nazareth and the Economic Commission of Africa(ECA) for copying and distributing Ubuntu live CD to the workshop participants. Download case study slides here>>

IDLELOII CONFERENCE, NAIROBI KENYA, 23-25 FEBRUARY, 2006

The second IDLELO conference, which is organised by FOSSFA (FOSS for Africa), on digital commons was hold in Kenya, Nairobi from 23-25 Febraury, 2006. The three days conference focused on issues like FOSS & Education, FOSS & E-Government, FOSS & health and FOSS & Local Entrepreneurship. In FOSS & Education session Ato Zemene Adgo from Addis Ababa University presented his localization project on Open Content Managment System (CMS), which incorporates localization to Ethiopic font and customization to Ethiopic calendar, which makes this project unique among the projects presented on the conference as most localization projects in Africa do not involve local characters since they use Latin font. Ethiopia had good representation by EFOSSNet. Official hand over of FOSSFA secretariat from Circuits & Packets Communications Ltd., Kenya to CSIR/MERAKA, south Africa took place at the end of the meeting and EFOSSNet is recognised as a member of the newly established FOSSFA council. The IDLELO2 charter and documents presented in IDLELO2 are available on CD, contact us.

EFOSSNet's GENERAL MEMBER's MEETING

EFOSSNet general members meeting was hold on Saturday February 4, 2006 at 9:00 AM in British Council. Dr. Dawit Bekele, coordinator of the network, reported previous activities done by EFOSSNet, a short research with the title "Pros & Cons among different Linux Distributions" was presented by Zemene Adgo and Yohannes Tesfaye and after a coffee break a report on international conferences was presented by Ato Abebe Chekol and Ato Solomon Gizaw who participated in LACFREE II conference in Brazil and Africa Source II (Uganda) respectively and finally participants discussed about all the issues raised in the meeting. Three people - Issayas Demozie, Melisachew Wudage, Taddesse Woudneh and Mr. Iglinio Gagliardone was given responsibility to come up with ideas as to how to create a Linux user group. Download the short research slide here.

EFOSSNet's LINUX ADMINISTRATION TRAINING CONCLUDED

Happy New Year, on the first date of 2006, January 1, EFOSSNet has concluded its 6-day Linux Administration Training that it had launched on 17 December 2005 in the capital, Addis Ababa. 32 trainees were given a certificate for their successful accomplishment of the training by Ato Bogale Demissie (Ethiopian Information Technology Professionals Association, EITPA President). Mr. Paul Hector, UNESCO Regional coordinator in Ethiopia has given gifts for the trainers, Yared Deneke (System Administrator, International Community School) and Yonas Hailu (Lecturer, HILCOE school of Computer Science) and also for those who helped in arranging the training. EFOSSNet has a future plan to conduct the same training all over Ethiopia.

EFOSSNet LAUNCHES A 6 DAY LINUX ADMINISTRATION TRAINING

In its plan to promote the use of open source softwares in Ethiopia, EFOSSNet has launched a 6 day Linux administration training on 17 December 2005.Fedora core 4 Linux ditribution is used in the training and it covers a wide range of topics, from installation to advanced topics like shell scripting and job scheduling. Here is the full training content.You can also Download the training slides.

REVISED FREE AND OPEN SOFTWARE (FOSS) COUNTRY BEST PRACTICES

FOSSFA Secretariat has compiled a collection of Country best practices on FOSS usage around the world.Take a look and see what other Countries and Continents are doing regarding their policies on FOSS adoption. Click here

CODI4 ADOPTS FOSS RECOMMENDATIONS ON A MEETING HELD IN ADDIS ABABA

The Committee on Development Information (CODI) which is one of the seven main organs of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) organised its second FOSS meeting in collaboration with Francophonie(OIF) and FOSSFA on 23rd April 2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Among the recommendations tabled was that the African Governments (53 Member States of CODI) should use the resolutions and outcomes of the IDLELO2 Conference as a platform to develop a political document to stimulate Governments put enabling strategies and policies that will enhance a local (Free and Open Source Software) FOSS industry in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

In their deliberations, the Governments noted that computer operating systems should be considered as basic infrastructure like roads, waterways, air routes or for the technologically savvy, TCP/IP which is available as an infrastructure for the internet. That means that Government Operating Systems are better placed to be powered on GNU/Linux. The other applications that will run on this basic infrastructure can be proprietary or open source depending on the quality and market dynamics. It was also felt that Education Systems are best implemented running open source technology.

The Governments were also quick to highlight that proprietary software has a significant role in Government especially on applications and that African Companies should also start developing their own intellectual property.

The State IT Agency (SITA) in South Africa which has just completed the first phase of deploying open source as the Government Operating System was identified as a best practice which should be watched to see how it works upon completion and replicated.

CODI4 formally adopted the resolutions on 28th April 2005. Over 400 delegates mostly comprising of Govt Officers in ICTs, Statistics, Libraries and Geo Information attended the meeting in Addis Ababa.

The Draft Report of CODI4 is available here

Strongly-worded warning to African Governments

Free Software and Open Source Software Foundation for Africa (Fossfa) co-ordinator Bildad Kagai today issued a stongly-worded warning to African governments that are - or are planning to - enter into "deals" with the Microsoft Corporation saying they were jeopordising their local software industry as well as limiting the potential of ICT development in their countries.

Kagai, a founder of Fossfa, and an outspoken critic of proprietary software, said "Fossfa estimates Africa's ICTs industry to be worth more than $25 billion and growing. It will be unfair to Africa if our leaders were to give away this industry to already rich corporations when local talent exists to service this industry in this continent."

In a letter to open source advocates across the continent Kagai wrote.... Read more about the clarion call here