Lusaka, 24th of October 2005¶

Free and Open Source Software can foster business development in SADC region, says International Conference organized by it@ab

The SADC-wide network “it@ab - Information Technology in African Business” recently held a two days conference on Free and Open Source Software in Lusaka, Zambia on “Smooth integration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) into existing software environments”. The SADC region was challenged to adopt free and open source software (FOSS) as a viable route towards affordable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and business development at the local level. The event was supported by the German development organization InWEnt, Capacity Building International, Germany and ran from the 18th to the 19th of October 2005. Over 100 ICT experts met in Lusaka, Zambia, including over twenty members of the it@ab network, over 60 decision makers and ICT specialists from Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and the host country.

The it@ab network on Information Technology in African Business is a knowledge network founded and supported by InWEnt - Capacity Building International, Germany. It links about thirty multiplier institutions in the field of ICT in seven SADC countries. Within the past three years, InWEnt trained over 60 ICT specialists of the it@ab Network in Germany – many of which presented business cases and solutions at the event in Lusaka.

The conference was opened on Tuesday, 18th of October 9:30 a.m. at Taj Pamodzi Hotel by Honourable Harrigan Wind Mazimba, Deputy Minister of Communication and Transport on behalf of the Honourable Abel Chambeshi - MP Minister Ministry of Communication and Transport, Zambia. In attendance was her Excellence Dr. Irene Hinrichsen - Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Zambia together with Prof. Thomson Sinkala - Chairman of the it@ab network Zambia. Mr Milner Makuni, General Manager, AfriSwitch, Lusaka, Zambia and President, Computer Society of Zambia was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony. Mr. Balthas Seibold - Senior Project Manager, InWEnt gGmbH, Germany and Mr John S Munsaka, it@ab Zambian coordinator welcomed the guests.

In their presentations and demonstrations, the it@ab Network IT-specialists who have been trained in Germany demonstrated a variety of software solutions that rival their commercial counterparts in their categories yet for a fraction of the price. The presenters also demonstrated that it is possible to integrate FOSS into organisations without making disruptive changes to existing, known and trusted applications and environments.

From the feedback of the participants to the conference, it was clear that indeed many of the solutions provided a viable solution for organisations and users in the field of ICT for development as well as business opportunities for IT companies of the region. The freedom offered by free and open source software was also aptly demonstrated by the University of Dar as Salaam which demonstrated a Swahili version of the popular open source package Open Office.

Some of the key issues that were covered at the conference included the following:

· Opportunities and technical solutions arising from the use of free and open source software (FOSS), with a focus on integrating FOSS into existing software environments such as the Windows desktop system.

· Presentation of business solutions based on FOSS for selected guests from the business community of SADC and decision makers.

· Further training and knowledge exchange of it@ab members in the field of free and open source software (FOSS)