FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : MEDIA ALERT

Bridges.org, Cape Town, South Africa 7 May 2004

Straight from the Source:
Perspectives from the African Free and Open Source Movement
Article written by Bridges.org in collaboration with the Tactical
Technology Collective

African software developers face many obstacles as they struggle to grow
professionally in their chosen field. But these "coders", as a group, form
a community marked less by their frustration and isolation than by their
perseverance and resolve. This theme dominated AfricaSource, a workshop
held in Namibia in March, 2004. The meeting of 60 developers from 25
countries in the small town of Okahandja was the first chance many of the
coders have had to collaborate and compare notes. Bridges.org, in
cooperation with Tactical Technologies, has written an article airing the
views shared by the workshop participants and looking at ways in which the
field of software development could grow in Africa. The article is based on
interviews and contains quotes from many of the delegates.

Governments, often the biggest employer and spender in the economy,
systematically shut locals out because they typically are not aware that a
local talent pool exists, says Ugandan Wire Lunghabo James. Similarly, he
says, corporations fail to look for locally produced solutions because they
lack knowledge or even interest in domestically-produced solutions.

To read a summary or to read the full article please go to:
http://www.bridges.org/africasource/

The article focuses on the following points:
· The lack of access to the means and tools of production is the
issue African programmers most commonly identify as the greatest barrier to
success in their work.

· The prohibitive cost of bandwidth and hardware is an obstacle most
programmers face, but it has the greatest effect as they are preparing to
enter the job market. Without the opportunity to earn salaries so they can
afford equipment of their own, market entrants eager for work face the
prospect of successive unpaid internships -- and must accept all the
unwelcome conditions that come with this kind of "student work".

· Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) typically lack the kind of
expertise in technology that might help them increase their impact in their
chosen sector, and need help from outside the organisation. Many hope that
software developers, especially those who work with free and open source
software (FOSS), will be the ones to produce the applications and localise
the solutions appropriate to NGOs.

ENDS ###

Contact Details:
Name: Philipp Schmidt, Programme Manager
Tel: +27 (0) 21 465 9313
Email: [email protected]
url: www.bridges.org

About bridges.org
Bridges.org is an international non-profit organisation based in South
Africa with a mission to promote the effective use of ICT in developing
countries to improve people's lives. One area of focus is informing policy
decisions that affect people's access to and use of ICT. Bridges.org also
provides social consulting services to ground level projects using ICT,
helping with project planning and evaluation, studying the effects of
policy decisions, and relaying lessons learned. It brings an
entrepreneurial attitude to its social mission, and is committed to working
with, instead of against, government agencies and the business
community. For more information please go to www.bridges.org.

Bridges.org offices:
Tel: +27 (0) 21 465 9313
Fax: +27 (0) 21 465 5917

South Africa: P O Box 715, Cape Town 8000 South Africa
United States: P O Box 53099, Washington, DC 20009-9099

http://www.bridges.org

About Tactical Tech
Tactical Tech is an Amsterdam-based NGO working to strengthen social
technology movements and networks in developing and transition countries.
Its ultimate aim is to promote civil society's effective, conscious and
creative use of new technologies.

It does this through bringing together activists and NGOs with local
technology experts and social software developers, demystifying technology
for NGOs especially those linked to low-cost and do-it-yourself technology,
and promoting the use of information as a strategic tool for monitoring,
campaigning and organising.

For more information please go to: http://www.tacticaltech.org.
For specific information on the Africa Source conference please go to:
http://www.tacticaltech.org/africasource

Contact details:
Email: [email protected]

Tactical Techs Office:
Tel: + 31 20 6201478
Nieuwe Leliestraat 29, Amsterdam, 1015 SJ, the Netherlands