The 5th African Conference on FOSS and the Digital Commons – IDLELO 5 to be hosted by Open Source Foundation for Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria
Accra, February 1, 2011
The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa is officially announcing the 5th African Conference on FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) and the Digital Commons – Idlelo 5. Under the theme “Open Source Solutions for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)” the conference will be held in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria under the auspices of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. IDLELO 5 follows successful series of conferences already held in Cape Town, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Dakar, Senegal and Accra, Ghana. IDLELO 5 in Abuja, Nigeria shall be held from March 19 - 23, 2012
IDLELO is the premier African continent' s open source gathering. Every two years, the continent dedicates a one-week period to appraise its open source and free software initiatives, expertise, community, challenges and experiences. This March event is the continent's rallying point for critical issues in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as they are directly related to the development of its people, governments and business enterprises.
IDLELO 5 will be one event for FOSS practitioners, developer and advocates and well as governments, education and businesses to showcase results, share experiences and challenges, review progress on the continent in diverse domains and chart a way forward for an African future grounded in true ownership of technology that will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
IDLELO 5 will consist of hackathons, awards, tutorials, hands-on trainings, demos, field visits and presentations on key FOSS and information technology areas. It will welcome a diverse number of parallel events, an exhibition and a business round table. The conference will welcome FOSS and IT keynote speakers, project, companies, solutions and innovations, not just in Africa, but across the global FOSS community. IDLELO 5 will mark the 10 years of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA
IDLELO 5 offers a real opportunity to discuss new issues, tackle complex problems and find advanced enabling solutions able to shape new trends in FOSS and related technologies on the African continent.
About the Conference
IDLELO is a Southern African word meaning "Common Grazing Ground". IDLELO captures the essence of Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa's (FOSSFA's) existence as well as the fundamental objective of the conference. The original idea of an African conference on FOSS and the Digital Commons was born at about the same time as FOSSFA itself. Over its past editions, IDLELO has gained grounds, extended its grazing limits and have nutured more binary green grass!
About FOSSFA
FOSSFA is Africa's premier Non-Governmental FOSS organisation on the continent. The vision of FOSSFA is to promote the use of FOSS and the FOSS model in African development. FOSSFA supports the integration of FOSS in national policies, coordinates, promotes and adds value to African FOSS initiatives, creativity, industry, expertise, efforts and activities at all levels. FOSSFA partners with development organizations who share these goals towards a participatory and gender-mainstreamed sustainable development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.
http://www.fossfa.net
http://www.idlelo.net
secretariat@fossfa.net
chair@fossfa.net
About OSFON
The Open Source Foundation for Nigeria is the nation's association of its FOSS activists, media, academia, researchers, developers, businesses, agencies for the common FOSS objective. Its mission is to promote and educate decision makers in government, educators, NGOs, businesses and citizens on the advantages of using the Linux Operating System, Free and Open Source Applications and Open Standards.
http://www.osfon.org.ng/
dele@osfon.org.ng
About Abujacity.com
AbujaCity.com is Abuja’s marketing, tourism and networking organization.
Established in 1998, our mission is to maximize entrepreneurial opportunities throughout the federal capital territory with a particular focus on hospitality, entertainment, real estate and media. Build economic prosperity and spread the dynamic image of Africa’s fastest growing city globally.
With the launch of our interactive initiatives—including Abujacity.com (city guide), Cyblug (blog channel) and the abujacity.org Information portal—AbujaCity.com becomes the ultimate resource for visitors and residents to find everything they need about what to do and see in Abuja City.
