Kosovo needs Free Software. Free as in charge and free to tinker with its code, build upon it and offer services around it. Free Software encourages experimentation, provides total ownership at a low cost and builds local software industry. Free Software is becoming the preferred choice as many European cities and even national governments across the world push for Free Software adoption seeking to control costs and own the source code in perpetuity.
This website is being served to you completely through the use of Free
Software. Without it it is likely it would not have happened. Free
Software and the open source movement and collaborative content such as
Wikipedia could fill holes that corporations with the current model of
closed non-free software are not willing or cannot fill.
Kosovo institutions and especially the Ministry of Education must encourage Free Software in order to create the technical base that will attract global companies and foster innovation in Kosovo. One step has already been placed in this direction with the independent FLOSS Kosovo organization, whose goal is to promote Free Software.
Already several global software companies have announced their sponsorship of the first Kosovo Software Freedom Conference which will take place on Aug 29-30 2009. The conference seeks to attract eminent speakers and software developers from across the world and introduce new technologies as well as talk about established ones to a regional audience.
With the distrust of the collective space, in many ways Kosovo seems like the last bastion of capitalism on Earth. This distrust has cut Kosovo off from the enormous development that has been taking place worldwide. Free Software is now so advanced that it is possible to run a complete business using only Free Software and paying no licensing fees. At the same time there is still a great tradition of social solidarity and cohesion that keeps this place together. If we apply the same principles to software, we will be in good shape scientifically and economically as well.
Although copyright laws are not being enforced right now, this is likely to happen soon as Kosovo moves towards joining international trade organizations. Kosovo is too poor to pay for software that has free alternatives. Instead of spending money on licensing fees, companies can spend money on infrastructure, translators, developers, project managers and support staff to customize and localize Free Software software to their needs.
Prishtina already has a vibrant web designing industry. A free software and open source movement could grow into other areas of computer science where everyone could benefit. Science, arts, music, health, education and other areas of the society will all benefit from Free Software.
Finally, FLOSS Kosovo will not restrain itself to Kosovo. It will try to benefit from and give back to the region and to the world. Already, there are a number of people lined up to speak at the conference. These people are familiar with Kosovo through the technical work they have done for international institutions here as well as others that are keen to learn more about the country. The founder of FLOSS Kosovo, James Michael DuPont, is an American who will soon marry a Kosovar woman. He tells me the youth spending time in internet cafes should be writing software instead. Instead of playing Counter Strike, they should be editing the Wikipedia.
Localization of software is another activity that is not limited by political boundaries and we expect Albanians from across the Balkans to benefit by using software in their own language as well as other communities through the work that is done in neighboring countries.
To learn more about the conference and explore speaking, sponsoring and other contributing opportunities please see the FLOSS Kosovo website at http://kosovasoftwarefreedom.org
Kosovo institutions and especially the Ministry of Education must encourage Free Software in order to create the technical base that will attract global companies and foster innovation in Kosovo. One step has already been placed in this direction with the independent FLOSS Kosovo organization, whose goal is to promote Free Software.
Already several global software companies have announced their sponsorship of the first Kosovo Software Freedom Conference which will take place on Aug 29-30 2009. The conference seeks to attract eminent speakers and software developers from across the world and introduce new technologies as well as talk about established ones to a regional audience.
With the distrust of the collective space, in many ways Kosovo seems like the last bastion of capitalism on Earth. This distrust has cut Kosovo off from the enormous development that has been taking place worldwide. Free Software is now so advanced that it is possible to run a complete business using only Free Software and paying no licensing fees. At the same time there is still a great tradition of social solidarity and cohesion that keeps this place together. If we apply the same principles to software, we will be in good shape scientifically and economically as well.
Although copyright laws are not being enforced right now, this is likely to happen soon as Kosovo moves towards joining international trade organizations. Kosovo is too poor to pay for software that has free alternatives. Instead of spending money on licensing fees, companies can spend money on infrastructure, translators, developers, project managers and support staff to customize and localize Free Software software to their needs.
Prishtina already has a vibrant web designing industry. A free software and open source movement could grow into other areas of computer science where everyone could benefit. Science, arts, music, health, education and other areas of the society will all benefit from Free Software.
Finally, FLOSS Kosovo will not restrain itself to Kosovo. It will try to benefit from and give back to the region and to the world. Already, there are a number of people lined up to speak at the conference. These people are familiar with Kosovo through the technical work they have done for international institutions here as well as others that are keen to learn more about the country. The founder of FLOSS Kosovo, James Michael DuPont, is an American who will soon marry a Kosovar woman. He tells me the youth spending time in internet cafes should be writing software instead. Instead of playing Counter Strike, they should be editing the Wikipedia.
Localization of software is another activity that is not limited by political boundaries and we expect Albanians from across the Balkans to benefit by using software in their own language as well as other communities through the work that is done in neighboring countries.
To learn more about the conference and explore speaking, sponsoring and other contributing opportunities please see the FLOSS Kosovo website at http://kosovasoftwarefreedom.org
Comments (4)
B.
said:
 |
... Quote of the year referring to youth playing Counter Strike in Kosovo. ",,instead of playing Counter Strike, they should be editing the Wikipedia." - James Michael DuPont |
David Bailey
said:
 |
... This is a great article. I am going to pass it on to my students and put a link to it on my identi.ca page. Our school just spent thousands of dollars on a new database / school management system. We could have gotten Schooltool for free and used the money elsewhere. I know exactly what you mean. |
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