Khmer Software Initiative

(Paris, November 2003)

Meeting under the umbrella of UNDP (United Nations Development Program) and UNESCO, a number of Asian, European and American governments have reached an interesting number of agreements regarding Open Source Software:

1. PREAMBLE

The software industry today generates yearly revenues in excess of US$300 Billion (UNCTAD 2003 Development Report). Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) offers viable and equitable models for distribution and production of this wealth. FOSS makes its source code public and allows perhaps even motivates users to change the source code and re-distribute the derivative software. Liberating the source code supports broad collaborative development in software production, promotes innovation by users according to their needs, better interoperability with other programs, and the customization of software to meet different commercial, regulatory, cultural and linguistic requirements.

Most importantly, in particular for developing countries, FOSS is an avenue for economic and technological empowerment, and allows todays and tomorrows Information Technology (IT) experts and users to acquire skills and advance their knowledge rapidly. Low entry costs of FOSS technology enables developing countries to leapfrog to the most advanced stages of research and development.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

a. Policy Issues

i. Raising awareness of FOSS and related Intellectual Property Rights issues.

ii. Promotion of FOSS as a global common good contributing to development iii. Adoption of policies to ensure that FOSS is equally considered in public procurement processes

iv. Promotion of FOSS based business models

v. Promotion of FOSS to End Users

vi. Collection of statistics, indicators and best practices on FOSS to measure development and utilisation at national, regional and international levels

vii. Adoption of FOSS as a basis for open standards in the public sector

viii. Promotion of a patent-free regulatory system regarding standards, software and algorithms

ix. Enhancement of cooperation between countries on FOSS promotion, development and use

x. Creation of awareness on FOSS licensing and standardization issues

xi. Taking advantage of FOSS to promote multilingualism, cultural diversity and use of the different languages in Cyberspace

xii. Making use of FOSS to promote the equitable participation in Cyberspace: women and men, ethnic and indigenous groups, people with special needs, etc.

xiii. Integration of FOSS within the national e-strategies and ICT policies of developing countries

xiv. Mandating that all software developed using public funds be distributed under FOSS licenses unless there are valid reasons to the contrary.

b. Capacity Building

i. Education: FOSS and Open Standards to be introduced into ICT curricula

ii. Certification in FOSS related areas

iii. Research & Development

iv. Match-making mechanisms to link entities pursuing FOSS

v. FOSS human resources development.

c. Business Development (Entrepreneurship)

i. Address user needs by sector

ii. Business opportunities for FOSS

iii. Encourage government agencies and public institutions to use FOSS

iv. Allow FOSS to compete on equal terms with proprietary alternatives in government software procurement

v. Provide incentives for FOSS training and development

vi. Encourage private sector to set up FOSS resource and support centers

d. Content and Application Development

i. Support documentation, translation & localization of FOSS

ii. Promote FOSS in education, research and development projects financed by public funds

iii. Establish national FOSS development initiatives that link developers and users

iv. Establish national capabilities for development, testing, evaluation, verification and accreditation of FOSS

v. Implement criteria for evaluating FOSS and procedures for adopting and maintaining open standards

e. International Cooperation

UNDP and UNESCO should enhance cooperation with other international organizations, civil society and private sector to develop a common approach to support FOSS in developing countries with particular emphasis in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Such international cooperation may start with initiatives such as,

i. Analysis of software needs and usage patterns in developing countries in order to obtain a priority list of generic FOSS applications meriting international support.

ii. Establishment of a coordination mechanism to develop a common agenda and goals on FOSS including coordinated support for on-going regional, national and local FOSS initiatives

iii. Adoption of FOSS specific criteria to be used in the selection of development project proposals and evaluation of project results

iv. Sub-regional projects on implementing E-government using FOSS at local levels

v. Formulation and implementation by UNDP and UNESCO of FOSS strategies for their own informatics systems and applications.

vi. Development of a comprehensive training programme on FOSS