Jordan promotes technology innovation - hosts Open Source Software workshop

The awareness-building workshop will take place on December 15 and 16 in Amman, under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Fawaz H. Zu'bi, Minister of Information and Communications Technology. A host of international experts and leading technology companies will present background and practical applications of Open Source Software to the academic, government and business communities.

"In its role as a policymaker, MoICT is here to understand what this technology trend has to offer and what role is expected from government to play in such development, as well as the opportunities and challenges it presents," said H.E. Dr. Fawaz H. Zu'bi, Minister of Information and Communications Technology. "Our ICT sector is about choice and innovation; two of the major ingredients that go into creating a dynamic ICT sector."

The International keynote speakers have had first-hand experience with the global OSS movement and recently spoke at a World Bank Symposium on Open Source, they include to name a few: Tony Stanco, Associate Director, Open Source and eGovernment, Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute, George Washington University; Peter Gallagher, President of Development InfoStrucutre (devIS); Enzo Puliatti, OSS Developer and ICT Consultant to UNDP/Cairo and Robin Miller, editor of the Open Source Development Network (OSDN) and among other open source Web sites. The event will also include senior level regional experts from IBM, Red Hat, Microsoft, Arabeyes and the German government.

The two-day workshop will look in-depth at software that is developed under "open source" license, which means source code can be freely viewed and customized by users/developers. The OSS approach allows hundreds or thousands of programmers worldwide to contribute to a product that is then usually, though not always, distributed free of licensing charges. OSS has been instrumental in growing a collaboration-based global development community; increasing technological innovation based on improved quality and lowering the cost of software ownership. The workshop aims to expose the local market to the commercial opportunities of Open Source Software, its educational and government application, and aims to introduce case studies and product demonstrations relevant to both software developers and users.

"By holding this event, Jordan has shown that it is ahead of the region in driving technology-innovation and its development community now has an opportunity to show what they can do across all platforms, as no one is excluded from contributing or collaborating in OSS," said Tony Stanco, Associate Director, Open Source and eGovernment, Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute, George Washington University "Jordan is a fertile field for technology innovation because of its desire to keep up-to-date with the latest trends."

The event is sponsored by Estarta Solutions, General Computers & Electronics (GCE), Microsoft, Red Hat, Specialized Technical Services (STS) and United Business Machines (UBM) and supported by the USAID-funded AMIR Program.

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