{Apologies for cross-posting} Dear Mumbai Linux User Group, We welcome you to participate in the online discussion forum "Free and Open Source Software: Policy and Development Implications" (FOSS-PDI) at http://lists.apdip.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/foss-pdi

FOSS-PDI is a joint initiative of Bridges.org, (Cape Town, South Africa); Free and Open Source Software Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), (Nairobi, Kenya); OneWorld South Asia (OWSA), (New Delhi, India); UNDP-APDIP International Open Source Network (IOSN), (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP/UNDP), (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

The multi-stakeholder partners of this e-discussion firmly believe that FOSS is in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): because it increases access to, ownership of, and control of knowledge and information through the collaborative development of newer technologies and communication opportunities. FOSS also provides an innovative Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) framework that can be applied in all areas of development theory and practice - advocacy for Free Medicine (e.g. generic HIV/AIDS drugs), Free Seeds (e.g. seed banks), Free Books (e.g. Open Access Movement), Freedom of Information Movement et. al. Therefore the issues being considered central to this debate are:

* Opportunities and drawbacks of FOSS for developing countries – the roles of government, civil society, business in the process

* FOSS and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – stretching the development dollar for scaling-up impact

* The global Intellectual Property Concern - Business monopoly of first world nations software giants VS third world collaborative efforts.

* Enabling legal/regulatory/policy framework for country specific strategic evolution of FOSS.

* Open-source processes outside the software sector – Free Medicine, Seed Bank, Open Access, Open Archiving etc.

* Comparison of proprietary software vis-à-vis FOSS in terms of technical merits –reliability, stability, and vulnerabilities, especially in the context of national security.

* FOSS versus Public Domain Software and Freeware – the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of FOSS.

* Motivations for contributing to FOSS projects - What motivates FOSS developers to "donate" their time? In the context of developing countries, can these motivators be encouraged by government, civil society and private sector interventions?

We expect the deliberations of this on-ine discussion will contribute toward evolution of enabling policy framework on building/using FOSS for developmental interventions.

To post to this list, send your email to:

foss-pdi@lists.apdip.net

General information about the mailing list is at:

http://lists.apdip.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/foss-pdi

We are looking forward to your active participation.

Thank you. Warm regards, Moderators

Sunil Abraham, UNDP/APDIP/IOSN Philipp Schmidt, Bridges,org Bildad Kagai, FOSSFA Naimur Rahman, OWSA Amandeep Singh Grewal, OWSA Atanu Garai, OWSA