FOSS-PDI -- FOSS - Policy and Development Implications
About FOSS-PDI	English (USA)
The FOSS e-discussion is being facilitated by - 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. All the stakeholders involved 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 development methodology fosters new forms of knowledge production in a collaborative, non-hierarchical, peer-to-peer manner. FOSS provides an innovative Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) framework and manner/methodology that can be applied in all areas of development theory and practice. FOSS also provides a model to protect and strengthen the public domain/ creative commons – considered critical for innovation, enterprise and vitality in private and development sector. The FOSS IPR framework can be used to stretch the development dollar and dramatically scale up the impact of various interventions. Ideally FOSS advocacy should join those that advocate 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. Thus when members of the public hear the words like "patents" or "IPR", they will see the following images - a person living with HIV/AIDS, a hungry senior citizen, an unlettered child, and the community struggling with these developmental challenges owing to inadequate access to knowledge and technology. To see the collection of prior postings to the list, visit the FOSS-PDI Archives.
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