The Second Open Source ソフトウェア Africa 会議／協議会
Craig A. Adams
2004-09-10
The 2nd Open Source ソフトウェア Africa 会議／協議会 was held at the Indaba Hotel in Johannesburg on the 26th and 27th of August, 2004.
The event was …に出席するd by 委任する／代表s mostly from South Africa, with the 大多数 of these 委任する／代表s 存在 drawn from 政府 and academia. I was given the 適切な時期 to 議長，司会を務める the event on both days, and whilst the 会議／協議会 got off to a rocky start 予定 to 問題／発行するs with notebooks and projectors, the 会議／協議会 was an 全体にわたる success. Last year, the 1st Open Source ソフトウェア Africa 会議／協議会 attracted だいたい 80 委任する／代表s, but this year the 出席 more than 二塁打d to 168 委任する／代表s, 含むing （衆議院の）議長s, guests and exhibitor staff.
Exhibitors, Sponsors and Endorsers
Exhibitors, sponsors and endorsers of the 会議／協議会 含むd BD 解答s, Dax Data, Go Open Source, LPI, MPS, NACI, Novell, OpenOffice.org, PM Ora ソフトウェア, Savant, SITA, SmartSource, Sun Microsystems and Tectonic. A number of 委任する／代表s 公式文書，認めるd that several exhibitors, やめる surprisingly, were 陳列する，発揮するing ソフトウェア not 関係のある to 解放する／自由な and Open Source ソフトウェア except by only the most tenuous of links.
Day One – Thursday, 27 August 2004
贈呈s began late on Thursday morning with Ross Addis 供給するing an 利益／興味ing and divertingly fresh 贈呈 focussing on the 動機づけs of FLOSS developers. His 贈呈 drew upon the 作品 of Vincent 先頭 Gogh, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and さまざまな others. Also of particular 利益／興味 was the 贈呈 by Alan Levins, “10 推論する／理由s Open Source ソフトウェア Builds Society”. This 贈呈 was 特に insightful, with a look at the ways in which open-source 科学（工学）技術 and practices build social groups. The 贈呈 was very 井戸／弁護士席 received.
Stafford Masie, the Managing Director of Novell South Africa, 供給するd some 特に 利益／興味ing news with the 告示 of the 近づく availability of Suse GNU/Linux from at least a number of 重要な OEM distributors in South Africa and a 国家の support centre to 供給する support. This has subsequently been 公式に 発表するd by Novell in a 国家の (South African) roadshow held over the week of the 6th of September, 2004.
Day Two – Friday, 28 August, 2004
The second day ran a lot more 滑らかに than the first, until lunch at least. With any two-day 会議／協議会 held over a Thursday and Friday, it is 推定する／予想するd that a large number of 委任する／代表s will 減少（する） out on the second day for さまざまな 推論する／理由s 含むing flights and 早期に 週末s. I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised on Friday morning to 公式文書，認める that we had lost いっそう少なく than ten パーセント of the group. Unfortunately, this 傾向 was not to continue. After lunch about half the 委任する／代表s had 消えるd, and by the end of afternoon refreshments, the count had dropped to below thirty.
Dr McKay Motshabi, of the 明言する／公表する IT 機関, 供給するd the most important news of the entire event, 明らかにする／漏らすing that the South African 閣僚 had 可決する・採択するd the Open Source ソフトウェア 戦略 文書. The work has now begun in 尊敬（する）・点 to finding the best way to 器具／実施する the 政策.
予定 to the sudden loss of 委任する／代表s, I asked those remaining if the 贈呈s should continue or if we should 持つ／拘留する a general discussion 開会／開廷／会期. By general 合意, the discussion 開会／開廷／会期 was selected.
In the general discussion 開会／開廷／会期 the challenges 直面するing the （危険などに）さらす and 配当 of FLOSS in South Africa were discussed and 戦略s に向かって 緩和するing some 明確な／細部 problems, relating to Africa as a whole, were considered. This 開会／開廷／会期 was the most 実りの多い／有益な from my 視野 as it was an inclusive discussion which 招待するd real 参加 and the 世代 of ideas.
The remaining 委任する／代表s 発言する／表明するd the need for a more inclusive type of 会議／協議会 where people can 現実に 会談する with each other, rather than 行為／法令／行動する as a passive audience listening to a string of （衆議院の）議長s expound their 利益／興味s, 概念s, companies, 事業／計画（する）s and 親族 価値（がある）.
For me, the 会議／協議会 was 価値のある from a 網状組織ing and an OpenOffice.org （危険などに）さらす 視野. It 許すd me to 新たにする 知識s, communicate with a number of parties about some of the Southern African 事業／計画（する）'s 率先s, glean new ideas, and 獲得する more grass roots support.
From Left (明白な 直面するs): John 認める, AJ Venter, Craig “the grin” Rodney and Eugene Coetzee
About the Author
Craig Adams is the Marketing 事業／計画（する） Lead for Southern Africa and continuously 努力する／競うs, within a morass of apathy, to market OpenOffice.org to anyone and everyone, 特に in South and Southern Africa. Whenever possible, Craig tries to …に出席する 会議／協議会s and 展示s as a 代表者／国会議員 of the OpenOffice.org 事業／計画（する）, preaching to the 変えるd and evangelising to the oblivious and unwary.
The Southern African Marketing 事業／計画（する） 持続するs the www.openoffice.org.za portal which, optimistically, 供給するs useful （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） 関連した to the 地元の market 含むing links to さまざまな types of distributor, 顧問 and training services.
The Southern African Marketing 事業／計画（する） is also the 禁止（する） of Translate.org.za, which has shouldered the 仕事 of translating 非常に／多数の Open Source and 解放する／自由な ソフトウェア 事業／計画（する）s into a 抱擁する number of Southern African languages.
