Having been working on Open Source Software issues etc, I am now preparing to attend the Second IDLELO Conference on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to be held at the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel in Kenya from the 23rd to 25th February 2006 and the Africa Source II event to be held Kalangala, Uganda from January 08 to january 15th 2006.

IDLELO 2 is being held under the auspices of The Free Software & Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) in Collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD. The first IDLELO Conference which attracted over 250 delegates was held in January 2004 in Cape Town, South Africa. IDLELO is a Zulu word for a common grazing ground.

The objectives of IDLELO 2 are: Stimulate a local FOSS Software Industry in Africa by the end of the Conference and Bring together Practioners, Decision Makers and FOSS Software Developers to learn how FOSS works.

The target audience for IDLELO2 is Key Decision/ Policy Makers in African Governments with emphasis on The Central Government/E-Government Teams, Ministry of Education and The Ministry of Health, FOSSFA/GNU Linux User Groups National Leaders and Leading FOSS Industry players from the Private Sector.


Africa Source II will be an eight day hands-on workshop aimed at building the technical skills of those working with and within NGOs on the continent. It will take place in one of the most beautiful parts of the Kalangala Island on Victoria Lake during the beginning of January 2006.

Africa Source II is being held under the auspices of The Association for Progressive Communication APC (regional network), Fantsuam Foundation (Nigeria), Schoolnet Africa (regional network), Translate.org.za (South Africa), WOUGNET (Uganda), Creative Commons South Africa, Aspiration (US) and The Tactical Technology Collective (the Netherlands. The event shall focus on how technology, in particular Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) can be integrated into the project work of NGO's. Over a hundred NGO Support Professionals and NGO Staff working at the local level across the region are expected at this meeting. Together with a handful of field leaders from Africa, Europe, North America and Asia, they will explore how technology can best serve the non-profit sector in Africa both in terms of access and content.

This event is building on the previous Africa Source event (Namibia, March 2004), which brought together African FOSS developers working in the social sector. Africa Source II will, in contrast work, at a different level, concentrating on bringing together those working with NGOs and technology at the practitioner and intermediary level. Participants should have experience working with computers and the internet and a project or initiative planned in the future incorporating technology for the non-profit sector. They do not, however, have to be technical experts.

For details check http://www.tacticaltech.org/africasource2