Asia Source

January 28th - February 5th 2005, Bangalore, India

Asia Source brought together nearly 100 NGOs and NGO technology support professionals working at the local level across South and South East Asia. Asia Source's primary goal was to act as a focal point in increasing the awareness, integration and adoption of FOSS desktop and tools as a viable option for use amongst the voluntary sector in South and South East Asia. The intention was to move beyond conceptual discussions of the benefits of FOSS in to practical skillsharing between those working with non-profits (NGOs, Media, Education) in the region.

Photos

Source events are week long workshops, designed to create hands-on opportunities for practical learning and exchange and to make connections with regional peers. Sessions on the practical side range from skill building around setting up an "open" NGO office and providing on-going maintenance and support, to specific "screwdriver sessions" on alternative access, such as making wireless antennas or setting up thin-client open labs. Sessions on the conceptual side range from looking at the benefits and intricacies of localisation, to discussions about the challenges of FOSS implementation and advocacy.

This community building event was the first of its kind in the region. Previous large scale FOSS events have been policy oriented events (such as FOSSAP or ASIA OSSS), industry trade shows or Linux User Group Events. Asia Source was the first regional event bringing people together to focus on the practical elements of FOSS deployment specifically within a social context.

Asia Source belongs to a larger family of Source Events that seek to increase the viability of FOSS use by the non-profit sector. Previous source events have taken place in Croatia - September 2003, and Namibia - March 2004. Future source events will also take place in West Africa, June 2005. Interaction and learning between these regional events is facilitated by the organisers through the exchange of project models and individual expertise.

Organisers

The event is co-organised by Mahiti.org (Bangalore) and the Tactical Technology Collective (Amsterdam). The event is guided by an advisory board of established non-profit and FOSS professionals from across the South and South East Asian region.

Sponsors

Venue

Visthar is a support and training organisation for the voluntary sector and a small artists community on the outskirts of Bangalore. Visthar is a popular NGO training venue and has been intentionally chosen for its simple facilities and 'camp' style atmosphere.