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In Cambodia, during the closing of the seminar
on Information Technology Awarness (September 2001),
H.E. Sok An, Senior Minister, Minister in charge of The Office of
the Council of Ministers stated:
"All laws, regulations, and policies in the IT sector will
reflect the following guiding spirit and philosophy:
To uphold the interests of the consumers and general public.
To guarantee security of information, while facilitating the
broadest possible access to public information.
To respect individual rights, and
To
avoid dependency on proprietary systems, instead promoting open
systems and interoperability."
In September 2003
Prime Minister Hun Sen called for development of Khmer language
computer standards to enhance communication at all levels.
In February 2005
Cambodia has issued an
Open Source Master Plan and it is expected to come out with an
Open Source Action Plan very soon. The Master Plan includes plans
for change Government and civil society, and it plans for migration
of the Government to Open Source within the next three years.
The data below about
other countries is slightly outdated, but it still gives good
examples.
Many countries around the world have already
established policies on the use of Open Source Software. Here are
some examples that we have "borrowed" from the
InfoDev
report "Open Source Software. Perspectives for Development" (making
good use of their open copyright policy).
UNDP/UNESCO Consultation on
Open Source Software (Paris, November 2003)
Meeting under the umbrella of UNDP (United
Nations Development Program) and UNESCO, a number of Asian, European
and American governments have reached an interesting number o
agreements regarding Open Source
Software.
Australia
The
South Australia government in Adelaide has introduced The State
Supply (Procurement of Software) Amendment Bill 2003 which states
that: A public authority must, in making a decision about the
procurement of computer software for its operations, have regard to
the principle that, wherever practicable, a public authority should
use open source software in preference to proprietary software.
Brazil
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is finalizing a policy
recommending that federal ministries, agencies and state enterprises
install open-source software, such as Linux, instead of proprietary
software on new computer systems. A goal of this policy is to have
at least 80% of government computers purchased during 2004 support
open source software.
In
October 2003, Free Software Implementation Guidelines in the Federal
Government was published.
China, Japan, and South Korea Collaboration
In
September 2003, the governments of Japan, China and South Korea
announced that they will work with the private sector to develop new
operating system software for devices such as cell phones, digital
cameras and car navigation systems and the network server market. It
is anticipated that the work will be based on Linux.
In
November 2003, Gou Zhongwen, a vice minister at the Chinese Ministry
of Information Industry said Linux is an opportunity for us to make
a breakthrough in developing software, But the market cannot be
developed on a large scale without government support.
Denmark
In
October 2002, the Danish Board of Technology, in its report Open
Source Software in e-government, recommended that governments take
an active role in promoting standardized file formats and
alternatives to proprietary applications formats.
European Commission
In the
eEurope An Information Society for All (June 2000) it noted that
during 2001 the European Commission and Member States will promote
the use of open source software in the public sector and eGovernment
best practice through exchange of experiences across the Union
(through the IST and IDA programmes).
The
European Commission released a report Pooling Open-Source Software
to address cost savings by sharing software on an open source
licensing basis. European administrations should share software on
an open source licensing basis, to cut soaring eGovernment
information technology costs. The study recommends creating a
clearing house where public sector software applications can be
donated for re-use and could encourage the replication of good
practices in eGovernment.
In
August 2003, the European Commission initiated an effort for
Encouraging good practice in the use of open source software in
public administrations. The initiative will primarily focus on the
development of national and regional open source competence centers
to facilitate the exchange of information about opportunities and
risks associated with open source software.
In
October 2003, the European Commisions Interchange of Data Between
Administrations (IDA) Open Source Migration Guidelines noted that
There are many reasons for Administrations to migrate to OSS. These
include: the need for open standards for e-Government; the level of
security that OSS provides; the elimination of forced change; the
cost of OSS. All these benefits result in far lower IT costs.
Germany
In May
2003, the City of Munich announced its plans to migrate 14,000
computers in its public administration to Linux and other
open-source office applications. The migration program begins in
2004. Munich Mayor Christian Ude said the city was seeking greater
IT independence and wanted to set a clear signal for greater
competition in the software market.
In June
2003, Otto Schily, Minister of the Interior Federal Republic of
Germany stated We raise the level of IT security by avoiding
monocultures; we lower the dependency on single software vendors;
and we reach costs savings in software and operation costs.
India
The
Indian government has launched the Linux India Initiative that
focuses on developing resource centers, special interest groups,
pilot projects, assisting in the localization of Open Source
software and to support the development of research studies.
Malaysia
The
government is establishing a national OSS reference center directed
by the Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management
Planning Unit. Among the activities to be carried out are the
management of OSS implementation through the provision of
consultancy, support and audit, formulation of policies and
standards, certification and training, and OSS research and
knowledge building.
In October 2003, The Ministry of Finance announced
its plan allocate funds to the Malaysian Venture Capital
9
Perspectives for Development
Management Bhd to sponsor independant OSS companies
through its OSS-Platform Investment Programme.
Philippines
The
Philippine government has initiated an effort to develop a package
of open source software products as well as a support mechanism for
government agencies, schools, and small businesses. The Advanced
Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), which falls under the
Philippines Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has
released a simplified version of Linux called Bayanihan Linux
(bayanihan.asti.dost.gov.ph). ASTI is also developing enhanced thin
client and embedded solutions using OSS. The DOST has also funded an
OSS based information system that is being implemented by the
National Computer Center for use by more than 3,000 local
governments.
Pakistan
The
Government has announced that Linux and Open Source products are at
the forefront of its initiatives to curb piracy and protect
intellectual property. TReMU, Pakistans Technology Resource
Mobilization Unit, has created a task force it calls Linux Force,
to review the value these offerings can provide to their computing
needs.
Thailand
The
governments ICT Ministry is targeting to have 5% of government
agencies use Linux during 2003. Dr. Surapong Suebwonglee said the
ICT Ministry would encourage the use of Linux, with a long term goal
to have Linux support 50% of installations in government agencies.
The ICT
Ministry also introduced a series of low-cost PCs to increase
computer literacy among the poor. The government-subsidized project
initially planned to include Linux TLE, a Thai version of Linux,
along with the OpenOffice productivity suite. Microsoft responded by
agreeing to deliver its operating system and Office suite for $36
(typically priced at +$300 US), translate the programs into Thai,
and develop new licensing agreements.
Spain
In April
2002, the Extramadura Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
initiated a project to convert
computer
systems from proprietary systems to OSS which include the creation
of their own OSS distribution called GNU/LinEx. According to Luis
Mill� V�quez de Miguel, Minister of Education, Science and
Technology, We chose OSS for two reasons: first of all, because we
cannot afford paying for 100,000 licenses. We have saved 30 millions
Euro alone in licenses. Secondly, because of safety reasons. We
cannot carry out such a huge project and not have access to the
codes, we cannot depend on a single company either. Using OSS, we
update everything we need when we need it. Project goal is to
support the Red Tecnol�ica Educativa (Educational Technology
Network) for providing one computer for every six primary students
and one for each secondary student in the region. A secondary school
history teacher in Calamonte said From the educational point of
view, there is no difference between GNU/LinEx and Windows. Students
need transparent software. They use the computer to make a task and
do not worry who is the proprietary of the license.
Under
their Digital Literacy Plan, Nuevos Centros del Conocimiento (New
Knowledge Centres) computers are placed in 33 communities. Over
30,000 citizens have taken advantage of the program. Economic and
social goals are being met by distributing OSS through the Plan de
Alfabetizaci� Tecnol�ica (Technology Literacy Plan), to small
businesses and the regional government administration. The Vivernet
program helps new businesses by providing young entrepreneurs with
access to ICT resources. Vivernet has two Centres (in C�eres and in
Badajoz) and has more than 4000 users and over 38 businesses
participate.
South Africa
In
January 2003, the governments report Using Open Source Software in
the South African Government recognizes the educational and
commercial benefits of Open Source development and recommends that
partnerships between academic, industry and government institutions
be implemented. The report proposes that 1) discrimination and
prejudice will be avoided in software procurement procedures, making
choices based on merit, thus giving OSS and proprietary software
(PS) equal opportunities to be selected and 2) as OSS offers
significant indirect advantages, opting for OSS will be preferable
where the direct advantages and disadvantages of OSS and PS are
equally strong, and where circumstances in the specific situation do
not render such preference inappropriate.
In July
2003, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, South African Minister of Public
Service and Administration provided the following comments on OSS:
Support - As long as there is a market for support, the open source
code allows anybody to provide it, whereas proprietary software (PS)
support is dependent on the development company. If that company
goes out of business, the support can disappear with it.
Security
Some critics maintain that using OSS is a security risk. Real
experts can allay that fear. In fact, the availability of source
code has the added advantage of enabling the user organization to
study it, determine whether its functioning poses any security risks
and amend the software if so desired. Furthermore, when new problems
are found, solutions are available far sooner than with PS, as
anyone can examine the problem and find its solution.
Sweden
In
February 2003, Statskontoret, the Swedish Agency for Public
Management published a study stating the following: The conclusion
of the working group is that free and open source software in many
ways, both functionally and qualitatively, is quite equivalent to
or better than proprietary products. Free and open source software
should therefore be judged on an even par with proprietary software
in a procurement process in order to establish better market
competition. It is also necessary to place demands on open standards
and file formats in order to achieve interoperability between
different systems.
United
Kingdom
In its
policy document Open Source Software Use Within UK Government
(July 2002), it states that the UK Government will 1) consider OSS
solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements. Contracts
will be awarded on a value for money basis, 2) only use products for
interoperability that support open standards and specifications in
all future IT developments, 3) seek to avoid lock-in to proprietary
IT products and services, 4) consider obtaining full rights to
bespoke software code or customizations of COTS (Commercial Off The
Shelf) software it procures wherever this achieves best value for
money and 5) explore further the possibilities of using OSS as the
default exploitation route for Government funded R&D software.
In
October 2003, the Office of Government Commerce announced plans to
test open source software in nine different areas of government.
Lead by the Office of the E-envoy, the project will measure the
benefits of OSS with those of proprietary systems.
United
States
In
October 2000, The Presidents Information Technology Advisory
Committee (PITAC) report Developing Open Source Software to Advance
High End Computing recommends that a level playing field must be
created within the government procurement process to facilitate Open
Source development.
In April
2003, the report Developing an Open Source Option for NASA Software,
stated that For NASA, the adoption of an Open Source option for
software distribution would lead to three main benefits: 1) improved
software development; 2) enhanced collaboration, in particular
across organizational boundaries; and 3) more efficient and
effective dissemination.
State Of Oregon
In March 2003, House Bill 2892 was introduced which
would require State agencies to consider the use of Open Source
software for all new software acquisitions.
State of Texas
Senate Bill 1579 proposes that, for all new software
acquisitions, a state agency shall: 1. consider acquiring open
source software products in addition to proprietary software
products; 2. except as provided by Subdivisions (4) and (5), acquire
software products primarily on a value-for-money basis; 3. provide
justification whenever a proprietary software product is acquired
instead of open source software; 4. avoid the acquisition of
products that do not comply with open standards for interoperability
or data storage; 5. avoid the acquisition of products that are known
to make unauthorized transfers of information to, or permit
unauthorized control of or modification to the state governments
computer systems by, parties outside the control of the state
government.
State of Oklahoma
Oklahoma bill, HB 1627 introduced in January 2003
states that No state agency nor the Purchasing Division of the
Department of Central Services shall enter into a contract for the
acquisition of computer software developed exclusively for the
agency or the state, unless the vendor agrees to provide to the
agency or the state the source code for the software. It was also
noted that For purposes of this section, source code means the
programming instruction for a computer program in its original form,
created by a programmer with a text editor or a visual programming
tool and saved in a file.
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