Virtual centre on free and open source software launched

STRATEGIC: Joint conference by SQU and ITA on free and open source software begins

MUSCAT: The third Edition of the Free and Open Source Software Conference, FOSSC-17 Oman, jointly organised by the Communication and Information Research Centre (CIRC) at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), and the Information Technology Authority (ITA) commenced at SQU on Tuesday.

The main theme of the 2017 event is ‘ FOSS Deployment, Strategies and Practices’ which is a continuation of the previous conference efforts and in line with the proposal of the national FOSS strategic deployment plan drafted by SQU and ITA last year.

The opening ceremony was held under the patronage of Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Speaking on the occasion, HH Sayyidah Dr Mona bint Fahad al Said, SQU Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Cooperation, said that SQU has a leading role in contributing to the national initiative to support the free and open source software in partnership with the Information Technology Authority.

“The five year plan prepared by the Communication and Information Research Centre and ITA, took into consideration the status of software development in leading international institutions, as well as the current status of the software in the public and private sectors in the Sultanate,” she said.

Dr Salim Sultan al Ruzaiqi, Chief Executive Officer, ITA, said that free and open source software are considered as the best strategic preference for the localization of the technology and to ensure the transfer of knowledge and technology to local talents. “In addition to push the information and communication technology sector to effectively contribute with our external partners and ultimately achieve knowledgebased society. Open source software has become an important pillar of any country’s cyber-security to ensure the safety of their critical infrastructure”.

Prof Hadj Bourdoucen, Chairman, Organizing Committee, and Director CIRC, said that the main objectives of organizing this scientific and technical conference are to spread awareness on the need to adopt FOSS in various sectors and to enlighten professionals, academics, students, and interested individuals of the society about the value of FOSS applications, usefulness and feasibility of its use in various sectors, whether governmental or private, especially companies providing solutions or the ones that are searching for solutions in the various ICT areas. “There is an urgent need for a strategy to adopt free software due to dominance of ICT industry by giant corporates, which are putting too strict conditions on ownership and licensing, imposing high costs for the use and renewal of licenses, plus other challenges that affect the development. This appears to be a guaranteed investment, and wise approach from various respects. In this sense, the national strategic plan was developed to adopt this approach,” he said.

Dr Sunaidi opened the exhibition after the opening ceremony of the conference. Workshops tailored with the needs of local communities are scheduled in parallel session with conference. FOSS experts from Industry and private and government sectors will present these workshops.