[solaris] In need of information about the developing countries and the use of software

["Irfan Khan" <khania@super.net.pk>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	Dennis Heuer <dh@onclick.org>
To:             	Solaris@mail.sarai.net
Date sent:      	29 Mar 2002 22:05:49 +0100



Dear reader, 

my name is Dennis Heuer and I am a german social scientist who is 
involved in the free source community around the linux operating 
system. My interest in social sciences and information technology 
always was interdisciplinary, so I begann to work on the question 
what linux and the free source community could offer to developing 
countries. That is why I founded an organization to work on 
exclusively this problem. The organization is called "organized 
communication" and can be found on internet at the address: 
http://orgc.org.  

The organization is in its early stage and no project has been 
started. At the moment I am seeking for information to get a founded 
overall picture of the problem. Free source in developing countries 
is often discussed in the linux community but seldom from the non-
technical view. Too, the community does focus too much on stability, 
price, and office products. Software for schools, project- and 
teamwork, or cultural differences to be considered etc. is mainly out 
of focus. This is why I contact you. Please, maybe you can help me on 
my way to find the right basement for my work. And maybe I can help 
you getting your opinions heard in the free source community because 
I will hold a speech on LinuxTag, the greatest Linux Fair in Europe, 
taking place in Germany at the beginning of June (see: 
http://www.linuxtag.org, english pages available).  

There are several objects that I would like to know about. They are 
too many to sum up here. In this email I just want to reduce my 
questions to three main points:  

- I do not focus on business. My aim is to support the work of non-
governmental organizations and (gov.) local initiatives. I could not 
find many case studies being done on that topic. How is the need for 
software in team- and project work inside of (international) 
organizations? How important is work and communication over internet 
for those organizations? What are the experiences with information 
technology in small local initiatives or in schools? Do you know 
resources that answer these questions?  

- Are you able to give a global picture where in the developing world 
the use of computers is a topic? This question is twofold. First, the 
use of computer equipment has a different relevance in different 
countries. Second, the size of organizations and initiatives or the 
social level, the gender may play a role.  

- Can you give me contact addresses of organizations, institutes or 
programmes that focus on similar problems?  

Thank you very much, 

Dennis Heuer 


solaris--independant forum for IT & development issues
un/sub info: solaris-request@mail.sarai.net with the word "help" in
the subject line or in the body of the message. URL:
http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/solaris/ archive:
http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/solaris/

------- End of forwarded message -------