Free and Open Source Software, Open Data, and Open Standards in the Caribbean: Situation Review and Recommendations
This review of the use and awareness of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), Open Data (OD) and Open Standards (OS) was undertaken to reinforce the capacities of Member States, particularly those in Africa and the Caribbean, in the IFAP priority areas. The study was a concrete response to needs identified by Member States in the Declaration and List of Action adopted during the First UNESCO/IFAP Conference on Building Caribbean Knowledge Societies, held in St. George’s, Grenada in June 2011. The review employed a combination of desk research, online surveys, field visits and in-country consultations to develop a rich understanding, grounded in the contextual realities of the 17 Caribbean countries it addressed. Stakeholders participating in the study included regional governments, tertiary educational institutions, libraries and museums as well as private sector and civil society organizations. The study found strong regional awareness of FOSS with lower levels of awareness around OD and OS. Five categories of challenges to the adoption of FOSS, OS and OD were identified and specific recommendations formulated for overcoming them. On the basis of this study, national FOSS, OD and OS implementation roadmaps have been launched in several Caribbean countries.
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Details
- Collation: 90 p.
- Author(s): Woodall, Lora; Marius, Michele
- Publication year: 2014
- Document code: CI.2014/IFAP/0100