Online workshop: Use of Free Software for NGOs

Online workshop: Use of Free Software in a non-governmental context

Deadline for registration is April 18 2004
Wednesday April 7th, 2004 by Mathieu Lutfy

 From the 19th to 23rd of April 2004, Internet Rights Bulgaria [1], in 
partnership with Virtual Activism [2], will be hosting an online workshop 
about the "Use of Free Software in a non-governmental context".

Workshop objectives

* general knowledge of the roots and evolution of Free Software movements 
and the community supporting them,
* overview of the Free Software philosophy and what are their impacts on 
software and their users, with particular interest to the impacts on the 
NGO sector,
* an introduction to Free Software applications, including Linux 
distributions and desktop applications for Microsoft Windows.

The workshop aims to familiarise decision makers and technology specialists 
about the impacts of software in their environment and why non-governmental 
organisations (NGOs) should work with Free Software.

Who can apply

The workshop is open to participants who:

* will be committed to actively participate in the workshop,
* should be staff members of human rights and/or social justice/development 
organizations and researchers,
* should preferably have a good command of English since the working 
language of the course is English,
* should have regular access to computers and the Internet in order to make 
the best use of workshop discussions and resources.

The workshop is free of charge, but we have limited space for 20 
participants and priority is given to participants from Central Eastern 
European countries.

How to apply

Send an e-mail to [email protected] with the following information:
  First name
  Last name
  Gender
  Organisation
  City and country
  E-mail
  Website of your organisation.

You will receive a reply within two working days.

About the organisers

  Instructor: Christina Haralanova is Director of the Internet Rights 
Bulgaria Foundation; she is a member of the Free Software Association - 
Bulgaria and co-founder of the Gender Education Research and Technologies. 
Christina works in the area of social and human rights, Gender Equality and 
Free Software, organising trainings, writing and translating ICT 
documentation for the use of NGOs.

  Executive Director: Marlyn Tadros. Dr. Tadros has been involved with 
nonprofit organizations and especially human rights and development for 
many years. She currently teaches Internet Technologies in Boston.

[1] Internet Rights Bulgaria Foundation (IRBF) www.socialrights.org uses 
the Internet to promote initiatives relating to the social and human rights 
sectors in Bulgaria. We encourage Internet use by not-for-profit 
organisations in Bulgaria working in these sectors and defend their rights 
regarding use of the Internet. IRBF is also the host of the Social Rights 
Network, which aims to promote and bridge the protection of human and 
social rights through common actions of social movements and NGOs in 
Bulgaria, EU and all over the world by using the Internet.

[2] Virtual Activism www.virtualactivism.org is a nonprofit organization 
registered in the USA. Virtual Activism's mission is to strengthen 
nongovernmental organizations' effectiveness and outreach through Internet 
access and presence. Our target is the most marginalized NGOs in the Global 
community, with particular attention to women's organizations.