[Press Release]: Celebrating Software Freedom Day 2011 in Ghana!

The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE) in collaboration with the Linux User Group, Accra(LUGA) will again be hosting a special event on Saturday, September 17^th under the theme “Open Source a viable option for achieving MDGs”. The venue for this year's celebrations is the AITI-KACE premises and the time is 9:00 – 16:00. This is the biggest international celebration and outreach event for Software Freedom globally involving 500 volunteer groups all around the world.

In an increasingly digital age, more and more of our everyday experiences depend upon software. Software influences how we interact with each other, enjoy different media, get paid, and even navigate our roads. Software underpins our very way of life, our basic freedoms such as freedom of association, freedom of thought, freedom of choice and much more, yet many people do not realize the importance and influence of software and other technologies on their lives. What is even much more important is that open source is proven to be a viable technology option capable to aid achieving the Millennium Development Goals(MDG's).

Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Over 500 volunteer groups in over 120 countries all around the world are celebrating the sixth SFD this year on September 17. SFD is an annual grass roots effort to educate the public on the virtues of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) and also to encourage its use. The goal in this celebration is to educate the worldwide public about the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business - in short, everywhere!

The AITI-KACE and its partners have been celebrating Software Freedom Day for a number of years and with support from the general public and the IT Community. We would like those that have attended or are attending for the first time to bring a friend along. Come and see demonstrations of open source software to suit just about every usage that you might think of. Take home some ideas, and CDs/DVDs full of software that you can use straight away.

People in Ashanti Region of Ghana can also join the Ashanti Linux User Group to celebrate the day at the University of Education, Kumasi Campus, Tanoso.

AITI-KACE is located near Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), adjacent to the Council of State Building on 2nd Avenue, Ridge, Accra. Contacts : Fred Yeboah - Tel 0302 679542-4 or e-mail: fredericky(at)aiti-kace.com.gh

A Man-on-the-Street View on the Progress of the MDGs

Yesterday, I missed out on TEDxAccra, one of the TEDxChange events being organised worldwide to mark the 10th anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I followed TEDxAccra through tweets from Oluniyi, Daisy, MacJordan and a few other people who were present at the event. While waiting for reviews from the event's attendees, I'd like to share my man-on-the-street views on the MDGs.

So what are the Millennium Development Goals?

The MDGs are eight broad goals, to be reached by 2015, set by the United Nations (UN), to address the issues of poverty, illiteracy, poor quality of health, gender inequality and environmental degradation a global scale. Each goal has set targets as well as indicators for measuring progress. Former UN Chief Mr Kofi Annan, writing in yesterday's issue of Ghana's most popular newspaper, The Daily Graphic, sums up the importance of these eight goals thus:

There is no doubt that the eight Millennium Development Goals and their framework of accountability have served the world well. They have not only provided a much-needed sense of direction to national plans and international cooperation-they have also delivered measurable results. we have seen primary school enrollment rates double in Ethiopia and Tanzania and countries like Malawi and Algeria transform themselves from food importers to food exporters.

Have they really impacted significantly on the man on the street?

Let's go through the goals one-by-one to find out:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

The working definition of poor is living on less than a dollar a day, making this goal seem trivial. But that is not the case. Wars in areas such as Darfur, Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Africa have ensured that no real progress has been made in the area of poverty reduction. Even in countries such as Ghana, where statistics have been showcased to indicate phenomenal success in poverty reduction, massive graduate unemployment abounds. How can there be development when those who are supposed to develop into leadership positions are themselves wallowing in the quagmire of unemployment and hence poverty.

2. Achieve universal primary education

As indicated by Mr Annan's submission primary education is now more widely available to more children than before. In Ghana, introduction of programmes such as Capitation Grant, School Feeding, distribution of free school uniforms and books, among others, has incentivised many children to come knocking on school doors. But is high school attendance at the basic level the only answer to combating the looming threat of illiteracy? What consideration is being given to the quality of teaching in schools? Specifically, what is being done about primary 6 pupils who are unable to make simple sentences in the English Language or are learning ICT without access to even the most basic devices? Is only primary education enough for the youth of developing countries?

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

Female enrollment in educational institutions has been increasing steadily, with women enjoying preference over men, in what is called "affirmative action", for admissions to higher educational institutions. In this way, women are now better equipped for good-paying jobs that will enable them to contribute greatly to their family's upkeep. However, in Ghana and many developing nations, women are still largely at the backstage when it comes to political leadership, although the mass media has been vociferous about the merits of electing female leaders. There's also not much to be said for violence against women as this unfortunate incidence keeps rearing its ugly head in our country's families.

To Be Continued...

What do you know about the MDGs? Do you think some progress has been made with respect to their implementation? What should be done in order to speed up their implementation? Should they be scrapped completely? Speak your mind!