Sun and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced they will be working together to promote the use of open source technologies, including OpenOffice.org and the OpenDocument Format (ODF) standard, as a low-cost way to improve education with universal access to information and knowledge. Open source technologies, as per this agreement, means that the software or technology is distributed under a license that gives the users the right to copy, modify, and redistribute the source code.

Under a collaborative agreement announced during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 09, the two also plan on developing open and inclusive knowledge societies in developing and emerging economies. Additionally, a Center of Excellence will be created for Adoption of Open Technologies and collaboration on promoting adoption of OpenOffice.org and Open Document Format Tools.

As part of these projects, Sun will provide availability, expertise, and training materials for its open source software, while UNESCO will focus on promoting adoption of open technologies by identifying institutions as potential partners for providing support and training in the use of OpenOffice.org and ODF.

"We are glad to work with Sun to harness the power of free and open source software for extending and disseminating knowledge and to foster community approaches to software development," said Mr. Kochiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Sun's collaboration agreement with UNESCO is part of the company's broader initiative to bring more people on to the information network and gain access to the tools, skills, technology and innovation to realize their full potential.

"At Sun, we believe the momentum of open source and its power to bring people onto the network is unquestionable and has the power to help emerging economies spur indigenous innovation and improve the lives of their citizens," said Crawford Beveridge, Executive Vice President and Chairman, Europe, APAC and Emerging Markets for Sun. "This agreement will help nations around the world provide top notch engineering programs that never would have been available without the flexibility and collaboration of open source technologies."

Sun's collaboration agreement with UNESCO is part of the company's broader initiative to bring more people on to the information network and gain access to the tools, skills, technology and innovation to realize their full potential. For UNESCO's part, the agreement meets its goal to improve digital inclusion globally by partnering with the private sector.

More Information

Sun\'s Free and Open Source Software

UNESCO

OpenOffice.org

ODF Alliance [...read more...]

		fullsource
Print Email Current Profile Archive Blog Generate newsletter