NGOs Meet Linux, Yuwei Lin, Community: NGOs - Report on Non Governmental Organizations with Linux PDF, 160 kB

Bringing together activists from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Free and Open Software proponents on a common ground for mutual learning and cooperation was the mission 110 people from over 35 countries lead to the island of Vis.

With 'Summer Source', a Summer Camp for NGOs on the island of Vis in Croatia August 29th to September 6th 2003, its organisers, Tactical Technology Collective (an Amsterdam based non-profit foundation) and the Multimedia Institute, Croatia tried to promote Free and Open Source Software as important tools in NGOs, claiming its community-based expertise and consultancy will strengthen civil society organizations and networks. Read more...

Indymedia San Francisco Summary, photos and audio files Basically, this camp couldn't have turned into a let-down because even if it had been lacking content or commodities, you still would've been in a place featuring charming beaches, crystal clear water, nice weather and a continuously low price-level. There's worse than to be stranded on this Mediterranean island. And still, this Software Camp for NGOs - 'Summer Source' - was a logistical success that's worthy of praise. The Summer Source Camp was an attempt at bringing together people from the open source/free software world with activists from the non-profit sector and to promote dialogue. It offered hands-on workshops and talks by experienced non-profit activists talking about their successful projects and giving away ideas. Indymedia activists were present and published a story on it. Read more...

Review by Katrin Verclas The ferry ride in a stormy sea ends at what looks like a small Mediterranean port, but it is too dark and windy to see much. A batch of SummerSource Camp participants stumble off the boat. We take a small van up a hillside to a former camp of the then-Yugoslav army. Accommodations are simple, but there are bright lights, a small outdoor bar with a palm frond roof, and a magical bazaar crafted of swaths of cloth draped over a small plaza covered with pine-needles, pillows and blankets. Jetlagged and tired, we tumble into our cots in large, airy dorm rooms named after programming languages. The small group of women resides in "Ruby." We are all here for SummerSource Camp 03, a "software camp for NGOs" (non-governmental organizations) on the small island of Vis off the coast of Croatia. Read more..

Appropriating the Internet for Social Change: Towards the Strategic Use of Networked Technologies by Transitional Civil Society Organizations (Mark Surman and Katherine Reilly) Commissioned by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

Much has been made of the potential of Open Source Software, software that is freely redistributed and that can be analyzed and modified by anyone within civil society (See Perins, 1997 for the Open Source definition). At first glance, one might think that the attraction here is related to cost. Civil society organizations don't need to pay licensing fees to use Open Source tools because they are distributed for free. Yet it is not this free beer argument that has attracted those who are advocating most for the marriage of Open Source and civil society... The case of September 2003 Summer Source cap offers an interesting backdrop against which to explore the potential and attraction of Open Source within civil society. Read more...