EACOS 2019 – East African Conference on Open Source

Description The Linux Professional Institute of East Africa in partnership with the East African open source community is delighted to invite you to the inaugural East African Conference on Open Source to be held on 26th – 29th August 2019 at the United States International University (USIU), Nairobi Kenya. This event will bring together players […]

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Description

The Linux Professional Institute of East Africa in partnership with the East African open source community is delighted to invite you to the inaugural East African Conference on Open Source to be held on 26th – 29th August 2019 at the United States International University (USIU), Nairobi Kenya. This event will bring together players in the regional technology industry to facilitate open sharing of knowledge, create new collaborations and to network. It will also create a platform of engagement within the technology industry, Government and Academia – the triple helix. A report on the use of open source software in Kenya will be released during the conference.

Some of the keynote speakers include:

  1. Dr. Katherine Getao – CEO Kenya ICT Authority
  2. Jon “maddog” Hall – Board Chair at LPI
  3. Dr David Sevilla – Director @iLab Africa (Strathmore University)
  4. Dennis Gichangi – Co-Founder and Director of Development at DewCIS
  5. Dr Martin Osumba – Health Information Technology Business Development Specialist, RTI International
  6. Steven Wanyee – Co-founder and current secretary, Kenya Health Informatics Association
  7. Kenneth Mbuvi – Technical Director – Tecflax Solutions Ltd
  8. John Walubengo – Lecturer, Multi Media University – Kenya
  9. Evanson Ikua – LPI East Africa Master Affiliate
  10. Paul Miningwa – Team Leader, Kenya Revenue Authority
  11. Joost Dam – Director – Digital Education Africa Network (DEAN)
  12. Andrew Shingler – EMEA Sr Sales Engineer – Synacor

The conference will be preceded by training bootcamps that will offer advanced training on open technologies from 26th – 27th August 2019, and culminate with the open source awards ceremony on the 28th August 2019. The open source awards will honour organizations in the private and public sector and individuals who have played a key role in the development, implementation and support of open source technologies in East Africa.

The Open Source movement, incorporating free and open source software (FOSS), open source technologies and hardware and the creative commons have grown in maturity over the years to take the pride of place in all spheres of modern life. The term “open source” refers to something people can freely use, modify and share because it’s design is publicly accessible.

The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer programs. Today, however, “open source” designates a broader set of values—what we call “the open source way.” Open source projects, products, or initiatives embrace and celebrate principles of open exchange, collaborative participation, rapid prototyping, transparency, meritocracy, and community-oriented development.