Free Software, Free Society
The Free Software, Free Society (FSFS) Conference, organized by Government and civil society organizations from Brazil, Italy, Venezuela and India, is scheduled for 28-30 May 2005 in the Southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital of the province of Kerala. The Conference is primarily an attempt to initiate a South-South-North dialogue on the use of Free Software as a useful paradigm for non-software realms and its role as an instrument for development. In the process, the countries involved will share their perspective and experiences in using Free Software.
Vision
Over two-and-a-half decades, Free Software has inspired an alternative approach to creation, use and redistribution of software. The values of Free Software has been the inspiration for other kind of intellectual content as well, as illustrated, for instance, by the Creative Commons initiative.
Located at the intersection of Free Software, Development and Society, the FSFS Conference will examine the application of the Free Software model for equitable sharing models for intellectual artifacts, and ultimately for human development. The conference will also address, inter alia, issues such as technology access and the digital divide; legal issues; and experiences of using the Free Software model in fields such as music, and literature.
Participation and Registration
Apart from the Brazilian delegation (4 delegates), Venezuela (20 delegates) and the Italian delegation (3 delegates) about 40-50 delegates from various parts of India are also expected to attend the programme. In addition, delegates from South Asia (Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh) and from UN organizations are expected to attend the programme.
A delegate fee of Rs. 1000 (for Indian citizens), Rs. 500 (for students from India) or US$ 50 (for non-Indian delegates) is payable by delegates in order to cover the costs of the Conference. Delegate fee includes Conference kit, food during the conference, participation in sessions and cultural programmes. Delegate fee does not include travel or local accommodation. However, accommodation can be arranged by us on request on direct payment basis. A wide range of hotel rooms are available from budget (INR 500 / US$ 15) to luxury (INR 4500 / US$ 135). Click here for the Online registration form. Please mail us at fsfs@space-kerala.org for any additional information.
