[Ubuntu-PT 8328] Re: Projecto do Bloco de utilização de software livre aprovado

[Miguel Gomes da Costa]

Notícias vindas de Itália:

http://www.osor.eu/news/it-puglia-region-makes-open-source-and-standards-mandatory

IT: Puglia region makes open source and standards mandatory
— filed under: [GL] Italy, [T] Policies and Announcements
by Gijs Hillenius — published on Dec 13, 2010
The Italian region Puglia will make the use of open source software
and open standards mandatory for its public administrations. A law,
adopted on 2 December by the regional administration, instructs
regional and local public administrations to use open formats for the
electronic disseminations of documents, and wherever possible use free
and open source software.

According to the law, public administrations will have to explain why
they are using document formats that are not open, or why they are
using applications that are not open source.

The bill is intended to increase the electronic interaction between
citizens and government, aid the region's scientific and technological
development and maximise the amount of software published as open
source by public administrations.

In a statement published on 6 December, the region's president Nichi
Vendola, who also is the leader of the Left Ecology Freedom (Sinistra
Ecologia Libertà) political party, wrote: "I feel the duty and
responsibility to choose, for the technological development of my
administration and local authorities in Puglia, the more secure,
convenient and open options."



Memorandum

The past few weeks advocates of free and open source software have
been criticising Puglia's president Vendola, for his signing of a
memorandum of understanding with a vendor of a proprietary PC
operating system and of office applications. The software vendor is to
invest in a IT competence centre that will focus on the use of IT in
public administrations, by SMEs and in schools.

Vendola, in a statement published on his party's website, defended the
deal, writing that the region favours open source, "but does not close
the door to large international competitors who respect the region's
technological neutrality and will help to make the South a centre of
excellence."

In a reply to the Pirate Party, Vendola referred to the open source
law adopted by the region. The bill will strengthen the migration to
open source by all public administrations in the Puglia region, wrote
Vendola. "It is more than just a statement of principle. We will
finance the ICT services of public administrations only if they
convert to open source."