[Ubuntu-ZW] Ubuntu Team in 2013

Thu Feb 28 06:34:08 UTC 2013

Being out of Zim myself and yet having the passion to see improvements
within the FOSS Community in Zim, I tend not to make immediately actionable
comments/suggestions and, instead, make broader comments that relate more
to the FOSS community policy and strategies. Here it is ...

As long as FOSS activists in Zimbabwe remain dormant and overhelmed by
yet-to-be-researched-into factors that have dogged the formation of a
sustainably vibrant FOSS community, special interest groups, such as the
Ubuntu  LocoTeam, within the FOSS community in Zimbabwe will continue to
suffer visibility problems.

I am aware of the arguments for rallying around products as  a way to bring
about a vibrant community. As demonstrated by the Ubuntu Community, when
the move from ZOSS was made, it would seem that we need more than just
rallying around FOSS products. We need efforts that are broader
FOSS-oriented than SIGs and we need to bring the education and awarenes of
both the FOSS culture and technologies to the youths in schools, colleges
and universities.

We certainly massively appreciate the efforts of professionals and business
people like Kalpesh who provide infrastructure such as the Ubuntu mirrors.
Education agencies (e.g., ZARnet) should also help with not only the
infrastructure but also in promoting sustainable FOSS communities. The
infrastructure should be broadened to include the entire FOSS ecosystem of
technologies.

May be the Ubuntu LocoTeam needs to look into engaging more both public and
private institutions AND all institutions that have to do with youths
education and training and local communities.

Having said all the above, we should all notice that FOSS community
visibility is generally proving hard to achieve around the world except in
countries, like Brazil, France and germany, where the Government publicly
funds, encourages and invests in FOSS technologies and innovation. This
creates wealth and human capital for the country - is our MoICT aware of
this, may be not?

On 26 February 2013 23:52, O. Sinclair <o.sinclair at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Kalpesh and all,
>
> I am one of those many(?) who have participated in various online/mail
> discussions but never attended meetings, release parties etc.
>
> For a while I had a reasonably large FOSS project based on Kubuntu running
> in 4 countries but that fizzled mainly due to users being unhappy with the
> state of OpenOffice compared to MS Office.
>
> So for a couple of years my Ubuntu/FOSS has more been me/myself/I and my
> family.
>
> That is not an excuse but it has made me a lot less active on forums,
> discussions etc.
>
> Having said that I have noted with some concern the absence of the Ubuntu
> Team/Crew at IT shows and gatherings.
>
> I would love to see it "revived" and I think if we are not seen, then
> anyone outside the immediate "it pro" sphere will not find out about the
> excellent options that the different flavors of Ubuntu offer.
>
> So I am more for "let us become visible" than bugjamming.
>
> As for organisation, well as I have not been active before I am open to
> any idea...
>
> Best,
> Sinclair
>
>
> On 26/02/2013 09:31, Kalpesh Thaker wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Thanks to Garkai's recent article on techzim:
>> http://www.techzim.co.zw/2013/**02/why-translation-of-open-**
>> source-software-into-local-**languages-has-failed/<http://www.techzim.co.zw/2013/02/why-translation-of-open-source-software-into-local-languages-has-failed/>
>> i'd like to bring up a discussion on plans for the team in 2013.
>> firstly, i'd like to apologise for posting this email to the general
>> list..as im not sure the "team" list is up to date.. but hopefully we
>> can sort that out with this email... and then keep team communications
>> seperate from the "general" list in future.
>>
>> As discussed last year, the team is still very much alive.. but not
>> kicking as such. i can confidently say that through casual chats with
>> people, there are a few people out there that are still passionate about
>> ubuntu and FOSS in general. as im sure most of you know already.. the
>> original ubuntu zimbabwe loco team was started and run for quite a while
>> by 3 people. so it is possible to make this happen again if we have
>> enough interest and commitment. while we've been quite dormant..
>> canonical have developed ubuntu for use on smart phones and tablets.. so
>> this is no longer about desktops and servers anymore. there should be
>> more interest to a wider audience from now on... (at least it has the
>> potential for a wider audience i should say)
>>
>> so.... i havent got that far with drawing up the team constitution
>> yet...but i have been working on a new website for ubuntu.org.zw
>> <http://ubuntu.org.zw>. i was planning on sorting it all out over the
>>
>> december holidays.. but i was working that whole time.. and didnt get
>> much free time to do anything.
>>
>> for now.. i'd like to discuss the following.... i'll need as much
>> feedback from everyone as possible..so that we can start plotting a way
>> forward:
>>
>> 1 - should the LoCo team be revived? if yes, do we play the passive role
>> (as we have been doing for the last few years), or do we go for an
>> active role where we physically interact with the public (IT shows,
>> public events etc)?
>> 2 - what would the team's long and short terms goals be? (will play a
>> huge role in questions on point #1)
>> 3 - are there any special projects that we should consider taking
>> preference with immediate effect? Garikai's translation project comes to
>> mind.. but if anyone else can think of anything else.. please bring
>> forward to the discussion.
>> 4 - as the ubuntu LoCo team, what do we expect to get out of this team
>> effort?
>> 5 - as a team effort, which would you say is more important right now,
>> promoting ubuntu in the local community.. or helping improve the quality
>> of code in ubuntu (via bugjam sessions and other events)
>> 6 - how do you think the team needs to be setup physically?
>> (traditionally, there was a team leader and his minions.. but im
>> thinking more along the lines of a committee..... please share your
>> thoughts/concerns on this)
>>
>> there are alot of other points that may exist outside of these 6
>> questions i've brought up, if you can think of any that you'd like to
>> discuss.. please do share,
>>
>> i know it would be a good idea to organise a meeting one of these
>> days.... so hopefully if we can gather up enough interest on a way
>> forward, then that will be the next step.
>>
>> kalpesh
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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