[ox-en] SELF: EU Collaborative Training Project in Free Software
- From: Soenke Zehle <soenke.zehle web.de>
- Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:19:38 +0100
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/5833/469
http://isoc.nl/SELF/kickoff/
http://www.selfproject.eu/project
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/docs/Feb2006/SELF_project_intro.pdf
Submissions:
http://www.selfproject.eu/repository/submit
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http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/5833/469
EU: SELF project issues call for Free Software materials
Open Source News – 15 September 2006 – EU and Europe-wide –
Evaluations, Pilots and Studies
SELF, an EU-funded international project aimed at creating a
global platform for the collaborative sharing and creation of
educational and training materials for Free software and Open
standards, is calling for the submission of relevant materials.
SELF (Science Education and Learning in Freedom), is an
international project that aims to provide a global platform for
the collaborative sharing and creation of educational and
training materials relating to Free and Open Source Software and
Open standards. It is designed both to provide information and
access to relevant training materials and to offer a platform for
the evaluation, adaptation, creation and translation of these
materials. The production process will be based on the
organisational model of Wikipedia, with collaborative input from
many partners.
The SELF platform was initiated by an international consortium of
seven partners - three universities: Universitat Oberta de
Catalunya (Spain), University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and Homi
Bhabha Centre for Science Education (India); and four non-profit
organisations active as open source advocates: the Internet
Society (Netherlands), Free Software Foundation Europe (in all
European countries), the Internet Society (Bulgaria) and
Fundación Via Libre (Argentina).
It aims to create a community of all parties interested in
education and training in relation to Free Software and Open
standards. As such it especially welcomes universities, schools,
training centres, Free Software communities, software companies,
publishers and government bodies. All users are encouraged to
participate in both the production process and the exploitation
of results.
Further information:
* SELF Project: http://www.selfproject.eu/project
* Call for Materials:
http://www.selfproject.eu/repository/submit
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http://isoc.nl/SELF/kickoff/
EC Project to promote Free Software and Open Standards
International SELF Project Kick-off on July 10th in The Hague
Keywords: Open Content, Free Software, Open Source, Open
Standards, Education, Information Society, Knowledge Platform
EC to invest in Free Software promotion and education
The European Commission is directing more and more money to
promote the use of Free Software and Open Standards, which is a
strategic objective within the IST (Information Society
Technologies) Programme. The EC has signed a contract for this
purpose with the SELF Consortium, a group of universities and
free software advocates in seven countries, including Bulgaria,
Argentina and India. The SELF project will be funded for the
initial period (two years) with about 1 million euro.
A short intro on the SELF project
SELF is an international project that aims to provide a platform
for the collaborative sharing and creation of open educational
and training materials about Free Software and Open Standards.
First of all, it will provide information, educational and
training materials on Free Software and Open Standards presented
in different languages and forms. Secondly, it will offer a
platform for the evaluation, adaptation, creation and translation
of these materials. The production process of such materials will
be based on the organisational model of Wikipedia.
Why the SELF platform?
The SELF project starts from three key reasons: 1) Free Software
and Open Standards are crucial to support the competitive
position of the European software industry; 2) the real and long
term technological change from private to free software can only
come by investing in education and training; and 3) the
production of educational and training materials on Free Software
and Open Standards should be done collaboratively by all the
parties involved.
Who is the SELF Consortium?
The SELF platform is initiated by an international consortium
including three universities: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
(Spain), University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and Homi Bhabha Centre
for Science Education (India). And four non-profit organisations
active as Free Software advocates: Internet Society
(Netherlands), Free Software Foundation Europe (in all European
countries), Internet Society (Bulgaria) and Fundación Via Libre
(Argentina).
Which are the target groups of the SELF project?
The SELF platform seeks to facilitate educational institutes,
business, governmental organisations as well as non-profit
organisations.
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http://www.selfproject.eu/project
Science, Education and Learning in Freedom
SELF is an international project aiming to provide a platform for
the collaborative sharing and creation of free educational and
training materials on Free Software and Open Standards.
Free Software
In contrast to proprietary software, Free Software can be freely
used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed. Free Software
offers the freedom to learn and to teach without any proprietary
barriers – the basic requirement for the self-enabled human in
the information society. Open Standards and the ability to
exchange data and to share information and knowledge have become
essential for cost-effective, flexible and transparent support of
government and business processes.
Background
Free Software applications are available in all fields and can be
obtained from many websites. However, to use them you must first
know of their existence and practical value. In addition, the
lack of technical support has been called upon as a reason to
failure or delay for the adoption of Free Software applications.
The real and long term technological change from private to Free
Software can only come by investing in education and training.
The SELF Platform creates awareness on the advantages of the use
of Free Software and provides educational and training materials
to learn how to use Free Software applications.
The SELF Platform is
1. a repository with free educational and training materials
on Free Software and Open Standards
2. an environment for the collaborative creation of new
materials
Inspired by Wikipedia, the SELF Platform provides the materials
in different languages and forms. The SELF Platform is also an
instrument for evaluation, adaptation, creation and translation
of these materials. Most importantly, the SELF Platform is a tool
to unite community and professional efforts for public benefit.
The SELF Community
The SELF Platform aims to be a community of all interested
parties associated with educational and training materials about
Free Software and Open Standards. The SELF Platform specifically
embraces universities, schools, training centres, Free Software
communities, software companies, publishers and government
bodies. All users are encouraged to participate in the production
process and the exploitation of results.
Those who participate in the platform can improve their own
contents collaboratively while gaining expertise, prestige and
recognition within the community. Simultaneously their
participation helps to improve the SELF materials enhancing the
SELF community. As a result the community model of the SELF
Platform assures a prevailing situation for those who provide
efforts to the platform and those who use it.
Organisation
The SELF Platform is initiated by an international consortium of
seven partners in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Three
universities and four non-profit organisations work closely
together to facilitate communities as well as to raise awareness
and to contribute to the building of critical mass for the use of
Free Software and Open Standards.
Initial set up
The European Commission supports the SELF project for the initial
set up of the platform and the first educational and training
materials. Additional funding is expected from national and local
governments for localisation, dissemination and specific
activities. Once established, participating members from target
groups will benefit from the platform and exploit its results
freely. The aim is to produce a snow ball effect starting with
public funding.
_________________________________
Web-Site: http://www.oekonux.org/
Organization: http://www.oekonux.de/projekt/
Contact: projekt oekonux.de