Open Source Software Solutions for Bulgarian NGOs
A joint project of the Red House Centre for Culture & Debate and Interspace Media Art Centre
http://opensource.netuser.cc

Background:

In May 2002 Bulgarian government signed a 13-million USD deal with Microsoft for licensing 30 000 Windows and Office XP packages for the state administration. The deal was proclaimed as a step to take Bulgaria out of the list of countries using pirated software. It provoked a strong reaction among specialists and Bulgarian software developers on the justifications for signing the deal as well as objections of not considering the option of using open source software. Before the deal was signed, there wasn’t any public discussion about available alternative ways for solving the problem. While in the aftermath of signing the deal a number of articles appeared in the press and electronic media, the need for an open debate and information campaign on the advantages of using open source software still stands.

Bulgaria, on its way to becoming a EU member state, has adopted laws against breaching of intellectual property rights which concern the use of illegal software as well. The new legislation grants unlimited powers to software “auditors” if found that the organization is using illegal software. And while private companies and businesses, not needing to be known in the public sphere and to operate transparently, are not so concerned about the actual threat, the NGO sector is being pushed into legalizing their software, or to operate under the threat of losing all their equipment.

Aim of the project:
The aim of the project is to promote the advantages of Open Source software within the NGO sector in Bulgaria, to assist selected NGOs to switch to using it in their daily work, and to raise the public profile of open source software usage. By helping NGOs to switch to open source software, the project will help saving the NGO sector funds that can be used for worthy causes, other than buying Microsoft products.

Target group:

The direct target group of the project are Bulgarian NGOs active in all fields – from policy institutes to health support organizations, cultural NGOs and grass root organizations.

In more general terms Bulgarian public as a whole is target of the project, as it will raise the public awareness of the advantages of open source software usage.

Framework of the project:

The project will consist of several phases:
- Creating a team of 5 e-riders which will train and offer continuous support to NGOs switching to open source software;
- Organizing a public presentation of the project accompanied with lectures and public debates to raise the awareness of open source software;
- Organizing a competition for NGOs to switch to open source software;
- Assisting NGOs to convert to open source software through in-house trainings, general groups trainings and continuous support;
- Creating a website, with information materials about the project and downloads of open source software as well as tips for solving problems with open software usage.

The project will start with a public presentation/lecture on the possibilities which open source software offers to small-scale organizations to optimize their costs. This introductory presentation/lecture is needed prior to announcing a call for NGOs. It would stimulate potential open source software users, it would help them overcome fears related to switching to open source software and it would announce the assistance, which this project will offer to NGOs who wish to switch to open source software.

During the project public events will be organized, such as public lectures, debates, round tables. These are aimed at raising the profile of the project and stimulating a public discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of open source software usage.

The e-riders will be selected jointly by the coorganisers of the project – Interspace Media Art Centre and the Red House Centre for Culture and Debate. The core of the eRiders team will be coming from Interspace and the team will be based at Interspace. A call will be announced for computer specialists wishing to take part in the project and join the Interspace core eRiders team.

The team will be selected according to the following criteria:

1) Experience with open source software
2) Basic knowledge of the specifics of the NGO work

The team will be consisting of the following team members with specific responsibilities

1) Project Manager –responsible for communication and organization of the work of the team, programming, software installation and training;
2) 2 Trainers – responsible for software installations, testing, training, support;
3) 1 Developer – responsible for programming, installations, training, web publishing;
4) Team leader– responsible for programming, system administration, installation, training;

Type of trainings

1) A weeklong training at the Interspace Media Art Centre – theoretical presentation and demonstration of the alternative solutions for software according to the individual needs of the organisations.
2) A weeklong in-house training at each organization – installation of the needed software and training
3) Continuous support for the organizations – the e-riders will be available for further questions and problem solving.

The selection of the NGOs participating in the project will be done through an open call according to the following criteria:

1) The significance of the NGO’s work
2) The number of users who will be using open source software

40 organisations will be trained in the first year of the project which includes the support for the work of at least 100 users not only for office software but also with applications related to the specific needs of the NGO (graphic design, databases, etc.)

The project will focus on quality of the work with the NGOs rather than on the quantity.

Partners:

The Red House Centre for Culture & Debate and Interspace Media Art Centre have contacted the following organizations for future collaboration on the project:

1) The Society for Open Source Software in Bulgaria (www.linux-bg.org)
2) Orbitel Inc.
3) Capital.Net Newspaper

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