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Group Establishes Kosovo FLOSS Organization Will organize first Kosovo Software Freedom Conference 05.10.2009 – For Immediate Release
(May 10, 2009) Prishtina – A group of Kosovo Free Software enthusiasts established last week the Kosovo Free/ Libre/ Open Source Software (FLOSS Kosovo) organization. The organization aims to promote Free and Open Source Software and knowledge in the newborn South East European country of Kosovo. It will do this by providing essential infrastructure and organizational framework for the support and development of open knowledge and software projects and other endeavors which serve this mission.
Flakron Bytyqi, President of FLOSS Kosovo, says, "open standards are key to the development of a country such as Kosovo. We are not inventing anything, but joining a global movement and applying proven models to the local situation."
The keystone event of the organization is an annual Software Freedom conference (on the web at http://kosovasoftwarefreedom.org) to be held for the first time on August 29-30, 2009 in Prishtina, Kosovo. Its goal is to showcase local and global speakers and software developers to a regional audience. Conference proceedings will be conducted in English, Albanian, Serbian, German and Turkish. Topics discussed will include Free Software, Open Source, collaborative content such as Wikipedia, and Voice over IP.
The group has found plenty of support in the local industry and is working in securing more participation from global companies and sister organziations. Some of those who have already expressed interest to speak at the conference are representatives from Sun Microsystems, Mozilla, Pilot Systems, and Google Summer of Code.
The organization is non-governmental and non-profit according to the relevant laws in force in Kosovo. People contributing to the projects come from the local industry, academia and free software enthusiasts.
The founder of FLOSS Kosovo, James Michael DuPont, is an American living in Gemany who will soon marry a Kosovar woman. He tells me “the youth spending time in internet cafes should be writing software instead. Instead of playing Counter Strike, they should be editing the Wikipedia.”
Kosovo is a country of 2.1 million inhabitants with an area the size of Connecticut. Seventy percent of the population is under 35 and 25 percent is in some way involved in the education system. GDP per person is only around $1500 and high unemployment is a problem for the youth. Despite this, its population remains highly motivated and the capital Prishtina offers some of the best nightlife and restaurants in this corner of Europe.
For more information, contact FLOSS Kosovo Spokesman Arianit Dobroshi, Tel: +377-44-905-647 or arianit@gmail.com