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Open Source – Open Knowledge: some stories from Cambodia told by Norbert Klein @ BarCampSaigon.org 13 December 2009

Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia

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Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia, Nobert Klein, Barcamsaigon 2009

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Page 1: Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia

Open Source –

Open Knowledge:

some stories from Cambodia

told by Norbert Klein

@ BarCampSaigon.org13 December 2009

Page 2: Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia

13 December 2009 2

The start of my involvement: How to open access to knowledge

Sharing - how it started:No email? No access to knowledge!

(1994-1995)“MSc: Renewable tropical agriculture”

6 months: Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry

12 months: field studies in the home countries

6 months: Uppsala/Sweden

The History

Page 3: Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia

13 December 2009 3

The early stages: e-mail but not in Khmer

A DOS floppy from ColombiaA modem – in 4 weeks – from SingaporeThe scholarship for Khieu Borin restitutedSome – 40 – 100 – 200 users – too many?

But:Why all only in English (or French etc.)?

Borin is in Sweden, his wife does not speak English

The History

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13 December 2009 4

Many confusing fonts – discovering UNICODEKhmer texts only in mail attachmentsBut 8 not compatible font families(Cambodians in USA, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand – all independent)

Joint brainstorming? “If all use my fonts, all problems solved!”

UNICODE ! - At Singapore National University: ONE page in Chinese, English, Malay, Tamil

The History

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13 December 2009 5

Many confusing fonts – struggling for UNICODE Who decides?

“As a result of our discussions we have learned that:1. The encoding approach taken for the representation of the

Khmer subscript letters in Unicode, the so-called "virama model", is not the preferred approach of the Cambodian National Body or of Khmer linguistic experts, and is at odds with the way the Khmer

Script is perceived and taught in Cambodia.2. A number of characters were added to the encoding of the

Khmer script; which upon receipt of further input from the Cambodian National Body, now appear to have been clear

mistakes. Those characters cannot properly be considered to be a part of the Khmer script,

3. A number of symbols and other characters used in the representation of the Khmer script were overlooked in the

encoding,...”

The History

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Many confusing fonts – struggling for UNICODE

“...The Unicode Consortium acknowledges and regrets that over the last several years, and especially during crucial periods when the decisions about development of the Khmer script encoding proposals were being made, that insufficient efforts were made to maintain full communication and consultation with all interested parties in Cambodia. This has resulted in the current unfortunate situation where all interested parties now have to deal with a less-than-optimal outcome with respect to the Khmer encoding.

The Unicode Consortium sincerely regrets the impact that this may have on the perception of the Khmer script, as well as any confusion that may result for those who are implementing the Khmer script on the basis of the Unicode Standard.”

The History

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From standards to applications

To have a UNICODE codification is only a start: 2002Microsoft will localize, waiting, waiting...Still using 23 Khmer Windows font families:A file converter – no real solution!

An expert arrives: Javier SoláKhmerOS – An NGO Open Source Initiative 2004

The History

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13 December 2009 8

The challenge to stay open

Senior Minister, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers Sok An, during the closing of 3 days national seminar on

“Information Technology Awareness”

(13.09.2001):“All laws, regulations and policies in the IT sector will reflect the following guiding spirit and philosophy: • to uphold the interests of the consumers and general public • to guarantee security of information, while facilitating the broadest possible access to public information • to respect individual rights, and • to avoid dependency on proprietary systems, instead promoting open systems and interoperability.”

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13 December 2009 9

The challenge to stay open

Discovering Open Source

UNDP Vietnam study

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13 December 2009 10

The challenge to stay openDoubts and affirmations

Business interests? – National interests?“Open source is not capable”“Open Source is not secure” - ???“Everybody needs to have a free choice!” - to pay!

Efforts for promotion – selective2007:Ministry of Education accepts KhmerOS as official Khmer software

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13 December 2009 11

The way into the future: keeping it open

.From Open Source to Open Knowledge

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The way into the future: keeping it open

From Open Source to Open Knowledge

Now it is no more the programmers, but the users: from creating tools to using tools: creating and sharing content: data, ideas,

information, knowledge, wisdom.

Learning – sharing – fun – friendship - community.

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From Open Source to Open KnowledgeDeclaration of Principles UN WSIS 2003:

Building the Information Society: a global challenge in the new Millennium

Our Common Vision of the Information Society

“We, the representatives of the peoples of the world, assembled in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003 for the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, declare our common desire and commitment to build a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can

create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality

of life, premised on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respecting fully and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights.”

So we do it:

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From Open Source to Open Knowledge

So we do it:Learning, hacking, sharing.

Realizing our dreamsMeeting – having fun – finding friends – building the society:

Blogging, BarCamps!

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From Open Source to Open Knowledge

First Cambodian Blogger Summit 2007Blogs open communication in Cambodia

But it is clear that young, tech-savvy Cambodians are joining Sihanouk in embracing blogs. The trend is changing their lives and their communication with people abroad — even as electricity remains an unreachable dream for most households in this poverty-ridden nation of 14 million.

“This is a kind of cultural revolution now happening here in terms of self-expression," said Norbert Klein, a longtime resident from Germany... "It is a completely new era in Cambodian life."

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