Development of a network & Education opportunities
If we send computers out
into the blind without a network to receive, without anyone to
distribute or to make support, the risk that the computers will be
converted to mis-functioning MS-windows game-desktops and they'll
consequently quickly end up as garbage.
If few or none is educated or trained, we
also risk a far from optimized use of the computers. The setup,
the specialization to local needs and worse the distribution of the
countries own computers will not happen or come to a standstill.
For these reasons we like to develop or initiate a well-trained
community that receive the computers and later distribute these and the
local donated computers that are going to be distributed in the
future.The word development may ring reprehensible to people of relief organizations as an old fashion top-down control of the project is indicated. However, our solutions have to include a top-down control of the community development in the very beginning as a network in some countries has to be created from scratch.
Already, however, after four months it changed in the project of Kunming. China to community organization when they helped to connect directly to partners such as Yunnan University, established local communication like a Wiki, a bbs, a QQ user-group messenger system and constituted themselves according to their own working procedures. The trans-border contacts, clauses to hand-over the computers, perform specialized computers for the OS Exploratorium and Technical IT-support are still remote guided across the Internet - until Chinese guidelines are developed. Occasional visits will keep the contact and will mutual inspire to self-reliant community action. The last term also refer to local spreading of the concept to other parts. Already a private initiative creating a LUG followed up soon after our KunmingLUG community started in the neighbour province. A great potential for cooperation and a source for spreading renovated computers when everything flow in Kunming. In the KunmingLUG the software community action is proceeding in the form that they now develop a Chinese memory mapping application in Linux to memories English words in cooperation with their English professor (Zhao Li Bei Dan Ci).
Beside the coordination aspects, the network need Scientific.dk to establish a formal Linux certification, organize more public educational IT-facilities together with the University & schools and self-training practical useful exercises like the optimize of the renovated computers to later be used for the low-tech companies and schools. Different level knowledge for different job-purposes or personal needs depend on differentiate educational or training offers. Information exchange about local wishes has to be analyzed carefully in cooperation - What is possible due to costs, what is needed due to job-openings or new projects an what is needed for the school-children. Discussions around the OS Exploratorium
is valuable also for this purpose. Beside no technology exchange without information exchange. And some low-tech areas needs information, computers and simple computer-technology to receive higher technology.
