Amman, 13 September 2015
Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Al Hassan bin Talal, "The First International Conference on Open Software" was concluded, 140 participants from 20 countries attended the conference, many research and dialogue sessions, workshops and specialized meetings which were attended by speakers, decision-makers, experts and scholars from Arab countries, Europe and Asia, aiming at confirming the sustainable dialogue for the open software programs in the Technology and Communication Sectors.
This International Conference is considered to be a scientific platform. It was organized by the German Jordanian University in collaboration with the universities and institutions which participated in the open software project. The project was funded the European Union - Tempus program to promote the dialogue among the participants of experts, researchers and decision-makers in order to cooperate in adopting open software applications at no cost as well as building up the use of Software and applications which are considered expensive, but have no license cost and working to provide practical and research applications based essentially on important issues such as energy, water, environment and others.
Many workshops were held on the sideline of the conference specialized in practical open software, portable applications and parallel programming. They were attended by a number of GJU and other universities’ students, as well as members of the open software project, the Euro-Mediterranean connectivity program and the European Commission for reinforcing research collaboration in the region.
Dr. Salem Al Agtash chairman of the Conference explained that joint Efforts and supporting cooperation should be made between universities and the private sector as well as working to increase the research cooperation and the development of sustainable projects in the open software and activating its applications in all the practical aspects.
Moreover Dr. Al Atrash announced that the conference has come to a number of recommendations including:
- Adopting open software programs for the near future, and focusing on supporting the local capacities and competencies in the open software applications
- Strengthening cooperation between universities and specialized companies and guiding them towards the development of practical integration and applying the open software in all fields
- The Second International Conference is to be hold in September 2016 in Lebanon
The conference called for the establishment of open software training and academic programs, emphasizing on its importance in reducing the spending cost on the closed software and enhancing the research and educational communities that depend on these software programs.
It also called for providing computing, research and educational resources in the educational institutions, publishing, using them building on the success of the open software project and other projects funded by the European Commission, developing the cooperation and coordination between Arab and European experts, working to promote the joint scientific research which use the open software applications, supporting research institutions to help them to develop the open software applications, as well as promoting the participation of the private sector in the field of research, capacity building and the development of creative talents in this field.
Overview of the project:
The project is funded by the European Commission – Tempus program – A number of universities such as The German Jordanian University, Yarmouk University, Saint Louis University and the Lebanese University as well as institutions of the private sector in Lebanon, Jordan, Germany, Spain and Britain for developing computer, communications and information technology programs are taking part in it, to contribute to the promotion of the use of open software programs and their communities.
Website: http://www.osscom.org
