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Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia

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Dan Nguyen
Dan Nguyen

The document discusses the history of open source and open knowledge in Cambodia. It describes early efforts in the 1990s to provide access to knowledge through email and dealing with font compatibility issues. It then discusses the struggle to develop a Khmer language encoding standard and applications. It highlights Cambodia's commitment to open systems and interoperability. Finally, it describes how open source has expanded to open knowledge and sharing through blogging and community events, empowering Cambodians and changing communication.

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Open Source – Open Knowledge: some stories from Cambodia told by Norbert Klein @ BarCampSaigon.org 13 December 2009
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 13 December 2009 The History
The early stages: e-mail but not in Khmer A DOS floppy from Colombia A modem – in 4 weeks – from Singapore The scholarship for Khieu Borin restituted Some – 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 13 December 2009 The History
Many confusing fonts – discovering UNICODE Khmer texts only in mail attachments But 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 13 December 2009 The History
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,...” 13 December 2009 The History
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.” 13 December 2009 The History
From standards to applications To have a UNICODE codification is only a start: 2002 Microsoft will localize, waiting, waiting... Still using 23 Khmer Windows font families: A file converter – no real solution! An expert arrives: Javier Solá KhmerOS – An NGO Open Source Initiative 2004 13 December 2009 The History
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.” 13 December 2009
The challenge to stay open Discovering Open Source UNDP Vietnam study 13 December 2009
The challenge to stay open Doubts 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 – selective 2007:Ministry of Education accepts KhmerOS as official Khmer software 13 December 2009
The way into the future: keeping it open . From Open Source to Open Knowledge 13 December 2009
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. 13 December 2009
From Open Source to Open Knowledge Declaration 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: 13 December 2009
From Open Source to Open Knowledge So we do it: Learning, hacking, sharing. Realizing our dreams Meeting – having fun – finding friends – building the society: Blogging, BarCamps! 13 December 2009
From Open Source to Open Knowledge First Cambodian Blogger Summit 2007 Blogs 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." 13 December 2009
13 December 2009

More Related Content

Open source, open knowledge - from Cambodia

  • 1. Open Source – Open Knowledge: some stories from Cambodia told by Norbert Klein @ BarCampSaigon.org 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 13 December 2009 The History
  • 3. The early stages: e-mail but not in Khmer A DOS floppy from Colombia A modem – in 4 weeks – from Singapore The scholarship for Khieu Borin restituted Some – 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 13 December 2009 The History
  • 4. Many confusing fonts – discovering UNICODE Khmer texts only in mail attachments But 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 13 December 2009 The History
  • 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,...” 13 December 2009 The History
  • 6. 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.” 13 December 2009 The History
  • 7. From standards to applications To have a UNICODE codification is only a start: 2002 Microsoft will localize, waiting, waiting... Still using 23 Khmer Windows font families: A file converter – no real solution! An expert arrives: Javier Solá KhmerOS – An NGO Open Source Initiative 2004 13 December 2009 The History
  • 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.” 13 December 2009
  • 9. The challenge to stay open Discovering Open Source UNDP Vietnam study 13 December 2009
  • 10. The challenge to stay open Doubts 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 – selective 2007:Ministry of Education accepts KhmerOS as official Khmer software 13 December 2009
  • 11. The way into the future: keeping it open . From Open Source to Open Knowledge 13 December 2009
  • 12. 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. 13 December 2009
  • 13. From Open Source to Open Knowledge Declaration 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: 13 December 2009
  • 14. From Open Source to Open Knowledge So we do it: Learning, hacking, sharing. Realizing our dreams Meeting – having fun – finding friends – building the society: Blogging, BarCamps! 13 December 2009
  • 15. From Open Source to Open Knowledge First Cambodian Blogger Summit 2007 Blogs 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." 13 December 2009