Welcome Message
His Excellency John Dramani Mahama
The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana
to the Conference of FOSS and the Digital Commons 2010
IDLELO 4
It is my sincere pleasure to warmly welcome you to the Fourth African Conference on FOSS and the Digital Commons (IDLELO 4) to be held from 17th to 21st May, 2010, in Accra at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT.
This knowledge-building and sharing event under the theme: “Development with Ownership” is a forum for African experts and their global partners to share experience in order to expand awareness of the 'open' philosophy and the creation and use of open technologies for the benefit of our people. The emphasis on concrete examples of best practice presented by leaders in the field will further build capacity increasing the momentum of achievements from the previous editions of Idlelo held in South Africa, Kenya and Senegal.
Ghana is committed to ensuring that ICT works for the benefit of our people. I am therefore particularly pleased by the opportunity the community summit will offer for community leaders especially women and youth to interact with technology creators and share their needs. The increasing alignment of technology to needs on the ground will not only give added impetus to socio-economic development but also build our African IT industry.
Idlelo 4 provides an important forum for policy makers, scientists, experts, ICT businesses in Ghana and the African continent to exchange views, initiatives, innovative ideas and future plans on all aspects of ICT, free and open source software (FOSS) and related areas. It also comes during a very important period in Ghanaian and African history; the Centenary of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and the Independence Jubilee of the majority of African countries that followed Ghana's lead in the fight for political independence. ICT also provides the platform for the construction of our 21st Century PanAfrican identity.
As the Chairperson of the conference I am pleased to work with the global FOSS community to make IDLELO 4 a resounding success and to welcome all Ministers, official delegations, members of the diplomatic corps, speakers, exhibitors, students, trainees, service providers and all the distinguished participants to our beautiful country. I trust you will find time to enjoy our historic monuments, beautiful beaches, cultural centers, museums and the famous Ghanaian cuisine.
