Cedfit intensifies campaign on open source technology

The Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedfit) is set to intensify its campaign on Open Source technology to strengthen the academe’s awareness on its benefits.

Cedfit managing director Bonifacio Belen said the organization is set to hold a workshop for the academic sector, in close coordination with the Philippine Society of IT Educators (PCITE) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), for the improvement of the appreciation of Open Source technology among the college and universities here.

“There should be a widening of understanding of the Open technology among the academic stakeholders in Cebu,” Belen said on the sidelines during the recently held Cedfit general membership meeting at the Cebu Parklane Hotel.

According to Belen, the workshop will be held on the occasion of the first International Open Source Summit to be held in Cebu in the month of June this year.

Although some colleges and universities have reportedly introduced the Open Source technology to their respective IT courses, Belen said there is still a need to widen the understanding of academicians in implementing subjects or courses that are geared towards using open technology.

Open Source is a software or computer program which source codes are made available to the general public. It does not have licensing restrictions that limit its use, modifications, or redistribution.

One of the few advantages of the Open Source software is it encourages software re-use. In the open source community, no code is wasted.

While Cedfit continues its existing projects in ICT related trainings, and skills certification, he said one of the major task of the foundation this year is to expand the appreciation of Open Source within the academe, as well as in the industry sectors.

Belen, however, said the group’s active stance in promoting Open Source, would not mean that it will ditch its educational advancement towards supporting proprietary software products, as today’s “technology knows no boundaries.”

He said there is a need to have balance know-how in both sides, in order to push the positioning of Cebu as the “Innovation Island” in Asia.

In an earlier interview with Open Source advocate Winston Damarillo, chairman of the Global Gateway Venture Capital, he said that Cebu’s decision to strongly embrace the Open Source technology brings credibility to Cebu, as “advance thinker” in IT, and will pave the way to join the high-tech countries like Brazil, China, Japan, and Hong Kong.  – Ehda M. Dagooc