Abstract:
The notion that Afghanistan at present is at a decisive point in time is well known. Information systems in Afghan public institutions are no exception. Mainly caused by the lack of available knowledge and competencies with regard to Open Source software, information systems infrastructures - by default - are build-up from scratch by using proprietary software. This strategy might not be sustainable in the medium or long term. It was a lucky coincidence that the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme was ready to provide the funding for a workshop about the utilization of Open Source systems in different application environments in Sept. 2012 in Kabul. We were able to assemble a group of about thirty Afghan and international IT/IS specialists (some of them representing the fledgling Afghan Open Source community) for a three days workshop (...)