Gilberto Gil, Minister of Culture of Brazil, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary General of UNCTAD, signed a memorandum of understanding today to support the promotion of free and open-source software (FOSS). The event took place at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis.
The signing ceremony was followed by an advisory session on FOSS for Portuguese-speaking delegations attending the Summit. The advisory session included one-on-one consultations with international experts on FOSS.
The aim of the memorandum of understanding is to improve training and education in the use of FOSS. This software has been found to be very helpful for closing the "digital divide" in computer-based technology between developing and industrialized nations. But reaping the benefits of FOSS requires that developing countries have sufficient expertise to use the software effectively. The agreement between Brazil and UNCTAD is intended to help extend this expertise to Portuguese-speaking nations with the help of FOSS training experts and by sharing relevant training materials and resources.
