An initiative to leverage Free Software for public use
About CoFFI
ICFOSS is launching a new initiative on the 2014 Software Freedom Day called "Code Free for India!" (CoFFI), to invite programmers from the Free Software community to develop Desktop, Internet, Mobile, Cloud, Internet-of-Things tools and applications for general use by civil society & citizens, as well as by Governments & institutions. The applications in question should enhance the quality of life and well-being of citizens (including in areas such as education and health); enhance livelihoods; improve civic amenities; help conserve the environment, heritage and traditional culture; enhance resilience to natural disasters; and promote and enhance social, financial & digital inclusion.
CoFFI will provide a broad umbrella for the FOSS community members and groups who would like to help address local issues and needs. It would also provide a platform for initiatives which succeed locally and could be scaled up to state or national levels. CoFFI would like to encourage the use of local language computing tools and contemporary technologies while keeping in mind bandwidth limitations and device limitations (such as feature phones vs SmartPhones, and SMS vs GPRS) in the country. CoFFI would be also be an email-based community platform to discuss these issues and seek collaborative solutions. Overall guidance for the initiative would provided by the ICFOSS Advisory Committee and the Governing Body.
Where required, ICFOSS would be able to support the initiative through information, training and limited funding for pilots. The programme is expected to be formally launched at the "Swatantra 2014" Conference during 18-20 December 2014 at Trivandrum.
Please write to us at info@icfoss.in to include yourself in the CoFFI Mailing List after the launch of the programme.