[Sigia-l] University Conference - Open Source

[Dorothy Birtalan]

March 2, 2004 - Toronto
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Open Source and Free Software Conference
To Be Held at University of Toronto This May
THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EVER HELD WORLDWIDE

A conference entitled "Open Source and Free Software: Concepts,
Controversies and Solutions" will be held Sunday, May 9, to Tuesday, May
11,
at Convocation Hall, 31 King's College Circle, University of Toronto.

Open source refers to the practice of making public the code that makes
software work, so that others are encouraged and empowered to review,
critique and improve it. Open content, a similar approach used with
intellectual property like encyclopedias and electronic journals, will
also
be discussed.

The conference is the most comprehensive of its kind ever held
worldwide.
Other such events are almost all strictly technical. This one treats
open
source as a social movement. It integrates technical with legal,
political
and business issues. It discusses implications for health care,
education
and dissemination of public knowledge.

The conference Web site may be viewed at http://osconf.kmdi.utoronto.ca.

The meeting will be attended by decision-makers, policy-makers and
academics
seeking to know the future of information technology, computer software
and
related intellectual property. Participants will come from the business,

government, education and  health care sectors.

"This event brings together the most knowledgeable and diverse set of
speakers on these topics ever assembled under one roof," says conference

chair Ron Baecker. "The ability to predict technology trends is critical
to
wealth creation and industrial growth.  We have therefore included some
of
the world's foremost thinkers in high technology, intellectual property,
and
knowledge creation and transfer," adds Baecker.


Presenters will include computer scientists, political and social
scientists, journalists, lawyers, business executives, entrepreneurs,
industry analysts, educators and library information specialists.

Examples are Bob Young, co-founder of Red Hat, the world's most
successful
Linux company; Eben Moglen, Columbia law professor and General Counsel,
Free
Software Foundation; Berkeley political economy professor Steve Weber,
whose
Harvard University Press book on open source will appear in April; Brian

Behlendorf, co-founder of the Apache Web Server Project; and Professor
Derek
Keats, recently chair of the first major African conference on open
source.


Special discounted registration, at CDN$395 for the full conference, has

been extended to March 19, after which the fee increases to CDN$495.
Price
at the door is CDN$595. Single-day and discounted volume registrations
are
available.

The conference is presented by the following organizations within the
University of Toronto: Knowledge Media Design Institute, Connaught
International Symposia Fund, Centre for Innovation Law and Policy,
Citizen
Lab of the Munk Centre for International Studies, Department of Computer

Science, Information Policy Research Program, the University of Toronto
Libraries and their Resource Centre for Academic Technology.

The support of these organizations is hereby acknowledged:
Communications
and Information Technology Ontario, IBM Centre for Advanced Studies,
Linux
Professional Institute, Seneca College, Ontario Ministry of Economic
Development and Trade, Caseware International, Novell, Inc., Openflows
Networks Ltd. and The Commons Group.

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Please contact:

Ron Baecker, Conference Chair, (416) 978-6983, rmb at kmdi.utoronto.ca
Kelly Rankin, Conference Coordinator, (416) 946-8512,
kelly at kmdi.utoronto.ca