Mark Shuttleworth`s Canonical has invited South African IT companies to take part in Software Freedom Day (SFD) on 10 September.
The annual event aims to promote public awareness and use of free and open source software.
Participating companies could sponsor a team or host a corporate SFD event where they outline the benefits of open source software (OSS) to the private and public sectors, says Adi Attar, a project manager at Canonical. They could also show public support to OSS, helping to improve its credibility and public perception.
SFD was first launched last year with over 70 teams taking part in the event worldwide. More than 180 teams are expected to participate this year.
One of the main traditional activities is handing out copies of OpenCD. This is an activity that reaches out to people who know very little about OSS, says Attar.
Participating teams could also hold 'installfests`, an event where people bring their computers to the venue and technicians assist them to install OSS.
According to Attar, the South African celebration this year will involve three major events at The Zone in Johannesburg, the Canal Walk in Cape Town and the Gateway in Umhlanga in Durban.
In addition, Go Open Source will assist in sponsoring other community teams in whatever way it can, Attar says. Events include installfests, demo sessions to showcase the best OSS, handing out of CDs and other giveaways.
Shuttleworth says he loves the impact of OSS awareness on ordinary people and hopes that SFD will be an even bigger deal this year.
Visit the SFD South Africa Web site at www.softwarefreedomday.org for further information, or enter the event your team is organising at www.softwarefreedom.org.za.
Share