OSPOs for Good 2024: What’s next?
OSPOs for Good versus… well, the opposite?
The fact is, we’re a long way from the early days of Open Source, where ideological battles raged in IRC and licenses were more cryptic than a fortune cookie. Back then, institutional Open Source was a scrappy scene: it came down to a couple of overworked lawyers wrangling licenses and a few true-believer developers hunching over terminal during lunch.
Promising, but isolated. Today, the Open Source movement has grown far beyond its techie origins. Linux Foundation data shows a surge in OSPO and OSS initiatives. Adoption hovered around 38% pre-2022, then skyrocketed to 66% in 2023, a total increase of nearly 75% in two years.
Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) have sprouted across all sectors in governments, schools, humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross and major corporations from Bloomberg to Ikea.
That’s why the United Nations conference OSPOs for Good 2024 is exciting: It’s like finally getting invited to the world’s coolest install fest. In 2023, the event hosted 60 participants in total. This year? The speaker list alone is nearly as large, showcasing the growing global impact of OSPOs.
Here’s what we’re most looking forward to:
Artificial Intelligence
AI? Again? There’s more AI buzz at these conferences than free tote bags. Unlike the inevitable lukewarm coffee, there’s a strong chance this one will be a hot take worth sitting still for. Keynoter Philip Thigo heads up the UN AI advisory body of 38 members from 33 countries with the daunting task of developing guidelines — including tools like watermarking — for alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He’s followed by a panel including the Open Source Initiative’s Stefano Maffulli, GitLab’s Ashley Kramer and Peloria’s Mehdi Snene.
Open Source in the Global South
Interesting fact: The United Nations Headquarters in New York is extraterritorial. In keeping with the conference goal of “expanding the scope to focus on how the conversation around OSPOs is enabling new forms of global cooperation around open source for good in countries,” there’s a 90-minute session on OS in the Global South.
Starting off the keynote is Salima Bah, the Minister of Communication, Technology, and Innovation for the Government of Sierra Leone. This West African country is poised for a number of pivots, with the ambitious goal of becoming the “Estonia of Africa.” A notable milestone so far is the recent introduction of Sierra Leone’s first National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy.
Devrooms: Open Source at Work in the World
So many conference sessions – especially panels! – are about as useful as that swag you bring home…and then donate. But devrooms? That’s where the magic happens. Even better, these demonstrate the recent rise of Open Source everywhere. You’ll find us pinging between these three, as long as the caffeine holds out:
- Open science and research
- Open Source education and skills
- Open Source for climate and health
Open Source networked cities
Cities would be so much smarter with Open Source: Traffic lights that actually respond to traffic, parking sensors that keep you from circling the block, or, even better, optimize pedestrian zones. Looking forward to hearing how the panelists, including Dirk Schrödter, Gesa Ziemer, Jacob Green, Mark Anthony Thomas, Richard Gevers, and Viraj Tiyagi, talk about how Open Source solutions can help create more efficient, collaborative and sustainable urban environments.
Open Source at the United Nations
An inside look at the UN OSPO at UN Headquarters? Yes, please. Aside from the meta high, it’ll be fascinating to grok the inner workings of the diplo OSPO which launched in 2022. The concept of OSPOs within the UN system didn’t emerge in isolation but from a recognition of Open Source as critical to the UN’s mission. UN OSPOs have a broader focus than those in other sectors. While efficiency remains important, they are also tasked with prioritizing global development goals in countries where they’re frequently also a major employer.
Stay tuned for our takeaways!
