In this discussion, we started playing with the idea of developing a Horizon 2020 project as a way to enhance collaboration across Georgian NGOs. In the same discussion, @Inge mentioned the goal of getting more Georgian to adopt free-and-open software instead of illegally downloaded proprietary software. Later on, we held another futurespotters workshop in Cairo, and sure enough they came up with the problem that Egyptian NGOs don’t collaborate either.
I was thinking that the H2020 project could be about open source software and digital literacy. We could experiment with bottom-up, community-based models for active knowledge of open source software and all things digital to spread. This would attack both the problem of insufficient collaboration and that of digital literacy. We could recruit a Edgeryders project called the Viral Academy; as its name says, the VA is a school based on the idea that, in order for you to complete your course, you have to teach to others. We could try and teach people to install Linux, and then teach other, who would teach others… you get the idea.
This idea could be expanded in two directions.
- Towards hardware. We could try and get the wonderful @janetgunter interested on behalf of the Restart Project; we would then even teach people to recondition old computers. This could result in some machines we could give away for free – I know some of the Egyptians appreciated this idea.
- Towards data. We could leverage partners like Jumpstart and Elva to teach data literacy.
Any thoughts?