[Fsfe-se] Invitation: SELF platform launch

[Henrik Sandklef]

Hejsan alla

 nedan följer en inbjudan till en presentation som ges i Göteborg. Om ni
kommer, anmäl er till irina at fsfeurope.org

Mvh Henrik Sandklef


Platform for free software learning material goes live

A milestone for education on free software and open standards is
reached. On September 5th 2007 the beta version of the SELF platform
(http://www.selfplatform.eu) goes live. One of the cities that it
happens is right here in Gothenburg, Sweden. The event is taking place
in the IT University in Lindholmen at 16.00 in Svea Building (room Torg
Blå). The speaker will be Henrik Sandklef, representative of The Free
Software Foundation Europe, one of the organisations behind the project.
He will give an overview of the idea and the positive impact of the SELF
Platform, following by a hands on workshop of how the system operates
and is implemented in schools and libraries. The event will conclude
with an open discussion and questions over "fika".

The official launch is taking place during a conference on Free Software
in Education in Amsterdam (http://selfproject.eu/en/launch), accompanied
by a number of satellite launch events worldwide as the one in Sweden.

The SELF Platform has been developed by a global team of non-profit
organisations, universities and volunteers engaged in the SELF Project,
an initiative for the collaborative sharing and creation of free
educational and training materials on Free Software and Open Standards.
Users, primarily learners and teachers, are enabled to assemble
selections of learning contents and create custom-made learning material
for lessons in their language. The Platform is launched in beta stage to
involve the growing community in optimising the tool.


Hundreds of documents on Free Software, such as OpenOffice.org, The
Gimp, or GNU/Linux, and documents on Open Standards have been screened
by a team of experts in regards to quality, free license and validity.
The result is a basic collection of high-quality learning materials that
have been, or will be atomised and entered into the SELF Platform.
Inspired by Wikipedia, the multilingual SELF Platform is not only a
self-sustaining source of knowledge and a tool to evaluate, adapt,
create and translate free learning materials on Free Software, but also
creates a much needed room for interaction between the Free Software and
the education communities in a broader sense.

The SELF project is carried by a consortium of seven NPOs and
universities in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The initial setup of the
platform has been financially supported by the European Union.