The Tunisian strategy in the field of Information Technology and Communication dedicates a special interest to Open Source Software as a technical and technological alternative to be considered in new or redesigning system’s projects.
This strategic direction has been formulated in July 2001 through a National Open Source Software Plan. A Management By Objectives (MBO) Unit has been created in June 2003 to follow up and to ensure the successful achievement of the aforementioned plan, and to update its action programs accordingly.
Administration IT procurement procedures have been reviewed in order to guaranty better technical and technological neutrality and to ensure that Open Source solutions are considered alongside proprietary ones.
Tunisian strategy Goals
The national Open Source plan consists of designing and achieving a large number of programs related to the following axis:
- Promoting the use of Open Source Software through the organization of:
- Awareness building events to diffuse the Open Source Software culture.
- Technical workshops for different stakeholders.
- Training sessions for end-users.
- Providing on-demand technical support, engineering missions and assistance for the use of Open Source Software in public administrations and public enterprises.
- Strengthening human competencies through:
- Specific training and certification programs for technical staff.
- The use of the Open Source Software in higher education, academia and scientific research.
- Supporting private enterprises by taking measures to incite them to invest in Open Source Software field and by establishing an assistance plan to foster their networking and the presence at international levels.
- Focusing on technological awareness at national and international levels by tracking up-to-date information and news related to Open Source Software.
This national plan also foresees the follow-up of the realization of this program and the assessment of its results.
Besides the actions designed for public and private sectors, the national plan also involves the Open Source community (i.e. associations, university clubs, forums) that are active in the field of Open Source Software.