Dr. Maoke Chen is assistant researcher at the Network Research Center of Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He obtained a PhD degree in Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2004. Since 1998 he has been working on China's IPv6 development and deployment. His current research interests include: large-scale routing management in IPv6 and multi-protocol environment; overlay and virtualized services; open index and search services in Internet applications. Dr. Chen is the local coordinator of the FLOSSWorld project in China.

abstract presentation
The FLOSSWorld workshop in China was held in December 2005. The attendees contributed a lot of ideas in making the survey successful. Technical measures were highly evaluated to help in deciding the object and methods of surveying. The most basic effort in mining Internet data of open source activities in China is performed, simultaneously with organizing the human-based survey tasks.

Rishab Aiyer Ghosh leads several research projects on Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) at UNU-MERIT. He was one of the founders and is the current managing editor of First Monday, a peer-reviewed Internet journal that covers internet economics, law and technology.
http://www.merit.unu.edu/about/profile.php?id=24

Ruediger Glott worked from 1993 to 2000 at the Institute for Sociological Research (SOFI - Soziologisches Forschungsinstitut) of the University of Göttingen, working on a wide range of projects on quantitative and qualitative aspects of work in the service sector and on Internet-based collaboration of SMEs in Germany and the USA. He is experienced in qualitative as well as quantitative empirical work and participated in all kinds of work associated with the analysis of data sets and the execution of surveys. Since 2001 he has been at MERIT/Infonomics, where he played a key role in the design, execution and analysis of the EU-funded FLOSS developer and user surveys on free/open source software.
http://www.merit.unu.edu/about/profile.php?id=25

abstract presentation:
The usage of Open Source Software in governments depends on the degree of knowledge about Open Source Software as well as on the degree of fears about and prejudices against it. The FLOSSPOLS local governments survey has turned out that there are significant distinct patterns of Open Source Software usage between European countries. The presentation builds up on this observation and examines how these patterns can be characterised and explained.

Javier Solá is co-director of *WordForge*, a project that attempts to facilitate localization of Free and Open Source software by producing a complete set of state-of-the-art tools for computers-assisted localization, based on the LISA standards. He is also the Coordinator of the *KhmerOS* Initiative, a distributed open project aimed at producing and deploying Free and Open Source software (FOSS) in Khmer language (the main language of Cambodia). After studying at Duke University and Ohio State University in the 80's - where he did some work on Natural language processing -, Javier became a researcher on Artificial Intelligence in France for four years, and then served for almost a decade as Director of the Spanish Internet Users Association, supporting the development of the Internet in Spain.
http://www.khmeros.info/drupal/?q=en/about/team/javier

abstract presentation:
Localisation of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), in countries where no other localised software exists can creates user-demand for FOSS, and therefore motivation for change. Coutries that still donot have local language proprietary software tend not to have enough technical resources for localisation. It can only be done with with advanced tools that separate translation from technical aspects of localisation. The WordForge project pretends to create the tools and methodology that maek FOSS localisation in small countries possible.

Kim Tucker is currently in the Meraka Institute in the position of "Open Mentor", catalysing activities which help people obtain skills on using FLOSS, and looking at FLOSS for enhancing learning. His background includes psychology, computer science and conservation biology, and he has worked as a computer science lecturer, an environmental scientist and a software developer.

abstract presentation:
This presentation will cover the Africa Regional FLOSSWorld workshop, held in conjunction with Idlelo2 in Nairobi, and the challenges of localisation in Africa (specifically South Africa). The workshop in Nairobi required some improvisation on account of parallel sessions and unexpected adjustments in the programme. The presentation will describe some of the sessions and summarise insights gained. On localisation, we will cover some of the activities in Africa and describe the challenges faced in South Africa.