Document Freedom Day, Sydney 2008

Posted by Gianni Mariani, Tech Lead/Manager

The first ever Document Freedom Day, hosted in Sydney last Wednesday by Google, the Internet Society of Australia and the Sydney Linux Users Group (SLUG) was a great success for all involved, as it raised awareness about the importance of open document standards. Guest speaker, Senator Kate Lundy, gave insights into how the new federal government is taking open standards initiatives very seriously. The Senator also actively engaged in Q&A time, providing a valuable look into how the government is changing, and the challenges it faces in dealing with information and communications technology.

Guest Speaker David Vaile, director of the UNSW Executive Director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre, placed an emphasis on the growing complexity of copyright and patent licensing and the challenges faced by open standards. His discussion also touched on the trend of "cloud computing" and the social and security challenges faced as we look to the next wave of technological innovations. Q&A time was lively with fast succession of suggestions and comments.

Special thanks go to Senator Kate Lundy who was truly gracious and insightful, as well as to David Vaile, whose experience with open standards provided a valuable point of view. Also thanks to all that attended and participated in the valuable discussion and especially to the co-hosts ISOC-AU and SLUG.