Projects/Grassroots PH Developers

We are a grassroots group from the Philippines with a wiki page at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Philippines We have been active recently with advocacy and just did a successful re-organization of the group and even showcased the OLPC project during Software Freedom Day 2008. Pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsgotangco/sets/72157607386579832/

There is increased developer and school interest in OLPC and creating applications for the local curriculum as well as localization. The thing that hampers developer participation is the lack of units to be developed with. Originally we only had prototype B2 and B4 units but recently we received 6 units and discussing how to distribute them to key stakeholders such as developers, educators and biz dev people.

We are looking into creating a Philippines Grassroots developer program where we invite potential contributors to local efforts and become contributors to OLPC development. The laptops will be managed by OLPC Philippines and become responsible for managing projects to make sure they meet target dates and milestones. We are planning to have regular face to face meetups every month to be able to discuss the progress of projects. With regards to laptops we\'re looking at 5-10 units to be distributed to contributors which will be monitored by OLPC Philippines.

From the 6 month period of evaluation we can identify pilots in the Philippines and communicate effectively with school personnel as we plan to have educators part of the hardware evaluation.