The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (DCOS) formed to promote the use and adoption of open standards in information and communication technologies.
DCOS includes members from government, business, and civil society who are concerned about the role that open and non-proprietary technical standards play in advancing the Internet as a tool of development, innovation, and freedom.
The IGF Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (IGF DCOS) will frame and define the most urgent problems related to open technology standards and application interoperability and suggest straightforward, workable solutions that can be implemented by all stakeholders. In support of Paragraph 90j of the Tunis Agenda, which reaffirms the commitment of all WSIS stakeholders to “developing and implementing e-government applications based on open standards in order to enhance the growth and interoperability of e-government systems, at all levels, furthering access to government information …. thereby furthering access to government information and services and contributing to building ICT networks and developing services that are available anywhere and anytime, to anyone and on any device,” IGF DCOS will focus on best practices in government policy and procurement practices for public documents and services.
IGF DCOS will pay particular attention to the needs of developing economies, including capacity building, technology transfer, access and other requirements.
DCOS held it its first offline meeting in February 2007 during the International Symposium on Open Standards hosted by Yale Law School’s Information Society Program.
2006 IGF Contribution: “A Positive Role for Government Procurement in Promoting Open IT Standards, the Network Effect and the Information Society” [ pdf ] [ odf ] from Consumer Project on Technology, Sun Microsystems, IP Justice, Professor Ghosh of the University of Maastricht and the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) also maintains a webpage of resources on open standards and DCOS.
Below: Video of Laura DeNardis, Visiting Fellow in the Information Society Project at Yale Law School explores the ability of Open Standards to promote the public interest at the UN Internet Governance Forum in Athens Greece during the Open Standards Workshop (videos of workshop):
Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (DCOS)
17 Jul, 2008: IP Rights In Standards Impede Competition, Disadvantage Developing Countries (IP-Watch) "Standards and intellectual property rights appear to be worlds apart and to respond to opposite purposes, according to a recent panel of legal and policy experts. While standards are established to ensure compatibility in technology to the advantage of all users at national, regional or international levels, intellectual property rights are meant to provide an exclusive use, reward innovation, and ...
16 Jun, 2008: Civil Society & Organized Labour Seoul Declaration (OECD Ministerial in Korea) Framework for the Future of the Internet Economy. Freedom of Expression. Protection of Privacy and Transparency. Consumer Protection. Promotion of Access to Knowledge. Internet Governance. Promotion of Open Standards. Balanced Intellectual Property Policies. Internet Governance. ...
18 Mar, 2008: Public-Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment Why is Free Expression Important in an Information Society? The UK-based "Freedom of Expression Project" posted "Public Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment". The draft document provides useful analysis on the importance of freedom of expression, open standards, interoperability, respect for privacy, and balanced copyright law as key policy goals for a healthy and robust information society. ...
13 Mar, 2008: Sign the Petition to EU Parliament to Use Open Standards and Promote Interoperability If you are a European citizen, sign the petition to "Open Parliament" and encourage the use of open standards and interoperable systems in the European ICT sector. The Open Parliament Petition states that citizens should not have to use the software of a single company in order to communicate with their elected officials or participate in the legislate ...
6 Mar, 2008: Complaint Lodged Over EU Parliament’s Exclusive Use Of Microsoft Systems (IP-Watch) A formal complaint has been lodged with the European Parliament over how its information technology systems rely almost exclusively on software manufactured by Microsoft. Advocates of open standard software, which is developed on a not-for-profit basis, allege that the Seattle-based giant enjoys an effective monopoly or ‘lock-in’ within the European Union institutions. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and ...
29 Feb, 2008: Free, Open Software Supporters Advocate Against Microsoft Document Standard (IP-Watch) Free software and open standards proponents met this week in Geneva to discuss the importance of standards-setting and to debate the role of patent protections and advocate freedom of information sharing in the digital economy. Organised by open source software advocacy group OpenForum Europe and happening against the backdrop of Microsoft’s bid to have its document format Office Open ...
10 Feb, 2008: 25-27 Feb. 2008 Conference on Standards and the Future of the Internet in Geneva OpenForum Europe are pleased to invite you to a conference on: "Standards and the Future of the Internet - the role of open standards, standards development and standards organisations for innovation and healthy marketplaces"
25-27 February at the International Conference Centre, Geneva
In a keynote session on 26 February, OFE Chief Executive, Graham Taylor,
will moderate a panel of highly distinguished speakers: ...
30 Jan, 2008: French Police Move to Open Source The French paramilitary police force said Wednesday it is ditching Microsoft for the free Linux operating system, becoming one of the biggest administrations in the world to make the break. The move completes the gendarmerie's severance from Microsoft which began in 2005 when it moved to open sourcing for office applications such as word processing. It switched to open ...
24 Jan, 2008: Why Does ‘Openness’ Matter for ICT? IT is increasingly embedded into our daily lives and continues to meld
with traditional industries and applications such as healthcare,
transportation, media, security, and telecommunications. Battles over
non-interoperability and consumer access due to a lack of open IT
standards are popping up in unexpected places. The automotive repair
industry provides a good example of this: consumers and non-dealer-owned
repair shops are fighting for access to technical ...
10 Dec, 2007: Dutch government threatens to sideline Microsoft (MacWorld) "Proposed legislation that would mandate the use of the Open Document Format (ODF) across the entire Dutch government has infuriated Microsoft. On Wednesday the Dutch parliament will discuss a plan to mandate use of the Open Document Format (ODF) at government agencies. The proposal is part of a wider plan to increase the sustainability of information and innovation, while ...
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (DCOS) formed to promote the use and adoption of open standards in information and communication technologies.
