The Ubuntu project – Open Source ‘Linux’ Software

Since my post earlier about Ubuntu, I’ve had a few questions about what it is. Ubuntu is often translated as “I am because you are” or, “I am a person because of you”, and is a concept uniquely African in origin. I am using the word to refer to both the Ubuntu project, and the philosophy.

Further, how does Ubuntu affect us as librarians? Ubuntu suggests that our individual contributions at work are only meaningful because of other people. In education, this translates into open source software that is both empowering and people-centred, shorn of proprietary restrictions. It could be argued that the notion of Ubuntu software, which is created by many for no reward or remuneration, finds a natural home in meeting the needs of local libraries and communities – a product arising from unique circumstances.

Ubuntu (the software), in fact, is influenced by the unique digital context in which it is developed. This suggests both the project and he eventual ‘product’ are related to larger social concepts, even social movements. Educational scholar Shirley Walters (2005) suggests that social movements are heavily influenced by context and are a by-product of time and place. This is also true of Ubuntu. In order to “…understand the workings of particular social movements, you therefore have to locate them quite particularly” (Walters, 2005:55).

Ubuntu software can easily be uploaded over the web by anyone, anywhere. It is a form of digital humanity. It reflects a global community as well as the specific communities that use it. It incorporates ideas in an electronic realm, but transcends that by getting workers together to meet face to face occasionally to work out problems. I know of librarians who have been asked to participate in the development of Ubuntu far outside their local libraries. This larger sense of community and shared humanity is what uniquely defines Ubuntu.

The Ubuntu project is funded by South Africa’s Shuttleworth Foundation to “[unlock] the creative and intellectual potential in people” (Shuttleworth, 2007). Mark Shuttleworth, founder and project champion, is an entrepreneur who works with teachers to improve the quality and reach of education in South Africa: “we strive to improve the capacity of local groups to use information and computer technologies (ICT)” (Shuttleworth, 2007: 1). Shuttleworth believes that technology is a powerful instrument of learning and democratization.

His Foundation promotes the ideals of “open source, open standards and open information access”. The goal is to develop computer operating systems to help teachers provide access to computer resources in underprivileged areas. Ubuntu helps educators with limited technical knowledge to design computer labs and online environments for learners and aims to centralize the management of computers for collaborative learning in classrooms.

The depth of ‘ubuntu’ resides in African philosophy and the shared beliefs of African culture. The notion of neoliberalism (and the idea that every person is for him or herself) is contrary to Ubuntu. Its complementary worldview is expressed through giving and altruism, and by promoting a shared sense of social responsibility in an era of competition and globalization.