Consumer Education Society is planning to conduct Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) workshops across Andhra Pradesh. A series of workshops on Free and Open Source software specifically tailored for non profits and civil society groups will be organized. It enables more freedom and flexibility in choosing software for everyday use without expensive overheads and license fees and without worrying about piracy. The Representatives from Nonprofit organizations, civil groups, Youth and Women organizations can participate in these workshops.
The workshop covers the following broad domains:
* Free and Open Source Software
* Introduction to Linux based distribution Ubuntu. (A free alternative to MS Windows)
* Open Office (equivalent of MS office)
* Internet Tools (firefox, pidgin, thunderbird) (a brower, IM client and email client)
* Desktop publishing (GIMP- photo editor, scribus-publishing, inkscape-drawing), Web publishing (CMS, blogs).

These will be fine tuned for each workshop based on participant profile and expectations.
The first such workshop will be conducted from 16th December to 18th December 2009 at GUNTUR. There is no participation fee. Working lunch will be provided by the organizers. No TA/DA will be paid. The participants have to make their own arrangements for their accommodation. Interested organizations may register their details by visiting the website www.vikasadhatri.org