PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Open Computing in Government Conference to Address Bellwether NSW Linux Contract

AUUG announces that Dr Elizabeth Gordon-Werner from the NSW Department of Commerce will address the second annual Australian conference on Open Computing in Government to be held mid April.

SYDNEY, Australia -- 6 April, 2005 -- AUUG, the organisation for UNIX, Linux and Open Source professionals, today updated key speaker information for the second annual Australian Open Computing in Government conference. Manager Strategic Projects, Dr Elizabeth Gordon-Werner from the Government Chief Information Office (GCIO), NSW Department of Commerce will present the paper "Changing the mindset: the NSW Open Source Linux contract".

Dr Gordon-Werner will be illuminating the NSW Department of Commerce perspective on Open Source. In particular the need to "think differently" during the procurement process. She will be using the recently finalised "NSW Open Source (Linux) Panel Contract" as an example of this process in action. Dr Gordon-Werner will also reference real world applications of Open Source within the NSW public sector.

Titled "Future-proofing Government Computing: Open Data, Formats and Standards", the conference will focus on best practices, raise awareness and share experiences amongst Policy Makers and IT officials. Participants will come from Government and the public sector, the academic sector, and local, national and international organisations. The conference will be held at the Manning Clark Centre at The Australian National University, Canberra on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 April 2005.

Open Computing in Government is a unique opportunity to listen to, meet, and learn from the trendsetters and decision makers that are behind the rising tide of Open Source and Open Systems software within the public sector.

Keynote presenters include:

• Senator the Hon Eric Abetz, Special Minister of State
• Senator Stephen Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Federal Labor Party in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Communications & Information Technology
• John Grant, Acting Australian Government Chief Information Officer, Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)
• Patrick Callioni, Division Manager - Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)
• Dr Elizabeth Gordon-Werner, Manager Strategic Projects, Government Chief Information Office (GCIO), NSW Department of Commerce
• Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Thawte and the Ubuntu Linux distribution, and the first African in Space

Additional speakers include:

• Kevin Russell, WA Department of Industry and Resources (DoIR) (OpenSource.wa.gov.au)
• Stephen McInerney, HealthInsite and the Federal Dept of Health
• Pia Smith, Linux Australia and Volante
• Paul Kangro, Novell
• Avi Miller, Squiz.net
• Brendan Scott, Open Source Law
• Ian Oi, Blake Dawson Waldron
• Tom Knapp, CSC
• Greg Stone, National Technology Officer for Microsoft Australia

A full speaker list, programme and abstracts for most papers is available online at http://classic.auug.org.au/events/2005/ocg/

Those wishing to attend need to register online at http://classic.auug.org.au/events/2005/ocg/registration.html

Key Partners in the Event

Principal sponsor: Volante http://www.volante.com.au/. Volante is one of the largest IT infrastructure services companies in Australia. Volante employs close to 900 staff and has revenues of approximately $400 million per annum. Volante is a 100% Australian-owned publicly listed company with the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: VGL). The Volante business offers a range of services. Preferring a consultative approach to working with customers to design and implement IT solutions, ensuring their business grows and productivity increases.

Cocktail Reception Sponsor: Blake Dawson Waldron http://www.bdw.com.au/

"Open Computing in Government (OCG) 2005 - Future-proofing Government Computing: Open Data, Formats and Standards" will be held at Manning Clark Centre at The Australian National University, Canberra April 18th and 19th 2005. More details are available at http://classic.auug.org.au/events/2005/ocg/

The conference will take place at the same venue and with the cooperation of Linux.conf.au, a major technical conference for open source developers, held in the same precinct on subsequent days, April 18-23. Linux.conf.au is for Linux, BSD and other related tools of the open source trade. Registrants for linux.conf.au receive discounted entry to "Open Computing in Government (OCG) 2005".

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About AUUG Incorporated

AUUG Inc. is the Organisation for Unix, Linux and Open Source professionals. Dating from 1975, AUUG is a national body with chapters that organise local activities in most capital cities. AUUG's role is building a community by connecting, supporting and promoting people with an interest in interoperable computing - which we see as a key to achieving fitness for purpose and value for money in Information and Communication Technology. Our members are professionals who care about:

• Unix operating systems from proprietary vendors
• Linux, BSD and other Open Source operating systems
• Open standards, specifically those which enable the free and unrestricted interchange of information
• Open Source applications, regardless of the platform they run on
• Other cool technical stuff

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Press Contact
Gordon Hubbard
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<Gordon.Hubbard@auug.org.au>
Tel: 02 9659 9590

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