AUUG updates key speaker information and announces that Special Minister of State, Senator the Hon Eric Abetz, will launch the Australian Government's "Open Source Guide" at the second annual Australian conference on Open Computing in Government to be held next month.

SYDNEY, Australia -- 31 March, 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. The Special Minister of State, Senator Abetz, will launch the much anticipated "Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies". In addition John Grant, Acting Australian Government Chief Information Officer, Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) within the Department of Finance and Administration will be presenting the opening address.

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 organizations. The conference will be held at the Manning Clark Centre at The Australian National University, Canberra on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 April 2005.

Senator the Hon Eric Abetz, will launch the much anticipated "Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies". The Guide will provide practical information and approaches for Government agencies to consider when assessing open source solutions.

The Guide will be published by the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) within the Department of Finance and Administration.

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)
• Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Thawte and Ubuntu, and the first African in Space

As many Government agencies are considering the wider application of Open Source and Open Systems software within their ICT systems the conference will be a key resource and meeting place for users, developers and vendors wanting to learn more.

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
  
• 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://www.auug.org.au/events/2005/ocg/

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

Note that Patrick Callioni is substituting for the previously announced AGIMO speaker Mr Tony Judge.

"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://www.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

Visit http://www.auug.org.au/
Previous AUUG press releases can be viewed at http://www.auug.org.au/publications/press/

AUUG Inc.
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Australia
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E-mail: auug@auug.org.au
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Press Contact
Gordon Hubbard
Treasurer, AUUG Inc.
<Gordon.Hubbard@auug.org.au>
Tel: 02 9659 9590

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