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Esteli Declaration

Software Libre Centroamérica
Definitions

Free Software: Computer program whose license guarantees the user access to the source code of the program which authorizes the execution for whatever purpose, modifying and redistributing both the original and its amendments, without having to pay additional royalties to previous developers.
Open Standards: Technical Specifications published and controlled by a specific organization that will be responsible for its development, which has been accepted by the industry being available to any other user to be implemented in a free software or other, promoting competitiveness, inter-operability or flexibility.

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Preamble:

We, the members of the Central American community of people user, developers and free software activists have gathered in the city of Estelí, Nicaragua, with the following objectives: to gather organizational experiences on behalf of the communities, share technical experience, create social ties and unify ideas in the region and set common objectives for the advancement of Free Software in Central America.

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Taking into consideration that all government countries have signed and ratified the Government Electronic1IberoAmerican Charter, we stress on the importance to remind the claims on said Charter in the recommending terms, "The use of Open Standards and Free Software based on security, long-term sustainability and to prevent the public knowledge not being privatized."

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Considering also that the use of Free Software and Open Standards:
1. Contributes to strengthen the national software industry.
2. Effectively contributes to the reduction of the social and technological breach.
3. Enables inter-operability of information systems of the State in providing quick and timely responses to the citizens, improving governance and the autonomy.
4. To allow improvements in the security levels of the systems.
5. It is an instrument to achieve the sovereignty and technological autonomy with a better investment of public resources.

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'We agreed to urge governments, educational institutions, research centers, civil society and all other related entities in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama to:'
1. Establish as a state policy, the use of Open Standards and Free Software in the Public Administration.
2. To promote research and the development of software from a licensing angle, constructing free access developed using open standards, with special incentives for these purposes.
3. To promote the widespread use of Free Software and Open Standards in society, training and teaching the users.
4. To establish policies to include free software developed using open standards in basic education programs and diversified through the inclusive educational principles, technological, creativity and solidarity.
5. To establish within the plans and development programs and implementation of Free Software and Open Standards, mechanisms that respect the identity, diversity of contexts, cultures, ethnicities and genders.
6. Ensure the appropriate development of operating systems and applications for specific populations according to their ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic background.
7. Which social inequalities in access to education and technology can play patterns and models that Free Software can be a tool that provides for participation, autonomy and empowerment of women in society.
8. Do not allow the patenting of software algorithms and therefore violates the technological development of our countries and opportunities for our people to become active participants in knowledge construction.
9. That the public should share information on patent applications and amendments to the laws of copyright, so that these data are accessible free of charge and available through digital media, using open standards.
10. The information and studies in universities and public institutions must be available for use, learning and improvement by being in the public interest.
11. Which university curricula must be incorporated into their subjects, free of licensing schemes.
12. That universities should include within the careers related to the development of systems, basic knowledge about the general concepts of copyright and licensing schemes.

Issued in the city of Estelí, Nicaragua, on the twentieth day of June of two thousand nine.

Translation: Estrellita Chan (Belize).