Anvar Sadath from Kerala recognized for Outstanding Achievement in ODF Education and Community Development

ODF awards recognize the contribution of individuals or entities who have significantly advanced the cause of document freedom  

Bangalore, March 20, 2009-The ODF (Open Document Format) Alliance today recognized Anvar Sadath, Executive Director of IT@School in Kerala for his contributions to ODF community development and education.

IT@School is a project of the General Education Department of the Government of Kerala which has introduced IT-enabled teaching and learning in over 2600 high schools across the state. The project began in 2002-03 with the introduction of IT in high school and is now being introduced in the higher secondary and upper primary level. The project integrates IT, including ODF, into the schools with a view to enhancing the productivity of teachers, improving students’ learning capabilities, and increasing the management efficiency of school administrators.

The purpose of the ODF Award is to recognize the contribution of individuals or entities in promoting ODF adoption, the mission of the ODF Alliance. The ODF alliance has over 600 members, with 4 companies (Sun Microsystems, IBM, Red Hat and Google) serving as the Executive Committee. Nominations for the ODF Awards were received for individuals and entities who stood out as leaders in advancing ODF in various segments of society including government, education, or community and rural development.

Mr Jaijit Bhattacharya, Country Director- Government Strategy, Sun Microsystems India and Head of the India Chapter of the ODF Alliance said, “The promotion and usage of ODF is growing rapidly, demonstrating the global need for freedom of control and choice in document applications. Many enlightened governments across the globe are making policy decisions to move to ODF. Businesses are responding to the needs of governments and their customers, and implementing ODF in their products. Anvar Sadath has done a commendable job in bringing technology to all students in Kerala. He was among the first to recognize how an open format like ODF means giving students, teachers, and parents alike the flexibility to use a wide range of software than they currently have, including free solutions. Sadath worked towards translating ideas into actions for the benefit of educational development in Kerala.”

“Removing the barriers to adoption is of paramount importance for emerging countries such as ours, and we believe that the way to do that would be through the active propagation of open source and ODF among the student community who will form the next generation of software developers of our country. It is in their best interest not to be restrained by digital boundaries and be limited in their access to technology. We firmly believe that collective knowledge and action is a far more robust and viable way of planning the future of any industry and we encourage more and more individuals and organizations to join in our effort to solve the world's most challenging problems.”

“ODF has become the format of choice in the public sector, a truly open standard that has achieved growing popularity and support in a variety of software products,” said ODF Alliance managing director Marino Marcich. “The actions of Anvar Sadath in India have significantly advanced the cause of document freedom, yet have not received the public recognition they deserve. Today, we honor his achievements.”

Anvar Sadath, Executive Director, IT@School said,” It is indeed an honour for me to receive recognition from the members of ODF alliance who are collectively working towards breaking down the barriers that constrain innovation and growth. Sharing technology and resources with communities worldwide to help eliminate the digital divide, will create economic opportunity and foster equal access to technology. We look forward to extending our initiative across the country so that more and more communities are benefited out of it.”

The purpose of the ODF Award is to recognize the contribution of individuals or entities in promoting ODF adoption, the mission of the ODF Alliance. Nominations were received from individuals and entities who stood out as leaders in advancing ODF in various segments of society including government, education, or community and rural development.

About the ODF Alliance
The Open Document Format Alliance is an organization of governments, academic institutions, non-government organizations and industry dedicated to educating policy makers, IT administrators and the public on the benefits and opportunities of ODF.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.