Open Digital Infrastructure

Open Digital Infrastructure represents the set of open-source code, standards and knowledge assets that digital building blocks like software libraries, compilers, communication or network protocols are composed of.

They are created by individuals, volunteer communities, in research institutions and SMEs or other corporate environments. Together, they form a foundation of free and public code that is designed to solve common challenges – firstly, in programming, but when applied, also to provide a multitude of core functions for society.

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Mapping African Digital Infrastructures

Research Question
How do African developers engage in open source infrastructure, and what factors influence their participation?
Why is this important to answer?

African digital infrastructures: Evaluating the landscape,” will create a better understanding of African participation in open source development – an area in which there is relatively little existing research – and how African leadership and participation in open source projects could be enhanced. The interdisciplinary team will investigate the extent of African contributions to open source digital infrastructures, identify and understand catalysts of as well as barriers to the uptake and production of open source in Africa, document lessons from successful African-led open source projects, and reveal how digital infrastructures are different in the African context.