LoCo teams for OLPC?

[Bryan Berry]

Helping organize the grassroots OLPC effort here in Nepal has made me think
alot other community projects, in particular Ubuntu.  Ubuntu has a fantastic
world-wide community that is really productive.

Right now there is a core of OLPC developers, both paid and volunteer.
There are also active participants all over the developing world.  Although
OLPC is working with national governments, it will need to link together
developers and educators who are working on common problems.  For example, I
don't have a clear idea on the activities that Brazil and Argentina are
working on.  There probably is a wiki entry somewhere that explains their
progress, I just haven't been able to hunt it down.  Perhaps those wiki
entries are in Spanish and Portuguese, the former which I understand poorly
and the latter which I understand not at all.  Conversely, someone from
those nations can't read the Nepali-language entries on our wiki.

The OLPC Foundation should take the lead on developing the nascent
world-wide OLPC community since they are in charge of grass roots
organizing.  In fact, they may already have and I am just rehashing
something they've already worked out.

Perhaps OLPC could follow many aspects of the Ubuntu community, esp. the
LoCo Team model

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoFAQ
http://www.jonobacon.org/?cat=13&paged=4

Some possible specifications for OLPC LoCo Teams:

   - Community Translations for web pages -- so teams can more easily
   share information and read each other's wiki pages
   - An Approval Process for teams
   https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoGettingApproved
   - Roadmaps -- Team goals besides achieving one laptop per child,
   translations, localizations, developing particular types of activities
   - An International Community Council -- portion nominated from LoCo
   teams, others from OLPC Foundation and others


Other Ideas:
LoCo Teams could present at national and Regional FOSS conferences like
FOSS.in (India)

May I even suggest a name for community members, OLP-Saathi  :) (saathi --
sah-tee -- Nepali for friend)

Bryan
Volunteer
OLPC Nepal
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