• What is Ma3bar and which target groups does it serve?

Ma3bar (معبر) is the Arab Support Center for Free and Open Source Software (المركز العربي لدعم البرمجيات الحرة والمفتوحة المصدر) initiated by UNESCO and UNDP-ICTDAR and hosted by The University of Balamand.  The center’s main goals are to develop FOSS awareness and to encourage FOSS use and development in the Arab Region.  The target groups for the Center are Universities, Research Centers and Governmental Institutions all over the Arab Region, as well as Arab FOSS communities and interested agencies.

• What are the major activity groups of Ma3bar?

The major activity of Ma3bar is to increase awareness about FOSS and to train stakeholders in the Arab region on the use and the development of FOSS. As a partner in Ma3bar, you are capable of joining one of the following groups:

1. Group for training: Training is vital for the spreading of the FOSS culture in the Arab world.  Providing FOSS training is also a cornerstone for development in the region.  Ma3bar relies on this group in order to prepare and deliver training sessions.

2. Group for awareness raising: Raising awareness on the potential and viability of open source solutions and applications as solid alternatives to proprietary software is a fundamental activity of Ma3bar.

3. Group for developing new FOSS applications: One of the main objectives of Ma3bar is the stimulation of related R&D activities in the Arab Region – specifically the creation of open-source based applications which respond better to the social and economic developmental needs of the Region.

• Why to join Ma3bar?

Becoming a Ma3bar partner gives you the opportunity to contribute to the accomplishment of the goals of the center:

• to ensure that more Arab communities have affordable access to information technologies
• to raise awareness on the potential and viability of open source solutions and applications as solid alternatives to proprietary software
• to adapt university, college, and/or primary-secondary school curricula to make use of FOSS
• to encourage the development of FOSS applications and content that relates to the needs of the Arab communities
• to organize and coordinate training programs, courses, or sessions on FOSS
• to setup “calls for proposals” for the development of FOSS-related projects, and seek funds to support the realization of these projects.

• How can I/my institution become a partner in Ma3bar and how much does it cost?

• What is FOSS?

FOSS stands for Free and Open Source Software and it refers to software that is freely available for use, distribution and even for modification because its source code is freely accessible and editable.

• Why is FOSS important to the Arab Region?

The benefits of FOSS regarding the Arab Region are numerous both on the economical and developmental levels.  As a matter of fact, FOSS provides easier access to information by allowing poorer societies to benefit from such “affordable” technologies. It has a significant lower cost of ownership than proprietary software, and helps promote local and regional software development that better suits the Arab market needs. Actually it helps the Arab societies contribute to the software industry rather than being merely a consumer of such technologies especially since Arabic and localized software development is still very limited and it assists local capacity building and encourages business startups and the creation of new jobs.

• Why is FOSS specifically important for educational institutions?

FOSS use is extremely beneficial when it comes to educational institutions.  Besides the fact that FOSS is less costly and more economical, the availability of the source code provides vast opportunities for teaching, learning, experimentation and innovation.  Students and instructors will have a wide range of software to exploit and profit from.

• Is FOSS secure?

The main concern for any software user is the security offered by the software used.  In the matter of fact, the major charge taken against FOSS is that the availability of the source code allows attackers to search for any vulnerability or weakness in order to exploit it.  It is here significant to mention that such weaknesses may as well be discovered by anyone who wishes to fix them even before attackers will have the chance to notice them. It is definitely important to mention that close software – which source codes are unavailable for public – are hacked almost all the time, therefore, security is not exclusively related to the concept of open vs. closed source, it actually depends on the software itself and how vulnerable it is.