Apache Asia Road-Show '09

The Apache Software Foundation together with Sri Lankan FOSS community has organized the Apache Asia Road-Show, a developer-oriented conference that will feature speakers from around the world as well as developers from the Sri Lankan community. The aim of this Road-Show is to develop and improve Sri Lankan contributors to Apache.

If you have used the Internet - and many, if not most, of us have - you have come into contact with Apache. The server software that powers well over 60 percent of all websites on the Internet, Apache comes into contact with millions - even billions - of visitors a day. It is an example of how Free Software can create a product that is better, more robust, and more flexible than the proprietary competitors.

A well known fact in the IT field is that Sri Lanka is one of the major contributors to the Apache Project. Applications created by Sri Lankan programmers have increased the Apache server's functionality by leaps and bounds. Websites such as Facebook and Google are based on technology developed in Sri Lanka.

The event will have feature speeches by members of the Sri Lankan Apache community as well as speeches and presentations by President Justin Erenkrantz of the Apache Foundation, and one of the Foundation's Directors Greg Stein. The keynote speech will be by Prof. Mohan Munasinghe - the Nobel Prize winner from Sri Lanka.

The conference is scheduled to be held from December 3-4. There will be speeches on all aspects of the Apache server as well as services that run on top of it. There will be a panel discussion also on Friday evening. Saturday will be a special invitation-only gathering and "un-conference" allowing speakers and audience to meet, and exchange ideas in an informal environment.