Know someone in your community—an individual, government official, NGO or other entity—who has significantly advanced the cause of document freedom, yet whose actions have not received the public recognition they deserve? Thanks to the efforts of its supporters worldwide, ODF has become the format of the future, a truly open standard that has achieved growing popularity and support in a variety of software products, bringing to an end the era of closed formats that have kept users tied to a single vendor’s products.

The purpose of the award is to recognize the contribution of individuals or entities in promoting ODF adoption, the mission of the ODF Alliance. Here’s how you can help! Nominate an individual or entity you work with closely or someone you have observed who stands out as a leader in the ODF community. This may be an individual who has successfully mobilized grassroots activity in support of ODF? A government official who in the face of resistance to change has broken down the barriers to public access to information, improved eGov services, and saved taxpayer money in the process? An NGO that raised awareness about document freedom by hosting speakers, events, and spread the word about the importance of open documents. The award is not restricted to ODF advancement in government, and can include other categories, for example, ODF advancement in education, community or rural development. In your nomination, please be sure to include:

-name of person/entity
-email address
-brief description of this person or entity’s actions, and importantly
-the reasons why you are nominating the person/entity.

Nominations are to be sent to mmarcich at odfalliance dot org no later than October 8, 2008. The ODF Alliance and its affiliated national chapters are not eligible for nomination. Winners will be announced at upcoming national or local ODF events.

Fourteen national and eight provincial governments have now adopted policies requiring the use of ODF. Policies are one thing—what about implementation and use? Brazil offers a novel approach, the so-called Brasilia Protocol, an English translation of which is now available on Aslam Raffee’s FOSS blog. In practical terms, the Brasilia Protocol represents the Brazilian government’s transition from ODF policy adoption (ODF was identified as its recommended exchange format under its interoperability framework, or ePING, back in Nov 2006) to implementation.  Within 60 days of voluntarily signing the protocol, the entities, a “who’s who” in the Brazilian government, pledge to have in place the necessary plans to receive, edit, and exchange office documents internally in ODF, make documents available to third parties (e.g., customers, public etc..) in ODF, and exchange documents in ODF with the other entities signing the protocol.

This is no small ODF migration, as the Brazilian entities involved have a combined 500,000 desktops. An interesting model for the many other governments and public-sector entities around the world to consider as they transition from ODF policy adoption to implementation.