The Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON) is produced and hosted by Oregon State University’s Open Source Lab (OSL) as part of its mission to educate and build community. In 2005 a Public Sector program was established within OSL to educate and share information amongst governmental organizations and other public sector institutions. While many highly technical events exist for developers, system administrators and other technical staff, no adequate source of information or event existed which was designed for information technology management and the staff they rely on to evaluate, plan and resource, and oversee implementation of enterprise-class technology solutions. The non-profit GOSCON was established in October of 2005 as a platform for education, information, and collaboration.

Now in its sixth year, GOSCON is helping fuel the adoption of open source technology in the public sector by attracting IT leaders worldwide to its annual event. Ongoing conference content includes lessons learned in the development and integration of open source solutions into agency environments, exposure to projects and existing software applications and services, and opportunities to establish and foster relationships for collaboration around shared interests. Industry luminaries and pioneers gather, present and network from public and private sectors in a non-commercial setting.

In 2008, GOSCON expanded its program to include the international community and conducted the First Annual Open Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Summit. The Summit focused on national, regional and local government initiatives, projects, and policies and hosted participants in Portland and via videoconferencing from five continents. The “Global Dialogue on the Impact of Open Source Software in Transforming Government” segment was produced in collaboration with the World Bank Group Global ICT. Representation included Brazil, Senegal, Russia, Belgium, Sri Lanka, and Washington D.C. with representation at the Portland, Oregon site from Ireland, Japan, and the US. Participation included organizations such as OpenForum Europe and Japan’s OSS Open Lab.

Unfortunately there was no GOSCON in 2012 however plans are underway to revive GOSCON again and hopefully have a program later in 2013.

If you are interested in becoming involved in the conference or would like more information on please contact info-at-goscon.org