A living, breathing, cc-ing Open Café in Potchefstroom!
OpenCafe is a non-profit Internet café in Potchefstroom. The goal of OpenCafe is to develop an holistic approach to open source. Not only do OpenCafé staff develop and support open source software applications to sustain their venture, they also train teachers, students, artists in the community to use freely available, high quality content like Wikipedia and the Internet Archive. Says Anna Dani, who founded the OpenCafe with Eugene Coetzee, ‘We have launched the OpenCafe project to introduce people to the open source concept as a whole. We don’t focus solely on software - our aim is to create a successful model of a truly open (source) community that encourages people to share information and skills in various ways.’
OpenCafe is a great supporter of Creative Commons South Africa. Part of their extensive training program involves teaching visitors how to publish their work online and under the appropriate licence. Their online “commons” page welcomes users with a friendly invite to the Café:
‘This is the online version of the “commons” - come & visit our cafe - and see for yourself in real life how our commons look - come & spend an afternoon with us - make yourself coffee/tea, read magazines, watch multimedia resources, or just sit on the stoep and watch everyone else using the open source resources we already have here!’
OpenCafe’s ArtMarketOnline project provides a platform for local artists and creators to showcase their work on a free, personalized webpage. There is also some great information about licencing for the artists, as well as a calendar of art events in the Potchefstroom area, and a free classifieds page.
The OpenCafe exudes an amazing sense of community in their business model and in their communications - so take Anna’s advice and go and see for yourself!