It is with this in mind that South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth established the Shuttleworth Foundation in October 2000 with the specific aim to improve the quality of education in South Africa. Mark is a firm believer that education is the key to unlocking the creative and intellectual potential of the South African youth, allowing them to live the dream that anything is possible.

To further the uptake of technology in South Africa, the Shuttleworth Foundation propagates the use of open source software. Open source software provides users with freedom not obtainable from proprietary software – this includes the freedom to obtain, to modify and to distribute the software. Therefore, the Shuttleworth Foundation believes that the use of open source software will provide effective and economical access to information and communication technology. The Foundation thus aims to facilitate, support and fund initiatives on a corporate, private and government level that lead to the awareness, uptake and growth of open source in South Africa.

The success of any great open source project can be directly attributed to the formation of a supportive community around that particular project. While the contribution of each individual member may be small, they have an extroadinary impact when combined, with entire community and more benefitting from that collaborative effort. For this reason the Shuttleworth Foundation established the Open Source Community Portal. We'd like to unite the South African open source community and provide a resource for showcasing the numerous South African open source projects and activites, as well as providing a starting point for those interested in exploring the world of open source.

Enjoy the website, if you feel you can contribute in any way or have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us.