Shortly after the 2011 EDUCAUSE Conference,
Sakai and Jasig announced a community naming process for the new, merged
organization we proposed a year before. We wanted suggestions for Foundation
names that were memorable and reflected the core values of the merged organization
which we previously articulated in the “Value
of a Common Foundation”. In announcing
the outcomes of this naming process today, it is important to emphasize
that the new organization will have a strong focus on existing software
communities and project brands. Names such as Sakai and uPortal won’t
go away, they will remain an essential element of reaching constituents
old and new.
The Founding Board, which was elected
by the Jasig and Sakai Foundation Boards in October (2011)
to take the lead on merger decisions, is excited to announce that the name
of the new organization we are proposing will be the Apereo Foundation
(listen
to pronunciation). The name is
a combination of community suggestions, and represents the fusion of two
Latin words, “aperto”,
which means “open” and “mereo”,
meaning merit. Given the importance of openness and meritocracy, in all
its forms and flavors, to both organizations as well as the larger open-source
movement, the merging of these Latin words to form Apereo resonated with
the Founding Board. Combining the suggestions was also helpful in securing
the domain name.
We will begin to use Apereo as the name of the proposed new organization
in our communication moving forward. However this is not intended to indicate
the merger is complete; nor assumed as, most importantly, a majority vote
by our collective membership is required to gain approval. To this end,
the announcement of the proposed Foundation name is being used to launch
a larger communication initiative. Over the coming four weeks we will release
additional information, the first of which will be posted the week of March
26th, and create opportunities for conversations about the path ahead.
These will include discussion lists, webinars, and other opportunities
for community engagement on issues related to the merger. This will
culminate in a membership vote to approve the merger which will take place
in late-April 2012.
Finally, those who suggested the names we selected have generously donated
the prizes we were offering to participants in our forthcoming June conference.
We’ll come up with some exciting ideas to put them to good use at the
event!
If you have questions or comments on the name please post them to the Jasig-Sakai
Collaboration Google Group (subscribe at: http://groups.google.com/group/jasig-sakai-collaboration)
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Joshua Baron
Senior Academic Technology Officer
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, New York 12601
(845) 575-3623 (work)
Twitter: JoshBaron