Within the past several years a number of virtual open source initiatives have been organized to address global issues such as a flu pandemic¹. The Global Open Source Initiative hereinafter known as the Initiative takes this several steps further by bringing together researchers at a central location that encourages extensive multi-disciplinary work and living collaboration on a long-term basis². It is a goal of the Initiative to create an environment that not only produces important solutions to pressing global problems, but also affects the participants' work and life styles so that the impact is felt years after their involvement with the initiative.

The Initiative would be underwritten, staffed, and directed by an assemblage of leading globally-oriented universities, governments, and corporations with a demonstrated commitment to open source development and research. This group hereby will be known as the Researchers.

The Researchers would focus their efforts on providing answers to the foremost global challenges such as Global Warming; Urban Population Growth and Accommodation; and Biosphere Maintenance/Preservation. Their work would be guided by an Open Source Consortium which would provide a consistent framework to the Initiative. The Researchers would reside within an arcology (a large collaborative living and working environment) ³. They would work with a large number of unique facilities currently located in Arizona such as Arcosanti, BioSphere2, and the Arizona University Complexes hereinafter known as the Facilities. It is the presence of the Facilities and their proximity to each other that makes the state of Arizona the ideal location for the Global Open Source Initiative.

The anticipated result of the Researchers work would be the development of new technologies, processes, systems and disciplines which can themselves be improved upon through further global open source development and research. These solutions would be made available to any party at no or at most a nominal administrative charge⁴.

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1Pandemic health Open Source Initiative , http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1963157,00.asp .

2A minimum of a years rotation through the program would be desirable.

3Arcology is a term coined by Italian architect Paolo Soleri in 1959 to describe the concept of Architecture and Ecology working as an integral system. Arcology designs are fully 3-dimensional mega-structure cities which can (theoretically) achieve much greater efficiencies, and promote more social interaction than 2-dimensional cities, while using far less land and consuming fewer resources. See also the FAQ of Arcosanti [Definition by Nathan Koren]. http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Words/a.html .