FSFE is hiring a part-time technical expert
We are looking for a person with a strong technical background to support projects with software engineering and expertise. The person will work part-time, either in our Berlin office or remotely.
Nyhetsarkiv
[ Nyheter ] [ Nyhetsbrev ]
CWA without Google +++ International development cooperation +++ KDE interview
In our December Newsletter, read about the German Corona Warn App being published independently to extend software freedom, learn about public code in international development cooperation, enjoy an interview with Cord-Landwehr from KDE about REUSE adoption, one about the Zurich local group receiving a DINACon award and much more.
Interview with A. Cord-Landwehr about REUSE adoption in the KDE community
In just three years, our REUSE initiative has successfully changed licensing practices of at least over five hundred projects. From its adoption by NGI0 projects to a Corona Warn App to KDE, 2020 marks another successful year of this campaign. We used the chance to speak with Andreas Cord-Landwehr about REUSE adoption in the KDE community.
FSFE Local Group Zurich receives DINAcon Award
In 2019, the FSFE's local group Zurich has launched the "Learn like the pros" campaign. Goal of the campaign is to present solutions for the use of Free Software in education. Recently, the campaign was awarded the DINACon Award. On this behalf we interviewed the coordinators Ralf Hersel and Gian-Maria Daffré.
Public code for publicly financed international development cooperation
International development cooperation is increasingly digitised. Free Software thus is becoming a fundamental technology to reach the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Together with experts in the field, the FSFE summarises these interrelations in an article and demands publicly funded software to be published as Free Software.
German Corona tracing app available without Google services
A handful of Free Software developers today achieved what official bodies have been missing for months: They have made available the German Corona Warn App for tracing Covid-19 risk contacts in a version that is completely free of dependencies on Google and available in F-Droid, the Free Software app store.
SFP#8: How to tell my mother that Free Software can cost money?
In this Software Freedom Podcast episode Bonnie Mehring and Matthias Kirschner talk about the monetary costs of Free Software. On the example of a conversation Bonnie had with her mother, both discover ways of explaining the world of Free Software and how to answer common questions and misunderstandings about software freedom.
Software Freedom 2020 +++ EU Open Source Strategy +++ New staffers
In our Newsletter November, we review our annual report "Software Freedom in Europe" and the new Free Software Strategy by the European Commission. We have new staffers, a new call for FSFE community projects, REUSE is taking off, the local group in Zurich received an award, and so much more has happened to discover.
Call to apply for FSFE support for your local project
It is no secret that the FSFE's activities are only possible with the priceless help of our contributors and supporters around Europe. In return we support local engagement with our expertise, information material, networks or even financially. To help formalize this process, we run our second call for FSFE community projects.
How (not) to set up a public warning system
What is the best way to alert people about catastrophes? Germany went with proprietary apps which caused the recent warning day ("Warntag") to become an official failure. We analysed the situation and found more robust solutions that respect user rights.
Software Freedom in Europe 2020
"Software Freedom in Europe" is the yearly report of the Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. (FSFE). In one document, it gives you a breakdown of important things the FSFE has done and achieved during the last 12 months.
EU Open Source Policy: good analysis, missing concrete next steps
On Wednesday the EU Commission published its new Open Source Strategy. We are pleased that the Commission recognises the benefits of Free Software and the four freedoms to use, study, share and improve, but the Commission lacks concrete targets and indicators to implement the strategy. Without these, we worry that the strategy will end up accomplishing too little!
35 years for the FSF +++ Participation at SFSCon +++ Technical job vacancy
Read in our October newsletter about FSF's thirty-fifth anniversary, our upcoming participation at SFSCon, our technical job vacancy, and our other diverse community activities.
FSFE at SFSCon 2020
The South Tyrol Free Software Conference, SFSCon, is one of Europe’s most established annual conferences on Free Software. In recent years we have been represented with talks, workshops and our information booth. Last year we also organised our Community Event in the context of SFSCon, so that we could meet not only our community but also many interested people and report about our work.
Congratulations to the FSF on its thirty-fifth anniversary
The FSFE's sister organisation, the FSF, celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary this week. Thirty-five years of working for software freedom and inspiring many people and organisations to take a stand for user freedoms deserve big congratulations. Watch and read the congratulatory speech by FSFE President Matthias Kirschner.
FSFE is hiring a working student as an assistant system administrator
We are looking for a working student to support our work to empower people to control technology. The person will work 10 hours per week in the Berlin office (home office possible at a later stage) and will support the FSFE's technical infrastructure by working closely together with our system administrators.
SFP#7 Artificial intelligence as Free Software with Vincent Lequertier
For the seventh episode of our Software Freedom Podcast we talk with Vincent Lequertier about transparency, fairness, and accessibility as crucial criteria for artificial intelligence (AI) and why it is important for our society to release AI software under a Free Software license.
"A place for public code" +++ FSFE support +++ Job vacancy
Read in our September newsletter about a new strong alliance formed by administrations, business and civil society organisations asking for "A place for public code". Also read about our call to apply for FSFE support for your local project, our job vacancy, and about our other diverse community activities.
Collaborative Free Software Platform for Administrations - Group presents concept
The increased use of Free Software is a central component for more digital sovereignty. Together with a strong alliance of administrations, politics, business and civil society, we call for the development of a code repository with Free Software for the public sector.
Call to apply for FSFE support for your local project
It is no secret that the FSFE's activities are only possible with the priceless help of our contributors and supporters around Europe. In return we support local engagement with our expertise, information material, networks or even financially. To help formalize this process, we run our first call for FSFE community projects.
The FSFE is looking for an office assistant
We are looking for an office assistant to support our work to empower people to control technology. The person will work 15-35 hours per week with our team in the Berlin office and will support the FSFE's Berlin office operations.
European Consultation +++ 100 days in Munich +++ Open Science Coordinator
In our August Newsletter, we are evaluating reasons why the European Commission should avoid using the term "intellectual property". We also asked the new government in Munich about their progress regarding Free Software, and we introduce our new Open Science Coordinator, Christian Busse. As usual, you can read about our diverse community activities.
FSFE: EU should reconsider the notion of "intellectual property"
In order to contribute to the European Commission public consultation regarding the update of the "Intellectual Property (IP)" regulatory system, the FSFE has published a first feedback. Based on its world-wide experience with Free Software, the FSFE calls for a more inclusive and decentralized regulatory system that allows sustainable knowledge sharing and intangible wealth.
100 days of 'Public Money? Public Code!' in Munich
100 days ago, the new Green-Red coalition in Munich adopted the principle of 'Public Money? Public Code!' to guide their procurement of software. Now, we take a look at the first activities undertaken for the use of Free Software.
Benigànim signs Open Letter +++ Interview with city of Bühl +++ New Podcast
From hackathons to apps to public administrations: Read about the recent successes in Europe regarding Free Software in our July Newsletter. Also find videos from multiple online events where the FSFE was represented and read about our diverse community activities.
(Y)our recent successes towards software freedom in Europe
The spread of Covid-19 brought dramatic and drastic changes for us and our societies, and this shed light on the global need for global solutions like Free Software. Here is a short summary of the recent successes towards software freedom in Europe we achieved together with your help and despite the crisis.
SFP#6 Copyright enforcement with Miriam Ballhausen
We invited Miriam Ballhausen to talk with us about copyright enforcement. She is a German lawyer who focuses on software, data protection, copyright law and specifically Free Software copyright. This is the sixth regular episode of the Software Freedom Podcast for which we invite experts from our community.
The public sector of Bühl uses Free Software
The town of Bühl, Germany, has started the successful Free Software based video conference platform “Palim! Palim!”. To find out more about the relations between Bühl and Free Software we conducted an interview with Eduard Itrich, the digitisation officer from the town of Bühl.
Denmark keeps source code of Coronavirus tracing app secret
Like many other European countries, Denmark also tries to track Sars-CoV-2 infections with a mobile phone tracing app. However, against advice by health organisations and despite positive examples by other countries, the app is proprietary, so not being released under a Free Software (also called Open Source) license.
Router Freedom in Europe +++ Hamburg pro Free Software +++ European Parliament
In our June Newsletter read among other things about the FSFE's achievements regarding Router Freedom in Europe, about a new coalition agreement in Hamburg that puts a focus on Free Software and about the European Parliament demanding "Public Money? Public Code!". As always, also read about our diverse community activities.
Hamburg wants to focus more on Free Software
In Hamburg, the SPD and the Greens are stating in their coalition agreement to focus more on Free Software during their future term. The FSFE welcomes this step and will critically monitor its implementation.
Etalab shows how Free Software can be made available for the public sector
Etalab maintains two lists of Free Software. One is about the Free Software recommended for the public sector (called SILL) while the other one links to Free Software repositories created by the public sector. To find out more about the two lists we conducted an interview with Bastien Guerry from Etalab.
Router Freedom challenged by new European rules
From 21 June a new set of rules will guide the implementation of Router Freedom in Europe. The internalisation of the rules by the 27 EU member states will face challenges with negative consequences for Router Freedom. The FSFE contributed to several improvements of the guidelines and will monitor compliance with them.
FSFE calls for a more inclusive competition law in Europe
In order to contribute to the EU Commission assessment of the Market Definition Notice, the FSFE has taken part in the public consultation to call for more attention to smaller stakeholders and civil society in topics of EU competition law.
FSFE nudges emergency ventilator project towards a Free Software License
After a nudge by the FSFE, the Dutch OpenAIR initiative has provided licenses on their material to support reuse.
Public Hackathons +++ Munich supports Public Code +++ New Podcasts
Read about our demand to publish the results of publicly financed hackathons as Free Software, about a new coalition-agreement in Munich that aligns with our principles of "Public Money? Public Code!" and what happened inside the FSFE and our community. You will also read about the results of our web-sprint, about our regular podcast and an extraordinary one.
Munich commits to "Public Money? Public Code!"
The new coalition agreement in Munich commits to the principle of "Public Money? Public Code!". The FSFE welcomes this decision by the new government and will closely monitor the progress of the implementation.
NGI Pointer Begins Funding Calls for Projects Designed to Improve the Internet
NGI Pointer is an initiative from the European Commission designed to provide funding and expertise to Free Software projects that can improve the internet as a platform. The FSFE has joined its Advisory Board to provide assistance to these participating projects. The first call for applications to join NGI Pointer is now open until 1 June 2020.
Netherlands commits to Free Software by default
In an open letter to the Parliament, the Dutch minister for internal affairs Raymond Knops commits to a "Free Software by default" policy and underlines its benefits for society. Current market regulations shall be reworded to allow publishing Free Software by the government.
SFP Special about GNU Health with Dr. Luis Falcón and Dr. Axel Braun
For our Software Freedom Podcast we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In this special episode, we talk with Dr. Luis Falcón and Dr. Axel Braun about the Free health and hospital information system GNU Health.
Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak
This year's FSFE's Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop has been cancelled. The FSFE thanks our contributors and looks ahead to organizing the event next year.
Consider donating your conference budget
The biggest financial impact the FSFE faces in these times of physical distancing is the cancellation of Free Software conferences, including our own events. To keep the software freedom movement solid and alive, please consider to donate a part of your conference budget to Free Software organisations, including the FSFE.
SFP#5 about regulation with Professor Lawrence Lessig
For our Software Freedom Podcast we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In this episode, we talk with Professor Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons, about regulation of society, offline as well as online, about the different means of regulation, and shed light on regulations through code.
COVID-19 Hackathons: Only Free Software creates global solutions
Currently we see a lot of hackathons to find tools that help tackle the crisis of pandemic COVID-19. More and more governments and administrations are hosting or funding such hackathons. To make sure that the results of these hackathons can be used globally and adapted locally - that the software can be used, studied, shared and improved everywhere - the FSFE asks to publish the outcomes under a Free Software licence.
COVID-19 +++ Global cooperation +++ Remote working
With the spreading of COVID-19 we are facing a global pandemic that requires a lot of coordinated efforts and asks for new global solutions. Our extraordinary newsletter concentrates on software freedom for global solutions, on Free Software solutions for remote connections and on how the FSFE handles the whole situation. As usual, we highlight our community activities and give tips on what you can do to edutain yourself while staying home. Enjoy the read, stay healthy, and protect freedom.
FSFE Supporters write about Free Software for remote work
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 virus outbreak many employees - voluntarily or mandatory - are working remotely now. Many organisations who have not been used to remote work so far now face a number of difficulties adapting to the situation. To avoid potential lock-ins, some FSFE supporters collectively wrote about the good reasons to use Free Software for remote work and collected a detailed list of practical solutions in our wiki.
Any Corona tracking app must be used voluntarily and be Free Software
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) demands that the use of tracking technologies that aim at breaking the chains of disease infection may only be promoted on a voluntary basis, fundamental rights must be respected and the software must be published under a Free Software licence.
Freeware, Free Software and the Corona Virus Crisis – Choose your tools wisely!
Cheering on doctors and nurses, sewing face-masks, donating gloves and disinfectant gel, building respirators, running errands for elderly neighbours. Everybody wants to contribute to alleviate the dramatic situations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
FSFE in times of Corona: How a virus affects us
Among all the serious diseases and deaths it causes, the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its accompanying COVID-19 disease also keep the FSFE and the whole Free Software community in suspense. For our community and other charitable organisations we would share our experiences and lessons learnt from the Corona crisis.
[Updated] The FSFE is looking for an executive assistant
We are looking for an executive assistant to support our work to empower people to control technology. The person will work 25-35 hours per week with our team in the Berlin office and will be in charge of the FSFE's Berlin office operations. Due to the current situation and the difficulty to onboard the the new person, the application period is enlarged as written below.
Expert Brochure to Modernise Public Digital Infrastructure with Public Code - Translated Versions Online
What is Free Software? How does it contribute to digital sovereignty, security and transparency of state digital infrastructure? Which steps can public administrations take? These and more questions are answered in our publication "Public Money Public Code – Modernising Public Infrastructure with Free Software". After the successful release of the English version of our brochure we translated it into three more languages: German, Czech and Brazilian Portuguese.
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt - the Barriers to Router Freedom in Germany
Consider this hypothetical scenario: you moved to a new apartment. Apart from all the stress of packing, transporting, and unpacking all your stuff at your new home, you also had to deal with getting utilities connected. The electric company turned out to be difficult to deal with: they said you had to change your TV set, toaster, refrigerator and most of your lamps.
Security scandal around WhatsApp shows the need for decentralised messengers and digital sovereignty
The recent security scandal around WhatsApp and access to the content of private groups shows that there is an urgent need for action with regard to secure communication.
(pre-)FOSDEM +++ ILoveFS +++ Community
From our own pre-FOSDEM event, to the exciting FOSDEM weekend, to I love Free Software day, February was full of exciting news for the FSFE. We used these occasions to present our work, as well as to offer communities around Europe the opportunity to present their own. Read about our booths and presentations, about love and upcoming events in our February Newsletter.
I Love Free Software - and you?
While you are reading this, someone somewhere is improving the code of a Free Software you use for yourself. Free Software has long been part of the daily use of billion of users, still the people behind the respective projects often remain invisible. Together we want to change that. On 14 February is the "I love Free Software Day", a day to show your love and celebrate your favourite Free Software and its contributors. Join us!
FSFE is hiring: interns and trainees for legal, policy and technical areas
We are looking for interns and trainees experienced in legal, policy or technical fields. The persons will work 35 hours per week with our team in the FSFE's Berlin office. There will be coordination with remote staff and volunteers, and depending on the work area opportunity to participate in events and meetings throughout Europe.
Report from the 36c3, about:freedom - about:fsfe
At the end of December, FSFE was in Leipzig at the 36th Chaos Communication Congress. As in previous years, we were present at the congress with lots of information material, talks and workshops. FSFE was one of the main organisers of the cluster about:freedom, an association of 12 civil society organisations and groups. Together with the other organisations, we focused on digital rights and network policy issues.
Cory Doctorow +++ (pre-) FOSDEM +++ 36C3
2020 is not just a new year, it is the dawn of a new decade. With more and more automated systems run by software, a political representation of freedom is more needed than ever. Read in our January Newsletter about why Cory Doctorow supports the FSFE financially and why you should do so too. Read about our upcoming FOSDEM activities including our pre-FOSDEM meeting and reflections on our presence at the Chaos Communication Congress. Also we have a new Software Freedom Podcast with Harald Welte and reports from our community.
SFP#4 about REUSE with Carmen Bianca Bakker
In the monthly Software Freedom Podcast we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In this episode, we talk with Carmen Bianca Bakker about the REUSE project. By this we are covering the very broad topic of software licensing and the problems there, which REUSE is able to solve with three simple steps.
SFP#3 about Free Software in the mobile phone communication with Harald Welte
Once a month, we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In this third episode, our guest is Harald Welte, Free Software programmer and activist. Harald discusses with us his current projects regarding mobile phone communication and the general status of Free Software in this area.
SFP#2 about KDE with Lydia Pintscher
We are back with the second episode of our Software Freedom Podcast! Once a month, we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In this episode, we talk with Lydia Pintscher from KDE about the development of the KDE community, the different KDE projects and the issues they will be tackling over the next two years.
SFP#1 on Day Against DRM with Cory Doctorow
We have a Podcast! Starting with this episode, we will talk once a month with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In our first episode of our Software Freedom Podcast, we address the issue of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) together with Cory Doctorow, a British-Canadian writer, political activist, and co-editor of the blog boingboing.net. Cory Doctorow is a prominent supporter of software freedom and a less restrictive copyright law. His books are published under Creative Commons licenses.