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Newsletter

Ada movie premiere +++ EC consultation +++ Apple litigation

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The story of Ada & Zangemann is now available as an animated movie! We’d also like to thank everyone who contributed feedback to the EC consultation, urging European policymakers to establish long-term sustainable funding for Free Software Additionally, we’ve submitted our arguments in the ongoing Apple litigation. And great news, our hoodies are back!

Collage showing an illustration of Ada & Zangemann book, the one of the village protesting; an image of the European Commission building; and an illustration of an apple with a worm inside

Table of contents

Quote of the Month

“ I already loved the book, I loved the wonderful story and the even more wonderful little people in the story. I was just so inspired by it myself, not to mention my kids really, really loved the book and and now it has become a film!"

Franziska Heine during the English world premiere of the animated movie 'Ada & Zangemann'.

Ada & Zangemann movie: celebrating Ada Lovelace Day with our community

The FSFE celebrated Ada Lovelace Day on October 8 with a special event for its supporters: the global English premiere of the animated movie 'Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream'. Vint Cerf, often referred to as one of the "fathers of the Internet", and Franziska Heine, Executive Director of Wikimedia Germany, gave special speeches during the event.

The movie is now published on the FSFE's website and made available to the public under the Creative Commons By Share-Alike Licence, as an Open Education Resource. During the next months the FSFE will release other language version of the movie on ada.fsfe.org/movie.

Share the movie and all the Ada & Zangemann resources with your community!

The FSFE demanded the EU Commission sustainable long-term Free Software funding

Recently, the European Commission announced a €27 million cut in the funding allocated to the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, which has supported Free Software projects with funding and technical assistance since 2018. Despite its proven success, the European Commission decided to cut this funding in the current draft of the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme, highlighting the larger issue of the lack of long-term, sustainable public funding for Free Software projects. Since July, we have been active on this issue, we tried to get in touch with the European Commission, reached out to our community and spread the news around Europe.

Recently, the FSFE participated in a public consultation organized by the European Commission to provide feedback on the EU's Digital Europe funding programme, emphasizing that cutting funding for Free Software risks steering Europe away from policies that ensure people’s control over their own technology. At the same time, we asked the community to do the same and to take part in the consultation.

Our call was heard: the consultation received 789 responses, 70% of which came from individual citizens. Together, we made it clear that long-term, dedicated funding for Free Software is essential to ensuring Europe’s control over its technological future. We thank everyone who took part in amplifying the Free Software community’s voice. Once public, we will analyse the results and will follow up with the Commission and other EU bodies with those results; to make sure your voice remains heard.

This consultation was not a stand-alone event—it is a key step in our ongoing effort to ensure that Free Software receives long-term, sustainable funding. We remain committed to influencing policy decisions and advocating for Free Software, and we will keep you informed as we continue this important work. The EU’s digital strategy can only reach its full potential if it systematically focuses on Free Software. We will continue our efforts to make sure software freedom is consistently supported across Europe with the needed sustainable long-term fund.

Apple vs Commission: The FSFE submits its arguments

In August this year, the FSFE was admitted in the litigation brought by Apple against the European Commission in relation to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple is trying to avoid obligations related to its App Store and the interoperability of its operating system and devices.

On 12th September the FSFE submitted its arguments, arguing how interoperability is key for our digital societies. Apple must abide DMA obligations not only for fairer competition on digital markets but also for open internet, software freedom and better device and software security. More information will be publish soon on our website.

Software Freedom in Europe 2024

In September we published our annual report, Software Freedom in Europe. This report highlights our achievements, showcasing our success stories, milestones and activities over the past twelve months.

Get active: European SFS Award Nomination

Nominate the Free Software Contributor of 2024! The European SFS Award celebrates and recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the global Software Freedom culture.

Last year, the first time this award was presented jointly by the Linux User Group Bolzano and the Free Software Foundation Europe, it went to the founder of Nextcloud, Frank Karlitschek.

Get your FSFE hoddie: pre-order your hoodie and pick it up at 38C3 or FOSDEM

For years, you've been asking, and we’ve been listening. Now, the wait is finally over: the FSFE hoodies are back! This winter you can show your love for Free Software with our new hoodies! These cozy, stylish hoodies have been designed with your feedback in mind, They’re here, they’re back, and they’re better than ever! Order yours today!

Pre order your hoodie and pick it up at your favourite conference, 38C3 at the end of December in Hamburg or FOSDEM at beginning of February!

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: 2024 Award Ceremony!

The third edition of YH4F, the coding competition for teenagers across Europe, will culminate with the Award Ceremony weekend at the end of October, where the official winners will be revealed. The six 2024 winners, along with their families and members of the jury, will gather in Brussels for a celebratory weekend. The teenagers have the chance to connect with each other, to enjoy time together and to learn more about the winning projects.

Back to the stages!Events, talks, and more

Last September, our team and volunteers actively celebrated Software Freedom Day across Europe and participated in various events, from Ada & Zangemann readings to the Fediverse Day in Berlin.

Participants of the FSFE General Assembly possing in the place where the meeting was held
The FSFE 2024 General Assembly was held near Madrid during the last weekend of September.

If you have some spare time, we recommend you to check out Alexander Sander's conversation with Tuta Mail about supporting Free Software projects. Also, if you are a German speaker, listen to this podcast episode where Alexander Sander talks about Microsoft vendor lock-in in Germany and why it is a problem.

Remember that at events.fsfe.org you can find all the information about our events and you can follow our latests news in our social media channels!!

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor,
Ana