Newsletter

FOSDEM & DMA updates+++ 2025 YH4F +++ Our visions for 2048

The new year has begun, offering 365 days to promote Free Software! As we prepare for FOSDEM and continue working on the DMA implementation, we are excited to launch the fourth edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. We closed 2024 sharing our predictions for 2048 and taking part in the Chaos Communication Congress.

Quote of the Month

“I have a huge list of advice I would give people participating in Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, but there is one that I would highlight: don't be afraid to submit unfinished projects! Thankfully my mother encouraged me to submit it and my life has completely changed for the better ever since!”

- Sofía Aritz, 2024 YH4F winner

T minus 23 years until 2048

“What will happen in the movement for software freedom in 2025? It is hard for me to make such predictions. What the past 20 years working for the Free Software Foundation Europe have taught me is to be prepared for the things you cannot predict. While predicting the future is always hard, we know what we are aiming to accomplish in the long run."

Ready for FOSDEM? Join our “Legal & Policy issues” and “Funding the FOSS Ecosystem” devrooms

FOSDEM 2025 is around the corner and its schedule is out! This year the FSFE is co-organizing two devrooms: “Legal & Policy issues” and “Funding the FOSS Ecosystem”.

For the fifth consecutive year, the FSFE, together with our co-hosts, is proud to organize the Legal and Policy Issues devroom, a popular track focused on the political and legal challenges in the realm of software freedom.This devroom is now in its 13th edition.

This year, we are also contributing to the organization of the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem devroom. Debuting at this FOSDEM edition, this track aims to bring together developers, maintainers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, donors, and funders to explore sustainable funding models and mechanisms that ensure the longevity and security of FOSS projects.

The FSFE demands that Apple provide broader interoperability

In parallel to the litigation efforts against Apple, the FSFE continues to collaborate with the European Commission and other stakeholders in the implementation of the DMA. The FSFE is participating in a comprehensive study on how Apple's interoperability policies negatively affect Free Software. The study has been accepted by a conference to be held in Washington DC organised by the renowned Knight-Georgetown Institute and Yale University.

Besides, the FSFE is working together other civil society organisations to submit a position for the Commission's public consultation on Apple's compliance measures regarding interoperability required by the DMA.

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: 2025 edition and interviews with 2024 participants

The new edition of YH4F has officially begun, marking the start of its programming period earlier this month. As we eagerly await the exciting projects this fourth edition will unveil, we talked with three participants from the last edition: Vinícius, Simon, and Sofia, who was one of the 2024 winners.

On 9 January the competition kicked off with its opening event in which participants got information about the contest and their questions were answered, while learning some tips from former winners.

Do you want to participate? Late registration is possible!

The FSFE at 38C3

The Free Software Foundation Europe, along with over sixteen thousand attendees, took part in the 38th Chaos Communication Congress with a booth, several talks, and a lot of stickers. It was a great pleasure to join, once again, the Chaos family for another impressive four-day congress. Thank you all for coming!

The FSFE promotes freedom of software, hardware, and data

The ZOOOM (3Os) Initiative promotes innovation based on freedom of software, hardware, and data. With its recent conclusion, the FSFE hopes to inspire broader use and effective application of Free Software by business, academia, and the public sector.

In only two years, the ZOOOM project produced comprehensive research merging aspects of Free Software, Open Data and Open Hardware. Focusing on the importance of these assets for the future of AI, the initiative not only produced scientific materials tackling legal and business issues regarding Free Software, but also developed a series of recommendations.

Find out more

SFP#27: Policy and EU: Free Software hearing in the German Bundestag

At the beginning of December, the FSFE participated in a German parliament hearing on Free Software, organised by the Digital Committee. The hearing focused on the use of Free Software for public administration. In his speech for the position of the FSFE, Alexander Sander highlighted the importance of funding for Free Software and the current trend of 'openwashing' and how this can affect the procurement process in public administration.

Listen to this Software Freedom podcast episode and find our take on the hearing is!

Get Involved: I Love Free Software Day

Join us in our celebrations of this year's I Love Free Software Day: Hidden Projects on 14 February. this year we focus on Free Software projects that are part of our daily lives but are hardly spoken about.

Around this I Love Free Software Day many local group event swill be happening all over Europe, organised by our amazing community. You find them on our ‘I Love Free Software’ activity page! For organising your own local group event we have our amazing toolkit, which provides organisational tips, slides for presentations, and fun games to play during the event.

If you want to stay quiet and cosy at home there are several ways to participate in this year's celebrations. You can create a sharepic, toot and or tweet online, or send a postcard with a thank you message to your favourite Free Software.

FSFE Women* Meetings

• FSFE Women* January Meeting with a guest speaker
  

  On 20 January, at the FSFE Women’s meeting, Melanie Bartos will describe the initiative to establish a Mastodon instance and a Fediverse presence at the University of Innsbruck.

  Join the online meeting to find out more about how the University of Innsbruck uses, designs and promotes non-profit, privacy-friendly, and Free Software media and the role of Melanie Bartos

• FOSDEM Women* breakfast
  

  You are a QWLINTA* person and you are interested in Free Software? Then we are happy to meet you at our Free Software QWLINTA* breakfast! We will meet during FOSDEM on Sunday the 2nd of February in Brussels for breakfast.

  Join us for this informal and relaxed meeting to connect with other QWLINTA*s around you and discuss Free Software and how to create a more welcoming space for QWLINTA*s in the movement. If you are planning to come, please fill in this form so we can reserve an appropriate space according to our needs.

Save the date: Public Money, Public Code! symposium
On 8 April we are hosting a symposium on ‘Public Money? Public Code' in the practical work of public administrations. One focus will be on the use of Free Software in municipalities.

The symposium will be held in German and you can find more information at events.fsfe.org.

Back to the stages! Past events from our community

• Spreading Free Software in Thessaloniki

At the end of December, volunteers from Greece organized an event for the freshmen students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, focused on promoting the use and philosophy of Free Software. The event attended by about 40 enthusiastic students, consisted of an introductory lecture on GNU/Linux and discussions and activities that highlighted the principles and benefits of Free Software. FSFE stickers were distributed at the end of the event.

• Upcycling Android workshop in Berlin

At the end of November, the public library Pablo Neruda in Berlin hosted an 'Upcycling your Android' workshop. There a group of FSFE volunteers helped participants to root their devices to be able to get rid of unwanted app that had been installed by default apps install a Free Software environment.

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

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