= The Document Foundation and the FSFE strengthen their relationship =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160817-01.fi.html ]
The Free Software Foundation (FSFE) is joining the Advisory Board of The
Document Foundation[1]. At the same time, The Document Foundation is
becoming an associated organisation of the FSFE[2].
The Free Software Foundation Europe's aim is to help people control
technology instead of the other way around. However, this is a goal
which no single organisation can achieve on its own. Associated
organisations are entities that share the FSFE's vision and support the
foundation and Free Software in general by encouraging people to use and
develop Free Software, by helping organisations understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination,
and by removing barriers to Free Software adoption.
With this mutual expression of support, both organisations strengthen
one another in their fight to keep the general public in the
technological driver's seat. While the FSFE embodies the principles of
the community movement working in support of the adoption of Free
Software in companies, public administrations and for private citizens,
the Document Foundation turns principles and ethics into actual
products, putting a first class, fully-featured, and completely free
productivity suite in the hands of users.
"We are happy to welcome the Free Software Foundation Europe as a member
of our Advisory Board. Together, we will able to further develop the
adoption of Free Software in Europe, amongst public administrations and
enterprises", said Eike Rathke, a Director of The Document Foundation[3]
and a long time Free Software advocate and hacker.
"We believe it is important to join forces with all the organisations
active in Free Software around Europe," said Matthias Kirschner[4],
President of the Free Software Foundation Europe, "and work together to
reach our common goals. With our associated organisations we want to
show that we are a strong and cohesive movement, and we work to achieve
common objectives. To do this, we exchange ideas, coordinate efforts,
motivate each other, and find opportunities to work together on specific
projects. This is the case with The Document Foundation, steward of one
of the most successful Free Software projects: LibreOffice".
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://www.documentfoundation.org/governance/advisory-board/
2. https://fsfe.org/associates/associates.fi.html
3. https://www.documentfoundation.org/governance/board/
4. https://fsfe.org/about/kirschner/kirschner.fi.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= Free Software Foundation Europe Summit 2016 – Not a tech conference =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160804-01.fi.html ]
Free Software advocates from all over Europe will be meeting in Berlin
from the 2nd to the 4th of September at the FSFE Summit 2016. Apart from
working on furthering the adoption of Free Software in Europe, we will
also be celebrating the FSFE's 15th anniversary.
One of the main missions of the Free Software community in general, and
the FSFE in particular, is to put users back into the driver's seat, and
have the people control technology and not the other way around.
So, even though this conference has the word "software" in its name,
this is not a tech conference 1[1] as such. It is more a conference on
how we are going to shape the world of tech, indeed, how we are going to
try and shape the lives of computer, smartphone, and Internet users
everywhere.
This may seem like a lofty goal, but during its 15 years of existence,
the FSFE has been instrumental in a successful antitrust case against a
big software corporation[2] that intended to dominate the market of
personal computers; we have managed to keep software from being
patentable in Europe[3], avoiding a veritable apocalypse for small and
medium-sized tech companies; and we have worked alongside gpl-
violations.org to get free licenses enforced in German courts of law[4],
setting a ground-breaking precedent for the whole of the EU.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the FSFE has transformed the
foundations of IT and that we have had a deep, positive impact on
anybody who has sat in front of a computer, used a phone, or played on a
tablet in the last decade or so.
Each year, the number of members in our community grows, as does our
influence. We now reach not only developers, but also academics,
aficionados, lawyers, artists, marketers, businesspeople, and
journalists.
So, if you missed our prior events, we would like to invite you to
attend the FSFE Summit 2016[5]. We look forward to welcoming you and
remain at your disposal to help you organise your visit to our event.
As part of our pre-event awareness campaign, we are also mobilising our
community in your area. If you would like to talk to the people that run
the local/national teams in your country/region/city and see how they
have made a difference, contact us so we can help you get in touch with
them.
1. Note that if you are also interested in bleeding edge high technology
development, the FSFE Summit will be held as a part of QtCon[6]. This
event brings together developers from several Free Software
communities who are hard at work re-shaping human-facing interfaces.
As a member of the press, you will also have free access to the whole
of QtCon. ↩[7]
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://fsfe.org/#fn1
2. https://fsfe.org/activities/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.fi.html
3. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/swpat/swpat.fi.html
4. https://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/activities.fi.html
5. https://fsfe.org/community/events/2016/summit/frontpage.en.html
6. https://qtcon.org/
7. https://fsfe.org/#fnref1
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/