== A bright Document Freedom Day for Britain? ==
Today is Document Freedom Day: a globally celebrated day for digital liberation [1]. As companies and communities come together to raise awareness of Open Standards for the forth consecutive year, the issue of freedom from restricted digital files is more relevant in the UK than ever.
"Britain's relationship with Open Standards is rapidly changing for the better. As a Parliamentary Select Committee today debates increasing its commitment, we hope that pubic sector ICT can look forward to greater interoperability and value for money in future" [2], said Sam Tuke, UK Team Coordinator of Free Software Foundation Europe. "If the government can follow up its words with actions, British citizens will have much to celebrate."
The Coalition Government has made Open Standards a key area of reform, and in the last three months has set Britain on track to take a leading role in implementing Open Standards in Europe. New procurement requirements for all departments, a new 'Open Source Advisory Panel', determinative meetings with the largest public ICT suppliers, and research on hundreds of existing technical standards herald a new era of document freedom for Britain [3].
Despite this push from government during the months leading up to Document Freedom Day, many local British institutions remain far behind. Sustained reform and strong leadership is required from the Coalition in order to ensure that by Document Freedom Day 2012 citizens will enjoy better interoperability between programs, better value from publicly purchased technology, and a more competitive software market.
1. http://documentfreedom.org/ 2. http://services.parliament.uk/calendar/#/calendar/Commons/SelectCommittee/20... 3. http://fsfe.org/uk/mapping-uk.en.html
FSFE UK Homepage: http://uk.fsfe.org
== Contacts ==
Free Software Foundation Europe E-Mail: press at fsfeurope.org
Sam Tuke, UK Team Coordinator +44 78680 77871
Karsten Gerloff, President +49-176-96904298
== 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 issue of the FSFE.
press-release-uk@lists.fsfe.org