From press at fsfe.org Tue Oct 12 12:13:33 2021 From: press at fsfe.org (press at fsfe.org) Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:13:33 +0000 Subject: Till Jaeger +++ Youth Hacking 4 Freedom +++ SFScon 2021 Message-ID: = Till Jaeger +++ Youth Hacking 4 Freedom +++ SFScon 2021 = [ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202110.ro.html ] In our October Newsletter read about Till Jaeger, who knows first-hand what it takes to enforce Free Software licenses. Find out about the contest we just launched: Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. Learn about the donations by a high school yearbook team. Follow our latest activities and write down the dates of the upcoming SFScon. == New podcast: How can we prevent violations against Free Software licenses? == Till Jaeger shared his insight on how can we enforce Free Software licenses [1]. In a podcast hosted by Matthias Kirschner he recalled the beginning of this effort in 2004. This was the first time when a violation of the GNU General Public Licence (GNU GPL) led to a court case and a settlement. The person behind this initiative was Harald Welte who afterwards created a project to rectify GPL violations [2]. 17 years after the first court case we now have many more tools to prevent violations against Free Software licenses. Compliance information is clearer, and workshops such as the ones offered by the FSFE Legal Network are available. Still, Till suggests further simplification of licences, interoperability, and licence compatibility. Finally, Till thanks everyone doing GNU/Linux distributions for their crucial work. == Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: coding contest for teenagers == Software development is a powerful, and often self-taught, skill; people who started programming in a young age deserve encouragement. To this end, we are organising a coding competition for teenagers around Europe, Youth Hacking 4 Freedom [3]. From 1 November 2021 to 31 March 2022, you can code any type of software you want, as long as it is Free Software. The winners will be awarded cash prizes (2 x 4096€, 2 x 2048€, 2 x 1024€) and a trip to Brussels. The evaluation [4] phase will be carried out by Free Software experts. Are you between 14-18 and have already started programming? Join us! Just make sure you register [5] until *Sunday, 31 October* 2021. Our FAQs [6] might help. We are dedicated to offering an inclusive environment in the YH4F, and we encourage people of all genders to join! We will make sure everyone will enjoy the process and will leave this competition with a smile. Spread the word [7]! == Hittfeld high school shows its support to Free Software projects and the FSFE == The 2021 yearbook [8] of a high school was successfully completed using Free Software, and the editorial team donated all profits from the sale to Free Software projects and the FSFE. This is the story of Hittfeld high school in Seevetal, in the German state of Lower Saxony. The editorial team mentions that it is beneficial for the school to avoid paying expensive subscriptions to proprietary programs. We deeply thank the pupils and everyone involved in the donation decision. This kind gesture is a nice reminder that we should support those who provide us great tools without restricting our freedom. We encourage everyone to support Free Software projects, just as the Hittfeld high school did. -------------------------------------------------------------------- This year the FSFE celebrates its 20th anniversary. Support our work for the next 20 years to come [9] -------------------------------------------------------------------- == Sustainability track at South Tyrol Free Software Conference == The South Tyrol Free Software Conference, SFScon, is one of Europe’s most established annual conferences on Free Software. Save the date! SFScon 2021 [10] is coming up on Friday 12 November and Saturday 13 November 2021. This year the FSFE will participate in the conference by organising a Sustainability track with five 20-minute talks: - ' *Software Heritage*: The Great Library of Source Code' by /Stefano Zacchiroli/ from the Software Heritage project. - ' *Blauer Engel Eco-Certification* ' by /Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss/ from KDE e.V. - ' *Measuring the Sustainability of AI*: towards a Sustainability Index for Artificial Intelligence' by /Anne Mollen/ from AlgorithmWatch. - ' *The role of software for a universal Right to Repair*: can free software help us fix software obsolescence?' by /Ugo Vallauri/ from the Restart Project and the European Right to Repair Campaign. - ' *4 directives for a sustainable digital society*: designing circular digitisation with upcyling software and reusing hardware' by /Erik Albers/ from the FSFE. The FSFE will also support three additional talks. 'REUSE: Gold standard for Free Software licensing' part of the Legal track, by Max Mehl; 'Protecting Router Freedom' part of the IoT & Cybersecurity track, by Lucas Lasota; 'Public Money? Public Code! During Corona: What role did Free Software play during the crisis' part of the Public Administration & GIS track, by Alexander Sander. We are looking forward to see our readers at the SFScon! == What we have done == During the final week before the German federal election we reached out to politicians asking their stance on Free Software, in line with our electoral activities [11]. Alexander Sander, FSFE Policy Consultant, and Karl Krüger from our associated organisation OSB Alliance conducted 5 interviews [12] (DE) with representatives of German political parties from 20 to 24 September. From CDU we spoke with Nadine Schön, MdB, CDU Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. We interviewed three members of the Digital Agenda Committee: Elvan Korkmaz-Emre from SPD, Manuel Höferlin from FDP, and Anke Domscheit-Berg from Die Linke. From the Greens, we spoke with Margit Stumpp, MdB, member of the Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs. The 5 videos are available in German. Also we released our vision for the upcoming decades and concrete demands for the next government [13] and analyzed the election programs [14] of the parties. - Lina Ceballos, FSFE Project Manager, gave an interview [15] to Empodera.org presenting the mission of the FSFE, the PMPC demands, and the need for Router Freedom. Lina stressed the need for a more ethical but also a more sustainable digital environment. - Matthias Kirschner, president of the FSFE, was invited to a podcast episode [16] of Radio Citylab Berlin. It dealt with Free Software as a foundation for a democratic technology policy. This enlightening and fun discussion is available in German. - The Bavarian Radio (Bayrischer Rundfunk) published a 26 minute radio feature (in German) [17] about the 30 year anniversary of Linux. Matthias Kirschner was also interviewed for that, and talked about how Linux as a Free Software kernel contributed to the Free Software movement and how this changed the world. - On 12 September, the FSFE Netherlands met [18] online. - On 13 September, the FSFE Community Bonn [19] had its local group meeting and Johannes reported about GNURadio. The meetings are open to all who are interested in Free Software. - On 17 September, the campaign framework "Public Money? Public Code!: A campaign framework to promote software freedom" was presented at the Kieler Open Source and Linux Days by Bonnie Mehring. - On 19 September, the FSFE Vienna provided an information booth at Tierschutzlauf. - On 19 September, Max Mehl introduced REUSE and its benefits for Free Software developers and users, especially for package maintainers of operating system distributions. The presentation is part of EuroBSDCon [20]. - On 23 September, the local FSFE Berlin [21] group celebrated 20 Years of FSFE together with the FSFE's president by eating cake around a campfire. - On 27 September, the FSFE Women group had its monthly meeting. Antje analysed three papers about women in computer science and gender aspects of learning to code [22], and Fani Partsafyllidou presented the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom competition. - On 5 October, Gabriel Ku Wei Bin, the FSFE's Legal Coordinator, participated in a webinar on open source copyright and license management [23] organized by the NLNet Foundation for the benefit of various NGI projects [24]. The webinar helped software projects with understanding various aspects the law as it relates to software, as well as to introduce the FSFE's REUSE initiative to a wider audience. - On 9 October, our associated organisation ANSOL (Associação Nacional para o Software Livre) celebrated its 20th anniversary. FSFE's president, Matthias Kirschner, gave a short talk about the FSFE's work during the last 20 years and highlighted joint activities with ANSOL. - On 10 October, the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom [25] hosted its opening event to explain the rules of the competition and to answer questions from people who had already registered. == New bag == For our 20th anniversary, we now present a new bag! Blue and double- faced, it comes with two slogans, the newest: 'FSFE since 2001', to remember when it all started and our evergreen: 'There is no cloud, just other people's computers'. A sustainable solution for a shopping bag. Get it from the FSFE web shop [26]. == Share the YH4F opportunity with teenagers in your community == Would you like to help us spread the message, and help young hackers spot the opportunity to join YH4F? Then please contact teenagers you know, former schools, hacker spaces, youth facilities, or mailing lists. Share with them our call for registration [27] through a post on your website, a mention in your Newsletter, or a social media post. Also, you can freely use the illustrations [28] in our media kit, as well as our Press Release [29]. Both are available in English and translations. Your contribution is valuable to make sure that young people will take part — and hopefully connect more with the software freedom movement. == Contribute to our newsletter == If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, please send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter at fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution [30]. Thanks to our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators, who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages. Your editor, Fani Partsafyllidou Discuss this [31] -- Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE News Upcoming FSFE Events Fellowship Blog Aggregation Free Software Discussions 1: https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-12.ro.html 2: https://gpl-violations.org/ 3: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/index.ro.html 4: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/jury.ro.html 5: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/index.ro.html 6: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/faq.ro.html 7: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202110.ro.html#share-yh4f-opportunity-with-teenagers-in-your-community 8: https://mastodon.social/@protabletcomputer/106895644060491971 9: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl 10: https://www.sfscon.it/ 11: https://fsfe.org/activities/elections/index.ro.html 12: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210920-01.ro.html 13: https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/digitalvisionen/ 14: https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/wahlpruefsteine/oeffentliches-gut/ 15: https://empodera.org/impact/en/experiences/experience/empowering-citizens-to-control-technology-for-a-more-transparent-and-fair-society 16: https://radiocitylab.podigee.io/5-open-source-als-baustein-europaischer-innovationspolitik 17: https://www.br.de/mediathek/podcast/iq-wissenschaft-und-forschung/30-jahre-linux-der-stille-siegeszug-der-freien-software/1838722 18: https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2021-09-15 19: https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn 20: https://2021.eurobsdcon.org/home/speakers/#simplify 21: https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Berlin 22: https://ntj.github.io/posts/2021-09-15-gender/ 23: https://nlnet.nl/events/20211005/workshop/index.html 24: https://www.ngi.eu/ 25: http://yh4f.org/ 26: https://fsfe.org/order/index.ro.html 27: https://fsfe.org/yh4f.org 28: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/media.ro.html 29: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210928-01.ro.html 30: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter 31: https://community.fsfe.org/t/748 From press at fsfe.org Tue Nov 16 09:29:48 2021 From: press at fsfe.org (press at fsfe.org) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2021 09:29:48 +0000 Subject: Upcycling of software +++ FSFE Translators +++ Router Freedom at risk in Latvia Message-ID: = Upcycling of software +++ FSFE Translators +++ Router Freedom at risk in Latvia = [ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202111.ro.html ] In our November Newsletter learn why device neutrality and upcycling of software are essential to make (re-)using our hardware more resource- efficient. Read about the key role translators play in the FSFE and about the loss of Router Freedom in Latvia. Watch a new video on Free Software core values, and follow our community events. == Free Software helps extending hardware lifespans == In the European Union we currently see a strong desire to make digitisation more sustainable, with the European Commission aiming at making our product lifecycles more resource-efficient as well as making circular economy methods applicable. Technological devices should be designed in a way that they last for a longer period of time. The Circular Electronics Initiative recognises that a common issue is that manufacturers stop updating the software of a device and then the user of the device has to buy a new one. A solution that gains ground in the Circular Electronics Initiative is that manufacturers of smartphones and tablets should provide security updates for five years and function updates for three years free of charge. In an in-depth study, the FSFE explains [1] that publishing the source code after the end of support is a more effective way to extend the lifespan of devices than relying exclusively on the manufacturers' extended support. If manufacturers publish a device's underlying source code under a Free Software licence at the end of support, the software of the device can be modified. This way, the device can still be used and its hardware gets a second life. Reusing software can help steer the European digitisation from a market of linear hardware production towards circular electronics devices. We are asking for truly opening up the circular reuse of electronics by enabling an upcycling of software. For a critical, long-lasting, and sustainable change in the extension of our hardware usage lifetimes, however, products need to be designed with device neutrality in mind from the beginning [2]. == The key role of translators == Translators empower people [3] to learn about Free Software in various languages. Since the founding of the organisation in 2001, the translators team has been an integral part of the FSFE. Today we have over 280 members on the translators mailing list, helping us in their spare time to translate for software freedom. We have 40 languages represented on our web page, with almost 7,000 translations. "I love translating items about Free Software mainly because I love Free Software and I want that all Italian people could easily know the benefits of Free Software in their own language. As a side effect, since the translation process usually involves more than one person, I'm also learning more about English and Italian too!" says Luca Bonissi, Deputy Translators Coordinator. == Regulation in Latvia takes away Router Freedom == Latvia has created a risky precedent against end-users' rights [4] by allowing internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the use of personal routers and modems based on "technological necessities". When the Latvian Regulatory Agency (SPRK) asked for public feedback about the regulation, the FSFE shared its concern and engaged with the regulator. In May 2021, we submitted a consultation [5] explaining to the SPRK that its approach limits Router Freedom and would not comply with European laws. Unfortunately, the regulator decided to keep its position. ISPs can now deny people the right to use a personal router or modem in Latvia, claiming technological issues. If they do so, they would have to justify on their respective websites why they are restricting Router Freedom. Even so, SPRK still withheld the ability to assess these claims by the ISPs, and they would have a final say on the claimed necessities. Beyond hampering consumer rights, the Latvian situation creates unnecessary friction for a functional and harmonised framework on the terminal equipment market, negatively affecting European router manufacturers and vendors. No other EU country has identified such technological necessities so far. We encourage, therefore, Latvian consumers to report ISPs' practices in our survey [6], so we can get data and bring this to the attention of BEREC and the European Commission, and so defend end-user rights. -------------------------------------------------------------------- This year the FSFE celebrates its 20th anniversary. Support our work for the 20 years to come [7] -------------------------------------------------------------------- == New video about Free Software values == For our 20 years anniversary this year, we have now released our new video about the values of software freedom. You can watch the three- minute video on our new self-hosted peertube instance in English [8] and German [9]. It is licensed under Creative Commons by Share-Alike, so feel free to share it with others or include it in your websites in order to explain Free Software to a wider audience.. You can also subscribe to our new peertube instance [10], so you don't miss our upcoming videos. == Public Money? Public Code! Now in Japanese == Code paid for by the people should be available to the people! This demand is said in many languages, and now it is said in Japanese [11] too. After growing increasingly popular, the FSFE's initiative PMPC has had its website and video translated into Japanese as well. The video [12] was done by the same team which created the aforementioned new video about the core values of software freedom. Now with the Japanese translations, the "Public Money? Public Code!" video is available in 10 languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Japanese. == Upcoming events == - On Saturday 11 December, time TBC, Lina Ceballos, an FSFE Project Manager, will participate at the GNUHealthCon2021 [13]. Lina will take a look at the role that Free Software played in the last crisis and how it could help overcoming future ones, by pointing to the principle of “Public Money? Public Code!" and the role that governments, public bodies, and administrations have in this. More information to be shared on our website soon. - On Monday, 13 December, at 7pm (CEST), the monthly meeting of the Bonn FSFE Fellowship [14] will take place. The Bonn FSFE Community Meetings are regular meetings which are taking place on every second Monday of the month for supporters of the FSFE or in general people who are interested in Free Software. - On Monday 13 December at 18:00 CET, Lina Ceballos, an FSFE Project Manager, will host the launching event of our recently translated into Spanish - Public Money? Public Code! brochure. We will discuss the current situation and future challenges for software freedom in Spain. We anticipate the participation of Pica Pica HackLab, GNUHealth, and KDE, and more. This event will be held in Spanish. More information to be shared on our website soon. == Past events == - On 20 October, the FSFE Netherlands had its online get-together [15]. Upon the formation of a new Dutch government, the FSFE Netherlands team discussed ways to push the Public Money? Public Code! demand. A discussion on other current topics followed, such as the news of Belgium offering a digital wallet to its citizens. - On 20 October, Lucas Lasota, FSFE's Deputy Legal Coordinator, organised at the Humboldt University of Berlin a winter seminar on software law [16], including elements of software licensing, copyright and contract law. - On 28 October, the Berlin Fellowship Group had its regular meeting [17] (online). - On 6 November, the FSFE organised the Legal Education Day [18]. It offered a session on the basics of copyright law and an introduction to the concept of copyleft. Useful topics for software developers followed, such as licence compatibility, trademarks, and containers. Our aim is to help Free Software developers to understand these legal topics so that their software projects can reach their full potential. - On 12 – 13 November, the FSFE participated in the SFSCon by organising a sustainability track and providing three talks. Erik Albers, Programme Manager, defined 4 principles for a sustainable digital society [19]; Max Mehl, Programme Manager, presented REUSE as the gold standard for Free Software licensing [20]; Lucas Lasota, Project Manager, demonstrated our efforts Protecting Router Freedom within the EU reform of telecom law [21]; and Alexander Sander, Policy Consultant, presented Public Money? Public Code! During Corona [22]. Besides that, we had a phone flashing workshop. More about that in our next publications. == Get active == Help us translate the new video about the core values of Free Software into more languages, just as we did with the Public Money? Public Code! video. The cost of a professional translation is ~850 EUR, including editing of the script, an external professional speaker, and potential studio costs. We want to offer our new video in many other languages to help people understand why it is important for society that software grants the freedoms to use, study, share, and improve it. This demand concerns us all as technology users, regardless of the language we speak. You can support our translation effort as well as our other work for Free Software by becoming a supporter [23]. == Contribute to our newsletter == If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, please send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter at fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution [24]. Thanks to our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators, who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages. Your editor, Fani Partsafyllidou Discuss this [25] -- Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE News Upcoming FSFE Events Fellowship Blog Aggregation Free Software Discussions 1: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211015-01.ro.html 2: https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.ro.html#id-device-neutrality 3: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211011-01.ro.html 4: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211027-01.ro.html 5: https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe%20latvia%20ntp%20consulation.pdf 6: https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/628449?lang=en 7: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl 8: https://media.fsfe.org/w/eh5oAFR9VNwqPzUtBzm8sb 9: https://media.fsfe.org/w/ppsx3FMVyYyDtjxa6f4WX4 10: https://media.fsfe.org/ 11: https://publiccode.eu/ja/ 12: https://media.fsfe.org/w/oiUmbjjiQKudwpWouPXEy1 13: https://www.gnuhealthcon.org/2021/ 14: https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn 15: https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2021-10-20 16: https://box.hu-berlin.de/f/ebbcc214ceeb4b2e978c/ 17: https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Berlin/2021-10-28 18: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211008-01.ro.html 19: https://www.sfscon.it/talks/4-directives-for-a-sustainable-digital-society/ 20: https://www.sfscon.it/talks/reuse/ 21: https://www.sfscon.it/talks/protecting-router-freedom-within-the-eu-reform-of-telecom-law/ 22: https://www.sfscon.it/talks/public-money-public-code-during-corona/ 23: https://my.fsfe.org/donate? 24: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter 25: https://community.fsfe.org/t/757 From press at fsfe.org Tue Dec 14 10:54:23 2021 From: press at fsfe.org (press at fsfe.org) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2021 10:54:23 +0000 Subject: Upcycling Android ++ Major step for Device Neutrality ++ Nico Rikken + Ada + Job Message-ID: = Upcycling Android ++ Major step for Device Neutrality ++ Nico Rikken + Ada + Job = [ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202112.ro.html ] In the December Newsletter we talk about Upcycling Android, an initiative to overcome software obsolescence with Free Software. The EU is voting on the Digital Markets Act, a major step for device neutrality. Germany aims to adopt PMPC! We interview Nico Rikken for 20 Years FSFE. Meet Ada, a character in a children's book. Spot a job opportunity. == Upcycling Android: Keep using your phone with Free Software == In the European Week for Waste Reduction, the FSFE launched its new initiative "Upcycling Android" [1]: Every time we keep using our phone instead of buying a new one we support a more sustainable use of our resources. Upcycling Android helps people to tackle software obsolescence and to keep using their phones with Free Software. On the initiative's website, you will find background information and our multi-language video that explains in a nutshell the environmental benefits derived from an extended hardware lifespan by using Free Software. In addition you will find professional information material [2] from infographics to expert talks to our study on the sustainability of Free Software. == Upcoming DMA vote might be a major victory for Device Neutrality == A potential first success for Device Neutrality is about to be determined. The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to regulate internet companies that act as gatekeepers in digital markets. Such gatekeepers may be internet platforms, service providers, manufacturers, and vendors satisfying criteria defined by law. The Digital Markets Act is an opportunity to create fairer and more competitive markets for online platforms in the EU. Open Standards and interoperability will secure interests of European consumers as well as facilitate Free Software use and adoption in said markets. As a major checkpoint, the four principles we called for [3] were included into the DMA after the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted during its meeting on 22 November [4]. All eyes are now turning to the plenary voting for the final position of the European Parliament's first reading on 15 December 2021 [5]. Stay tuned! == New German government introduces 'Public Money? Public Code!' == Promising news does not end here. The newly formed German government agrees with the FSFE 'Public Money? Public Code!' demand and declares it as one of the aims of the coalition [6]. It should be noted that this development did not come out of the blue but only after persistent advocating from the FSFE: giving workshops, working together with local German groups, creating an activity package [7] (DE) for volunteers, conducting 5 interviews [8] (DE) with representatives of German political parties, forming a vision for the upcoming decades and concrete demands for the next government [9] and analysing the election programs of the parties [10]. The decision is an important development for the Free Software movement in Germany. We would like to thank everyone who advocated with us in recent years and helped us arrive at this point. The FSFE will now focus on the implementation of the decision. == Children's book character Ada learns the power of software == Ada unravels the mysteries of software in an adventure with her friends, after an unfortunate meeting with the rich and famous inventor Zangemann. A children's book for young and old readers, 'Ada & Zangemann' is a fun and educational tale. Matthias Kirschner, author and FSFE president, conveys to young readers the importance of software, and even the basics of more complex topics around it. The book is published under a Creative Commons license. 'Ada & Zangemann' is in German, and it was just released in Germany. It is already sold out at the publisher, O'Reilly, but you can still get copies from other booksellers. The FSFE is looking for a suitable publisher for an English edition. If you would like to see Ada's story in English and more languages, we welcome donations [11]. "After my son read the book last night, he told me the whole story this morning... He wants to make something out of old pallets after school today. And then he wants to learn programming" said Ingo Wichmann, CEO of Linuxhotel GmbH. == An overview of the past year: software freedom in 2021 == Cancelling of large events, limitations in meetings, and travel restrictions: none of this stopped the FSFE from advancing software freedom in 2021. From Router Freedom to new podcast episodes to co- organising the Legal and Policy devroom at FOSDEM, we keep empowering people to control technology. 'Public Money? Public Code!' online workshops were offered to volunteers, and an online Legal and Licensing Workshop for legal experts was organised. The FSFE assisted software projects to become REUSE compliant with our new initiative, REUSE Booster. Meanwhile, a two-year court case initiated by FSFE supporter Luca Bonissi successfully came to an end, unequivocally recognising the right to a Windows licence refund. Our yearly report [12] corresponds to our work during November 2020 - October 2021. Overall, significant accomplishments for software freedom marked 2021, the year FSFE is celebrating its 20th anniversary. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to the trust of our supporters, the FSFE counts 20 years. Our stable presence enables us to succeed in lengthy endeavours for software freedom, and to be ready at all times to respond to related developments. We are grateful for the trust of our supporters, and we will keep on empowering people to control technology. To help us, consider becoming a supporter [13] and boost our charitable work for freedom in the information society for the next 20 years. -------------------------------------------------------------------- == 20 Years FSFE: Interview with Nico Rikken on country teams' activities == 20 Years FSFE is meant to be a celebration of everyone who has accompanied us in the past or still does. In our fifth birthday publication we interviewed Nico Rikken, who has been helping the FSFE with his technical skills while contributing greatly to community building since 2014. With this interview [14], you do not only get to know Nico Rikken, but also the FSFE Netherlands country team, as he is one of their coordinators. How do people start joining a country team? This was one of the questions we asked Nico, and we quote a glimpse of his insight. "People somehow gained in interest in Free Software and found the FSFE as the designated party to uphold these values in Europe. Then they found out about the NL country team, joined the mailing list and attended a physical meeting. [...] It highlights the importance of letting people know you exist as a local team, being open to newcomers, and making it easy to join community meetings [...] As we are all volunteers, it is important that our supporters do what they enjoy doing. Most of us have our own topics and efforts we work on, and the country team is a way to align and get support." == Upcoming events == - On 15 December, the FSFE Netherlands country team [15] will have its monthly online get-together. == What we have done == - The General Assembly of the FSFE held elections for its Council during its annual meeting on November 26th. Matthias Kirschner, Heiki Lõhmus, and Patrick Ohnewein were re-elected [16] to the positions of President, Vice-President, and Financial Officer respectively. The Council is elected every two years. - On 13 December, the FSFE held an online event discussing the modernisation of the public digital infrastructure with public code in Spain [17]. Experts such as Luis Falcón, founder of GNUHealth; Ricardo Muñoz from Lliurex; Alexis Puente Montiel from Pica Pica HackLab; Ana Albalat Martínez and Francesc Busquets representing Linkat; and Aleix Pol Gonzalez, president of KDE, shared their insights. - On 13 December, the local group of the FSFE Community Bonn [18] had its regular monthly meeting. - On 10 December, Lina Ceballos, an FSFE Project Manager, participated at GnuHealthCon21. In her online talk, she showed the role that Free Software played in combatting the pandemic and how it could help overcoming other crises. - On 7 December, the FSFE Women team [19] had its monthly online meeting and among other topics they discussed the upcoming Remote Chaos Experience [20] event. - On 1 December, Matthias Kirschner gave an interview [21] [DE] about the 'Ada & Zangemann' children's book to GNU/Linux podcast. == Get active == Are you a student in a German university with a technical background? Check out our new job posting [22]; it might be a great fit for you. We are looking for a reliable, well-organised member of our technical teams who is keen to learn about old and new technologies. We are also looking for an office assistant [23] for 20-25 hours per week in our Berlin office. Our ideal candidate has experience as an office administrator, secretary, event organiser, or another relevant administrative role. Join our Upcycling Android movement and help us get the message out. Discover our information material [24]. We are offering stickers and a leaflet to you at no cost so that you can share them with friends, put them in a community space, or spread them online. Happy holidays from all of us! == Contribute to our newsletter == If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, please send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter at fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution [25]. Thanks to our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators, who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages. Your editor, Fani Partsafyllidou Discuss this [26] -- Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE News Upcoming FSFE Events Fellowship Blog Aggregation Free Software Discussions 1: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/index.ro.html 2: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.ro.html 3: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211122-01.ro.html 4: https://emeeting.europarl.europa.eu/emeeting/committee/en/agenda/202111/IMCO 5: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sed/doc/news/flash/26441/SYN_POJ_December_STRb_EN.pdf 6: https://mastodon.social/@fsfe/107332820789284114 7: https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/Bundestagswahl_DE 8: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210920-01.ro.html 9: https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/digitalvisionen/ 10: https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/wahlpruefsteine/oeffentliches-gut/ 11: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202112.html 12: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211110-01.ro.html 13: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202112.html 14: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211123-01.ro.html 15: https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL 16: https://fsfe.org/about/legal/minutes/minutes-2021-11-27.en.pdf 17: https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/ES/PMPC%20Evento%20Folleto.pdf 18: https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn 19: https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/Women 20: https://events.ccc.de/ 21: https://gnulinux.ch/gln017-podcast 22: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211206-01.ro.html 23: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211210-01.ro.html 24: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.ro.html 25: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter 26: https://community.fsfe.org/t/777