A bright Document Freedom Day for Britain?

[Sam Tuke]

== 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/2011/3/30/events.html
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

http://www.fsfe.org/contact


== 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.