[FSFE PR][EN] FSFE initiates fundraising-campaign

Joachim Jakobs press at fsfeurope.org
Thu Jul 1 13:02:48 CEST 2004


Free Software “…should be seen, then, as more than just a
different kind of product. It is a different kind of process for
building, maintaining and changing the rules that govern
information flows."- according to a United Nations. The
institution working for Free Software in Europe is the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). Its success is well known:
"FSFE does a great job - for example by protecting the rights of
free software developers. Therefore we support the FSFE", says
Paul Salazar, director of marketing for the GNU/Linux Distributor
Red Hat in Europe, the middle East and Africa. He is not alone
with this positive view. Says Horst Nebgen, Vice President,
Novell, Central Europe and Managing Director, Novell, Germany:
"Novell released the installation and configuration tool "YAST"
(yet another setup tool) under the GPL (GNU General Public
License), to make it accessible for every developer. The GPL -
and therefore the FSFE by which it is published, maintained and
protected - guarantees transparency and independence from a
platform. This assures that through the ability of Free Softwarte
to innovate, the already proverbial stability, security and broad
network support continue to evolve and advance. Therefore for
Novell, the Free Software Foundation Europe is an important
partner on its way into the future.

"We are of course very happy about this praise", says Georg
Greve, President of the FSFE. "What makes this public
appreciation particularly significant is that the FSFE never
spared with criticism of these very companies when it seemed
necessary. Obviously the job done by the FSFE is appreciated even
if we are uncomfortable at times. This independence from
politics, industry and other associations is a prerequisite for
our present successes and the basis for our continued work."

The projects of the FSFE are multifaceted: participation in the
German government's delegation at the "World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS)", consulting with the European Union
during the establishment of the framework programmes,
participation in AGNULA, a project to build a fully Free Software
distribution for professional musicians and multimedia authors
and also the maintenance and advancement of the GNU General
Public License (GPL). This diversity costs a lot of money:
travels round the world, production of information and marketing
material, personnel cost.


The FSFE Coordinator for Germany, Bernhard Reiter, illustrates
the background: "We want to pursue our projects at the highest
level. Moreover we observe an increasing demand for support of
the public: we are asked to give speeches and to consult on
licensing Free Software. We would like to do all of this. But
without funding our hands are tied.



-- 
Joachim Jakobs <jj at office.fsfeurope.org>
Press Speaker - FSF Europe (http://fsfeurope.org)
In der Roede 24, 64367 Mühltal (Tel: +49-179-6919565)









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