[FSFE PR][EN] Document Freedom Day 2010 - Liberate your Documents!

[Free Software Foundation Europe]

= Document Freedom Day 2010 =
== Liberate your documents! ==

[Permanent URL: http://fsfe.org/news/2010/news-20100331-01.en.html ]

31 March 2010, 11:00, Berlin, Germany -- Today is Document Freedom Day
2010. For the third time, groups all over the world are celebrating open
document formats and Open Standards. They are raising awareness for how
a technical issue impacts our day-to-day lives.

Activities are taking place in many countries. In Germany and Austria,
radio stations are receiving awards for offering streams in the open Ogg
Vorbis format. In Slovenia, the country's highest court is commended for
its use of the ODF format for text documents.

In Romania, activists have been busy pointing out to public
administrations that "I can't read your documents". In Johannesburg,
South Africa, the Department of Arts and Culture will hold a celebration
to mark DFD. In the Brazilian city of Vitoria, the group Espirito Livre
is organising a conference on Free Software and Open Standards. 

Document Freedom Day coordinator Fernanda Weiden says: "It is great to
see so many volunteers with a passion for freedom in technology. These
people care deeply about the way that software and standards affect
their lives, and they are taking the initiative to make sure that others
can enjoy the same freedoms as them."

Computer users, companies and public administrations are storing huge
amounts of information in electronic form. If this happens in a format
that can only be read by software from a single vendor, the information
will eventually be lost.

Open Standards, such as ODF for office documents or Ogg Vorbis for
music, can be read and written with many different applications. They
give users freedom of choice, since they work on any application on any
platform or operating system. "Open document formats make sure that your
valuable information doesn't turn into digital toxic waste with your
next upgrade to a new software", says Karsten Gerloff, President of the
Free Software Foundation Europe.

"Whether it's your personal emails or your pension records in a
government agency, it's important to think ahead. Will the software
you're using now still be around in ten years' time? If the answer is
no, make sure that your data is saved according to Open Standards." The
DFD team will gather information and reports from this year's
activities, organise them and publish them on the DFD web pages.

  Document Freedom Day campaign page
  http://www.documentfreedom.org/
  
  List of participating groups (constantly updated):
  http://www.documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams
  
  German, Austrian Radio stations honoured for their use of Ogg Vorbis
  http://fsfe.org/news/2010/news-20100324-01.en.html
  
  Document Freedom Day 2010 is coordinated by Free Software Foundation
  Europe. Participation is open to everyone, and groups are organising
  events independently. 

== Contacts ==

  Free Software Foundation Europe
  E-Mail: press at fsfeurope.org

  Karsten Gerloff, President
  +49-176-96904298

  Fernanda Weiden, Document Freedom Day Coordinator
  +41-764-021866

  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.
 
  http://fsfe.org