Frank Karlitschek receives the European SFS Award at SFSCON23

The founder of Nextcloud received the European SFS Award at SFSCON. This recognition which was presented for the first time jointly by the Linux User Group Bolzano and the Free Software Foundation Europe, went to "a tireless advocate of digital freedom as universal right".

"He is not only a talented technologist, but also a tireless advocate of digital freedom as a universal right". With these words, the European SFS Award was presented to Nextcloud founder Frank Karlitschek today, 10 November, at SFSCON 2023. This is the first time that the well-established SFS Award has been extended to the European level, a joint collaboration with the initiators of this recognition, the Linux User Group BZ (LUGBZ) and the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE).

More than two decades ago, Frank Karlitschek founded the community website KDE-Look.org, then GNOME-look.org and finally openDesktop.org to improve Free Software. In 2010, with the ownCloud project, the Stuttgart-based Free Software developer laid the foundation for a platform that allows people to store their data securely and independently. This led to the launch of Nextcloud in 2016.

Today, Nextcloud is a Free Software collaboration tool used by millions worldwide "and which some of the biggest technology companies around the world fear as a competitor", as Matthias Kirschner, FSFE president, pointed out during the Award ceremony. Kirschner further noted that “even in situations where he could have personally or with his company benefited financially, he decided to follow his principles and ensure that there is a fair level playing field for others in our community as well".

He[Karlitschek] followed his ideals and his strong believe that users should have the rights to use, understand, share, and improve their software—and created a comprehensive, user-friendly and secure collaboration platform, added Rafael Barbieri, LUGBZ member.

In his thank you speech, Karlitschek said he can just accept the award in the name for the Nextcloud community, the ones that really deserve this recognition.

The European SFS Award

The first SFS Award was presented to Hugo Leiter in 2004 at the SFSCON South Tyrol Free Software Conference for the implementation of Libre Office in all municipalities of South Tyrol. Twenty years later, at the start of the SFSCON at the NOI Techpark, the award was presented for the first time on a European level. The Free Software Foundation Europe teamed up with the initiator of the award, LUGBZ, to jointly honour Free Software developers who have made outstanding contributions to the dissemination and promotion of Free Software in Europe.

2023 Laudatio

Rafael: It’s an honour for me (on behalf of the Board of Linux User Group Bozen-Bolzano-Bulsan) to present the first European SFS Award, continuing a twenty year old tradition, since the first SFS Award was assigned in 2004 to Hugo Leiter, for introducing Libre Office in all municipalities of South Tyrol. Traditionally the AWARD has always been given to someone who greatly contributed to the culture of Free Software in South Tyrol, and this tradition will continue, but as SFSCON this year we extended the narrative to the essential European level. LUGBZ, promoting digital sustainability in South Tyrol, joined forces with an important European association active in the sphere of Free Software, namely the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). Let me introduce the president: Matthias Kirchner.

Matthias: Thank you Raphael! As the FSFE we have now participated many years at the SFSCON, and saw how the LUGBZ was awarding great Free Software contributors from Italy – so we were happy when we have been approached to join forces and award European Free Software contributors together with the LUGBZ.

Raphael: As in previous years, we received many nominations for potential winners. It was not easy for us to choose a winner, since many of the suggested candidates made enormous contribution to Free Software.

Matthias: The deciding factor for us this year was to choose a European who lives the values of software freedom, a person who has dedicated decades of work to software freedom and brought it to the next level, a true visionary and pioneer of software freedom.

Raphael: In 2001, over two decades ago, he started KDE-Look.org, later GNOME-look.org, as well as openDesktop.org to improve Free Software, and supported many initiatives in our field, including serving as Vice President of KDE e.V.

In 2010 at Akademy he laid the foundations for a platform that enabled millions of people to store their data securely and self-determined on servers. He promoted Open Standards, and inspired people to join the movement for software freedom.

With the development of a remote collaboration tool for teams, which is developed under the freedom protecting GNU AGPL license, he followed his ideals and his strong believe that users should have the rights to use, understand, share, and improve their software – and created a comprehensive, user-friendly and secure collaboration platform.

Matthias: His tireless commitment to software freedom has resulted in a Free Software product which some of the biggest technology companies around the world fear as a competitor.

Even in situations where he could have personally or with his company benefited financially, he decided to follow his principles and ensure that there is a fair level playing field for others in our community as well.

Raphael: He is not only a gifted technologist, but also a champion of the idea of digital freedom as a universal right. With his work he lives the ideals of transparency, privacy, and individual control over digital information, but he also laid the foundation for a diverse and engaged community.

Matthias: His dedication, his vision, and his strong principles enriched and inspired many in our community. We are deeply grateful for his contributions and look forward to a future he helps shape.

For these reasons, we hereby award Frank Karlitschek, the founder of Nextcloud, the European SFS Award 2023.

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Join us at SFSCON 2023!

We cannot wait to be in Bolzano for the South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFSCON) on 10 and 11 November. This two-day conference brings together Free Software advocates, decision makers and the general public at the gateway to the Dolomites. Our team will be there with talks, side events and a booth. We are ready to talk to you, so just drop by and say hello!

SFSCON is full of insightful talks, side events such as a hackathon and the European Free Software prize and a lot of interesting people to meet. Check out what we have prepared for these two days and do not forget to check out the entire SFSCON 23 schedule to find out about the rest of the talks.😉

Ada Readings

The first day will start and close with respective readings of the book ‘Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream’. The one in the morning will be a close event in Italian for school children so we encourage you to come to the one in the evening.

CLOSING with a Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream 10 November – 18:00h Seminar 1 Before you take some time to relax and enjoy this story, read in English by its author Matthias Kirschner, we still have a whole day ahead of us. Just remember that you can get your own copy of this book in English, German and... for the first time, in Italian! You can buy it at our stand (and it makes a great gift).

The book 'Ada & Zangemann' will be available to buy for the first time in Italian at SFSCON.

Our talks!

Sharing the power of appreciation: Celebrating ‘♥ I Love Free Software Day ♥’ 10 November - 13:20h Seminar 3 Like Ada, we think Free Software is great and its contributors are really cool. That is why every year we celebrate the “I Love Free Software Day”, to thank them for their daily work. Want to take part in the 2024 celebration? Bonnie Mehring will explain more about this event at her talk.

Free Software and AI in Europe 10 November - 14:00h Seminar 4 Politics and Free Software are interconnected. If you want to get a better understanding of the current hot topics related to Free Software being discussed in the European Union. In this talk, Alexander Sander will present the latest developments in EU legislation and activities on AI and what role Free Software plays in this.

Why Do We Need A Next Generation Internet? 10 November - 14:20h Seminar 4 The future of Internet is also a political topic. Gabriel Ku Wei Bin, FSFE Legal Project Manager, will explore why the current state of the internet should should be re-imagined , what can be done and how an EU initiative want to achieve it, creating a platform for future generations.

Interoperable Europe Act: A real game changer? 10 November - 14:40h Seminar 4 Another of our policy experts d Lina Ceballos will take a closer look a the IEA, shedding light on why this law is important for the Free Software community.

Let’s monitor implementation of Free Software Policies! 10 November - 15:20h Seminar 4 Also in the same seminar room and speaking of policy.... publicly funded software developed for the public sector should be made publicly available under a Free Software licence, right? And with tools like TEDective, this can be monitored. Want to know more? Johannes Näder will discuss how we as civil society can identify and deal with the lack of implementation of Free Software policies.

Windows and Office “tax” refund 10 November – 15:00h Seminar 2 Another demand of the Free Software community, as well as other civil society members and associations, are asking about the right to install any software on any device. Listen to FSFE volunteer Luca Bonissi going through his personal experience about the refund of pre-installed software, mainly in laptops.

Can we sustain Software Freedom in the mobile world? 10 November – 15:40h Seminar 3 But what about mobile phones? Can we achieve the same level of freedom and choice on smartphones? Nicole Faerber will discuss this topic during her session.

The ZOOOM project track

The ZOOOM Initiative is a project financed by the European Commission to raise awareness of the importance of management of rights and obligations related to Free Software, Open Data, and Open Hardware, in ecosystems of constant innovation. The ZOOOM Track at SFSCON aims to disseminate the findings of the ZOOOM project and show the intersection between legal and business aspects in IP management and value creation/capture in innovation ecosystems based on open-source software (and beyond). While on the first day the track will focus on different presentations explaining this Horizon Europe project, the second day a workshop will be held to examine the ZOOOM toolkit, which provides valuable tools and material regarding open licence innovation around the topic of Open Data, Software and Hardware.

The ZOOOM Framework: Legal aspects of FOSS and beyond 10 November - 17:00h Seminar 2 As partner of the ZOOOM project, FSFE team members Niharika Singhal will give an overview of the Free Software licensing compliance practices, including initiatives such as REUSE for streamlining copyright and license information for software projects.

The future of Free Software in Italy 11 November - 09:20h Seminar 4 The second day of the conference will start with a side event for the Italian community, so SFSCON participants so Free Software advocates who want to join online, where participants will discuss the future of Free Software in Italy, moderated by Marta Andreoli, FSFE Deputy Coordinator Italy. Interested? Remember to register ahead!.

Free Software and Open Science 11 November - 10:20h Seminar 2 The Open Science movement shares Free Software values and it offers a huge opportunity for Free Software in research and academia. FSFE volunteer Christian Busse, will present an overview on how the core concepts of Free Software and the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles intersect, what this means for managing code as research output and recent initiatives on the European level that will provide support for these issues.

The Future of Connectivity, Open Internet and Human Rights 11 November - 12:20h Seminar 2 We are becoming more and more dependent on the Internet for our work, education, communication, personal relations and entertainment. It’s time to resolve monopolies and re-establish democratic control over the technology we most depend upon. Lucas Lasota, FSFE will present the challenges end-users are facing to get more control over their devices and how Free Software is key for a consumer re-employment.

And even more!

At the end of the second day, Bonnie Mehring will present the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom competition at the hackathon closing event. This competition, which will be held for the third time in 2024, is aimed at European teenagers who love coding, whether they are beginners or advanced, and who want to develop their own project and have the chance to win cash prizes while networking with other teenagers.

Besides, during these two days you can come to our booth to get free stickers, information about our campaigns and initiatives and get some nice swag! Moreover, we will have free home made ice cream to give away to anyone who subscribes to our newsletter.

Use SFSCON sharepic generator to get your personal image! Generate your unique picture here: https://sharepic.fsfe.org/#sfscon

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FSFE at the Chaos Communication Congress

The FSFE is back for the Chaos Communication Congress! Come and join us at the end of December in the "Bits & Bäume" cluster and end the year in a fun and chaos way attending interesting talks and making new friends! The Call of Participation ends on 11 November so rush up!

Under the motto ’Unlocked’, the 37th edition of the Chaos Communication Congress is back as an in-person event and at its usual venue in Hamburg. Being one of the largest events of its kind, the annual congress opens its doors to around 16.000 hackers to meet, network, and discuss their favourite topics in talks, workshops and meet-ups. There is something for everybody at the 37C3. So come on in and be part of this years Congress!

This year, the Free Software Foundation Europe is an active part of the 37C3 as part of the Bits & Bäume cluster. Together, we will create a room for Free Software enthusiasts, Chaos-people, and everybody who wants to come together, connect and talk about Free Software.

If you care about sustainability, drop by and let us explain how Free Software contributes to a “greener” society. This year we are also happy to announce the new track “Sustainability & Climate Justice”. Together with Freifunk, Fiff and many more, the FSFE is part of this years content-team behind the track. We are looking forward to your submissions about Free Software and sustainability at the 37C3! The Call for Participation ends on the 11th of November.

You can discover a lot more about Free Software and the activities of the FSFE at our booth. And keep the date! Live together singing at our booth every evening, at 19:00 h. The song? The famous Free Software Song. We cannot wait to sing it with you!

Let us bring Free Software on stage at the 37C3 and join us at the FSFE booth and our talks and workshops!

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REUSE goes to space!

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has adopted the REUSE specification in some of its projects. We have talked to Tobias Schlauch, research software engineer at the DLR, about the role of Free Software for research, innovation, and the importance of a clear understanding and displaying of the legal information of software projects. He highlights the special contributions that REUSE has to offer for software development but also for research.

The REUSE initiative, started by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) makes licensing easy for humans and machines alike. With REUSE, we solve a fundamental issue that Free Software licensing has at the very source: what license is a file licensed under, and who owns the copyright? A set of best practices and the helper tool make the task of adding this legal information in every single file of the project a simple practice.

The number of projects implementing REUSE in their workflows is steadily increasing. This is the case for some projects of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V - DLR), which are now REUSE compliant. To learn more about the state of Free Software at the DLR, the implementation of the FSFE’s REUSE, and how research and software freedom intertwine, we interviewed Tobias Schlauch.

Tobias is a research software engineer at the Institute for Software Technology at DLR since 2005. He currently serves as the representative of the DLR Software Engineering Initiative. In this position, he organises the DLR research software community and coordinates the DLR-wide application of software engineering methods, processes and tools.

FSFE: Welcome Tobias, and thank you for taking the time to let us know more about the work carried by DLR, especially when it comes to Free Software and a proper licensing and copyright displaying of such projects. Let’s start from the beginning, why is software a core activity of the research carried out by DLR?

Tobias Schlauch: DLR is a large research organization in Germany with more than 10,000 employees which are organized in 54 research institutes and facilities. Aeronautics, space, energy, transport, and digitalisation are currently its main research domains. Software development plays an important role in all of them and is a driver of innovation.

Overall, you can find a wide variety of developed software at DLR in terms of application domain and required maturity level. For example, software is developed to help investigating specific phenomena such as simulation of air flow around flight configurations. Another typical use case is the processing, analysis and visualization of scientific data. Moreover, there are also teams developing software for critical space missions such as control software of satellites.

FSFE: What role does Free Software play within the research ecosystem at DLR? And what do you think are the benefits that Free Software offers to such a community?

Tobias Schlauch: Free Software is an important basis for DLR’s software development efforts. There is likely no software project which does not rely on at least one Free Software library or uses a Free Software tool to aid in the process of software development. Thus, Free Software helps us to rapidly try out new things because we do not have to develop them from scratch. Besides these more efficiency-related aspects, publishing Free Software in the research domain helps to exchange knowledge inside a research community and between different research communities. In this way, Free Software can be a driver for innovation in research.

"Free Software is an important basis for DLR’s software development efforts. There is likely no software project which does not rely on at least one Free Software library or uses a Free Software tool to aid in the process of software development".

FSFE: In research, reusability is at the heart of the scientific process, yet it is still one of the challenges in software development research. Why do you think this is an issue at the moment, and what kind of measures is DLR taking to tackle it? How can a tool like REUSE help with these efforts?

Tobias Schlauch: The use and reuse of software in research has its specific challenges. Generally, a core aspect of research is that you can validate and build upon the results of other research groups. For example, you want to be able to take the “ingredients” described in a scientific paper, such as data sets and software, and get to the same results as the authors of the paper. This kind of validation and reproduction of scientific results is a core aspect of research. However, reproducibility has become more and more challenging with the rise of computational research and has led to the so-called reproducibility crisis. For example, still too often it is not clear which concrete version of a software has been used to achieve a specific result or, even worse, the used data sets and software are not available at all.

The movement towards Open Science tries to address this problem by establishing principles and practices to make research products such as software openly available. In this context, the FAIR principles provide guidance how to share research products to enable reuse and reproducibility. Initially, the Open Science community focused a lot on data but nowadays also software has been more and more established as a research product. Thus, there is also an interpretation of the FAIR principles for software.

An important aspect of code reuse is that you have a clear understanding about the licenses under which code is provided. In this context, REUSE makes a unique contribution by providing a practical standard for documenting such information in a code repository while not reinventing the wheel. In particular, REUSE addresses the problem of multiple licenses and different copyright holders as it allows to precisely express such information on a per-file level. Finally, REUSE offers really good tool support which helps during the initial documentation phase and the further development by offering a linting functionality.

At DLR, we need to transfer these Open Science related practices into the DLR context. This requires DLR-specific policies and support activities to effectively enable our researchers to publish research openly. The DLR software engineering initiative provides this practical support in context of software development. I.e., we foster the establishment of required tool infrastructure, offer guidelines, training and consulting. For example, in context of software publication, we offer a help desk which DLR researchers can approach to ask questions with regard to Free Software and software licenses. In addition, we also provide Free Software guidelines to answer common questions with regard to these topics.

FSFE: The DLR project - CosmoScout VR - has recently implemented the REUSE specification. How did they arrive at that decision?

Tobias Schlauch: I approached them with the idea and I did not have to be too convincing. They already recognized the point that one single license for the whole repository does not feel right. REUSE allows them to be precise and to make sure that they do not accidentally miss an important aspect.

FSFE: Do you see the potential of more DLR projects joining CosmoScout VR in becoming REUSE compliant?

Tobias Schlauch: Yes, I think so. Actually, there are already much more compliant code repositories out there. But they do not necessarily use the current REUSE badge feature. For example, we also provide our learning materials in Git repositories which we made REUSE compliant. In addition, in the DLR institute I work for, the Institute for Software Technology, we currently rebuild our software publication process and REUSE is to become a standard tool in it. However, I think that there is more room for adoption of REUSE on the wider DLR level.

Bloque quote: “An approach such as REUSE makes it much easier to follow an established good practice… I do not have to think where to put a specific information such as the license files as REUSE gives me clear advice. In addition, REUSE helps me to check whether I accidentally missed something. Such tools are really, really important because they bring a standard into practice.”

FSFE: One of your efforts within DLR has been educating and guiding the DLR research software development community on how to properly declare licensing and copyright information for their work. What would you say to someone working in this field to encourage them to use Free Software?

Tobias Schlauch: I think that many researchers at DLR are already aware of Free Software and their benefits. However, another part of our educational efforts is to ensure that they are using them the “right” way. Thus, license compliance is an important aspect here which also starts with raising awareness. For example, by providing researchers small rules of thumb such as “Make sure that the code you want to reuse has a clear license.” or “Make the license a decision criterion when selecting a Free Software library”. In addition, we also encourage our researchers to publish their own developments as Free Software or, even better, contribute to existing Free Software projects. In this area, there is still room for improvement but we try to encourage them by pointing out the benefits of open collaboration such as improved visibility, sustainability, and quality of published software. Finally, when making your developed research software available as Free Software, you also ensure that your work is still available to you and the wider research community after your contracts end and you head over to another research organization.

FSFE: Are tools like REUSE key to educate and guide the rest of the research software development community?

Tobias Schlauch: Yes, I think so. An approach such as REUSE makes it much easier to follow an established good practice. For example, I do not have to think where to put a specific information such as the license files as REUSE gives me clear advice. In addition, REUSE helps me to check whether I accidentally missed something. Such tools are really, really important because they bring a standard into practice.

FSFE: Indeed, DLR is not only adopting REUSE but also has included it as a reference within its Free Software guidelines. Is the DLR aiming to including REUSE into its licensing policy as well? How do you think this would benefit DLR and the research ecosystem as a whole?

Tobias Schlauch: Yes, I think that REUSE has a good chance to be included in our DLR policies with regard to software publication. There are different activities planned, for example, in context of the adoption of the Model Policy on Sustainable Software at the Helmholtz Centers at DLR. In close relation to this, we might already earlier update the DLR Software Engineering Guidelines and make REUSE the default way on how to document license and copyright information. The effect in the wider research community will take some time but I think that we can reach a point where we finally have a clearer picture of the license situation when reusing a software.

FSFE: If you could improve/change something to bring the Free Software ecosystem and the research community closer together, what would that be?

Tobias Schlauch: I would like to remove the fear of researchers publishing their code as Free Software and to encourage them to contribute to existing Free Software projects more often.

FSFE: Once again thank you very much, Tobias, for your insights and for all the efforts you are leading within the DLR and the research community.

Thanks to all our volunteers, contributors, and supporters!

It is always a great opportunity to thank our volunteers and external contributors to REUSE for their great work in continuing improving the tool and documentation but also for keeping up an ongoing and fruitful discussion regarding its specification.

The contribution of all our supporters also allows our continuing work on REUSE as well as on all our activities. You can join them by becoming a supporter, tell your friends how they can support our work with a small donation. Your support enables our work!

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Fediverse Symposium: Recordings are now online

More than 70 people came together, in Cologne on 22 September, to get an insight into the Fediverse and to discuss the importance of decentralised social networks for our society. If you were not able to join our Fediverse Symposium or want to re-watch the talks, we now have the German-language recordings on our PeerTube instance for you!

We, the FSFE, organised the Fediverse symposium “The world after Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. A new generation of the Internet?” together with the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Centre for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia) and the VHS Köln (Adult Education Centre Cologne). It was one of the first symposiums dedicated to the Fediverse in Germany, aimed at multipliers in political education, teachers, representatives of public institutions and educational establishments, as well as all interested stakeholders.

In the first part of the symposium, several long-time Fediverse power useres activists gave an overview of decentralised social networks, available federated services, their relevance for democratic societies and their strengths and weaknesses. This was followed by a practical insight from the perspective of a Fediverse instance moderator, before the guests had the opportunity to participate in several workshops on the practical use of Fediverse services, the operation of own instances and the transfer of knowledge about decentralised social networks in an educational context.

Watch the talks now!

As keynote speaker, publicist Katharina Nocun placed the decentralised social networks known as Fediverse in the larger social context, referring to the current situation around centralised "walled gardens" and the dangers they pose to the democratic public sphere.

“Keynote: Die Infrastruktur der offenen Gesellschaft im digitalen Zeitalter - Katharina Nocun (Publizistin)”

The participants were able to gain an overview of the Fediverse concept, the various services and the underlying ActivityPub protocol in the input of Friendica developer and FSFE staff member Tobias Diekershoff. Find his presentation here.

““Input: Was ist das Fediverse? Überblick und Abgrenzung - Tobias Diekershoff (friendica-Entwickler)”

Stephanie Henkel aka Ückück, one of the moderators of the dresden.network Mastodon instance, brought a constructive-critical perspective on the Fediverse to the symposium. She spoke about the questions and decisions that arise when entering the Fediverse, about the tension between freedom of expression and the need for protected spaces, about moderation and as well as the growth of the Fediverse - not without also suggesting solutions. Download her presentation here.

“Input: Potenziale und Probleme zentralisierter und dezentraler Dienste - Stephanie Henkel (Moderatorin bei dresden.network)”

Sascha Foerster, co-founder and moderator of the bonn.social Mastodon instance, gave a refreshing practical insight into the challenges of setting up and running a Fediverse instance, including some examples highlighting the importance of rules, moderation and backups. You can watch his presentation here.

“Input:"Praxisinput: Aus dem Alltag eines Fediverse-Admins - Sascha Foerster (Bonn.digital)"

The workshops were not recorded for technical and data protection reasons. However, the workshop leaders shared a summary of the workshop results with the audience.

“Input:"Zusammenfassung der Workshops (Björn Friedrich, Katharina Nocun, Tobias Diekershoff, padeluun, moderation: Friederike von Franqué)"

Material from the workshops is also available for download:

• Presentation from workshop 1 "Decentralised Networks as a Subject of Political and School Education" (Björn Friedrich from SIN - Studio im Netz e.V)
• Minutes of three working groups within workshop 1.
• Presentation from workshop 2 “Using decentralised services for individuals and institutions” (Katharina Nocun, Tobias Diekershoff)
• Presentation from workshop 3 “Running your own Fediverse instance” (padeluun, Digitalcourage e.V.)

The closing panel brought all the speakers together once again on stage, in conversation with moderator Friederike von Franqué (Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.). The discussion revolved around future perspectives for the Fediverse, including the question of how institutions and associations can be supported on their way into the Fediverse and at what point a clear break with the centralised platform services will be necessary.

“Abschlusspodium: Wie sieht die Zukunft des Fediverse aus? - Björn Friedrich, Katharina Nocun, padeluun, Sascha Foerster, Stephanie Henkel, Tobias Diekershoff, moderation: Friederike von Franqué"

We would like to thank all participants of the symposium, especially our speakers and the moderator Friederike von Franqué. as well as the Landeszentrale NRW and the VHS Cologne for making this event possible, providing funds and the venue, but also contributing to conceptual planning.

Your donation helps us to advance software freedom across Europe!

In particular, we would like to thank everyone who donates to help us organise events like this and others to promote Free Software, for example, through our Fedivgov campaign, which encourages public institutions across Europe to step into the Fediverse.

If you would like to support our work for software freedom, please consider making a regular or one-time donation to FSFE. It is your donations that make our work possible!

About the FSFE

Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives. It is important that this technology empowers rather than restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use, study, share, and improve software. These rights help support other fundamental rights like freedom of speech, freedom of press, and privacy.

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