Have you heard about YH4F? 2024 participant shares her journey and tips for success!

The 2025 edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom (YH4F) is officially underway. While this edition’s participants work on their own Free Software projects, we sat down with Aya, a YH4F 2024 contestant. She shared her inspiring journey from her first programming experience to creating a project for YH4F. Learn more about her story, and remember: you can still take part in this year’s competition!

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom (YH4F),organized by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), is a unique programming competition that encourages young people to develop innovative technical projects under one key principle: the project must be Free Software. But YH4F is more than just a contest: it’s a platform for young talent to learn, grow, and make a meaningful impact on their communities.

2025 YH4F are already busy working on their projects and networking with other participants, and meanwhile we like to catch up with past participants to find out what inspired them to take part in this young programming competition and to learn more their projects. This time we spoke to Aya, who told us how she learnt programming and ended up creating a tool to help people with disabilities. Her project aims to improve the daily lives of visually impaired people e and demonstrates the power of technology to create positive change.

FSFE: Hi Aya! First of all, congratulations on your participation in last year’s edition of YH4F! Can you present yourself briefly?

Aya: Hi, my name is Aya. I’m 19 years old and currently living in Barcelona, Spain. Some of my hobbies are karate and chess.

FSFE: What was your first experience with programming, and how did you start learning to write code? Was it with Free Software?

Aya: My first experience with programming was back in high school when I worked, with a team on a personal project . It was an exciting challenge. That experience sparked my interest in programming, and I began to enjoy the subject more and more. We couldn’t have completed the project without the Free Software tools available at the time, which played a crucial role in our success.

FSFE: Can you remember when you first used Free Software? Were you, at that time, aware of the freedoms that Free Software offers?

Aya: Initially, I didn’t have much experience with Free Software or fully understand its significance. It wasn’t until I started working on my own projects that I realised how powerful and essential Free Software is for programmers of all skill levels. It gives us the freedom to explore, learn, and create without barriers.

FSFE: How and why did you decide to join YH4F? What did you like the most about the contest?

Aya: A friend’s mother told me about YH4F, knowing that I enjoy challenges and contests like this. I joined without hesitation, and it was an incredible experience. My favourite part was how much my skills improved in such a short time, thanks to the deadlines that pushed me to stay focused. I also really enjoyed meeting new people during the monthly calls.

FSFE: How did you come up with your project idea? What motivated you to work on it?

Aya: I wanted to demonstrate that today’s technological advancements can significantly improve the lives of people with disabilities, such as blindness. This motivation drove me to create something practical and impactful.

FSFE: What were the main problems or challenges that you encountered during the programming period?

Aya: One of the biggest challenges was finding suitable free libraries for implementing both text-to-speech and optical character recognition (OCR) functionalities. Many of the options I found were either limited in features, required paid subscriptions, or were incompatible with my tools. To overcome this, I spent a lot of time researching Free Software solutions and testing different options until I found the right fit.

FSFE:Did you work on it alone?

Aya: Yes, I worked on the project entirely on my own.

FSFE: This project involves both software and mechanical components. What were the key challenges in making sure the software and hardware worked together?

Aya: One of the key challenges was ensuring that the audio and camera drivers were functioning correctly. It took a lot of trial and error, along with watching many YouTube tutorials, to figure out how to get them to work seamlessly.

FSFE: Do you think you will continue working on your project? What would be some next steps you would like to carry out?

Aya: Yes, I plan to continue working on it. My next goal is to make the project more portable. To achieve this, I’m considering running it on a microprocessor like a Raspberry Pi or a similar hardware.

FSFE: Are you planning to improve the documentation so more people can reuse your project

Aya: For now, I’m not focused on the documentation, but it’s something I might prioritise in the future.

FSFE: How has participating in YH4F and working on these projects affected you personally? What have you learned about yourself through this experience?

Aya: Participating in YH4F has been a transformative experience for me. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me discover that I’m capable of overcoming challenges with creativity and determination. It also reinforced my passion for using technology to solve real-world problems and inspired me to continue improving my skills to make a meaningful impact.

FSFE: And last but not least, is there any kind of advice that you would like to give to new participants?

Aya: Don’t leave anything for the last minute! Proper planning and time management are crucial to making the most of this experience. And most importantly, enjoy the process!

Join YH4F This Year!

The 2025 edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom started on 1 January, with the programming phase now in fullswing.

Late registration is still possible, and we recommend registering as soon as possible to connect with other participants and make the most of this incredible opportunity. Visit the YH4F website for more details or reach out to the organizers via email.

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FSFE-Fachtag: Public Money? Public Code! in der Praxis

Freie Software ist für Behörden unverzichtbar, um Abhängigkeiten zu überwinden und technologische Souveränität zu erreichen. Das Gebot der Stunde heißt daher „Public Money? Public Code!“ Der Fachtag der Free Software Foundation Europe in Essen am 08.04.2025 eröffnet praktische Perspektiven, wie Verwaltungen in Deutschland in diese Richtung vorangehen können.

Gemeinsam mit Vertreterinnen und Vertretern aus Politik, öffentlicher Verwaltung, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Zivilgesellschaft wollen wir diskutieren, welche Vorteile Freie Software für öffentliche Institutionen auf Kommunal-, Landes- und Bundesebene bringt und welche Herausforderungen sich auf diesem Weg stellen. Der Schwerpunkt wird dabei auf dem Einsatz Freier Software in Kommunen liegen: Wo gibt es schon heute Best Practices, und was lässt sich daraus lernen? Wie kann kommunale Free-Software-Governance aussehen? Welche Möglichkeiten der Kollaboration eröffnen sich durch Freie Software? Was ist bei der Vergabe zu beachten?

Der Fachtag „Public Money? Public Code! in der Praxis“ ist ein Angebot der Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). Er richtet sich vorwiegend an Entscheidungsträgerinnen, Beschaffer und Multiplikatorinnen aus öffentlichen Verwaltungen in Deutschland sowie an Menschen, die in ihrem Arbeitsalltag mit Verwaltungsdigitalisierung befasst sind.

Die Veranstaltung findet in deutscher Sprache statt. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos, eine Online-Anmeldung ist jedoch erforderlich (Anmeldeschluss 23.03.2025). Die Zahl der Teilnehmenden ist begrenzt, eine Teilnahmebestätigung verschicken wir bis zum 25.03.2025. Es gilt der Code of Conduct der FSFE.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Anmeldung!

Veranstaltungsdaten und Anmeldung

Datum: 08 April 2025 Einlass: 10:00 Uhr Fachtag: 11:00 - 16:00 Uhr Ort: Unperfekthaus, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 18-20, 45127 Essen Online-Anmeldung: https://registration.fsfe.org/publiccode-fachtag

Programm

10:00 – Anmeldung und Kennenlernen

11:00 –Begrüßung Johannes Näder / Alexander Sander (FSFE)

11:10 – Digitale Souveränität als Staatsaufgabe Jutta Horstmann (Zentrum Digitale Souveränität, ZenDiS)

11:40 – Eine Stadt gestaltet den Wandel: “Public Money? Public Code!” in der Praxis Christian Nähle (Do-FOSS)

12:00 – Freie-Software-Governance in Kommunen Marc Groß (KGSt)

12:20 – Gute Freie-Software-Beschaffung durch klare Kriterien Bianca Kastl (Stadt Frankfurt am Main)

12:40 – Freie Software erfolgreich beschaffen: Stolpersteine vermeiden, Chancen nutzen! Panel: Johanna Gramlich (FITKO), Jutta Horstmann, Bianca KastlModeration: Alexander Sander (FSFE)

13:15 – Mittagspause

14:15 – Freie Software in der Verwaltung: Was braucht es für den Erfolg? N.N.

14:35 – openCode – die Infrastruktur für digitale Souveränität Leonhard Kugler (ZenDiS)

14:55 – Verwaltung, Zivilgesellschaft, Community: Kollaboration als ErfolgsmodellSimon Strohmenger (CONSUL)

15:15 – Öffentlicher Code braucht öffentliches Geld: Tech-Souveränität nachhaltig sichern Panel: N.N., Lea Beiermann (ZenDiS), Christian Nähle, Simon StrohmengerModeration: Johannes Näder (FSFE)

16:00 – Kaffee und Networking

17:00 – Veranstaltungsende

Free Software and "Public Money? Public Code!"

Freie Software gibt allen das Recht, Programme für jeden Zweck zu verwenden, zu verstehen, zu verbreiten und zu verbessern. Durch diese Freiheiten müssen ähnliche Programme nicht komplett neu programmiert werden und dank transparenter Prozesse muss das Rad nicht ständig neu erfunden werden. Bei großen Projekten können Expertise und Kosten geteilt werden und Anwendungen stehen allen zur Verfügung. So wird Innovation gefördert und mittel- bis langfristig Steuergeld gespart. Abhängigkeiten von einzelnen Anbieterinnen werden minimiert und Sicherheitslücken können leichter geschlossen werden. Die Free Software Foundation Europe fordert daher mit über 200 Organisation und Verwaltungen „Public Money? Public Code!“ - Wenn es sich um öffentliche Gelder handelt, sollte auch der Code öffentlich sein! Mehr Informationen zur Initiative sind auf der „Public Money? Public Code!" Website zu finden.

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DMA & Free Software: what Free Software organisations need to know

On 24 March the FSFE will conduct an online Q&A session about the Digital Markets Act and its importance for representatives of Free Software organisations. The DMA was designed to limit the power of the "gatekeepers" and boost fairer digital markets. But what does its enforcement mean for Free Software? Join us for this strategic discussion.

Understanding the DMA’s impact on Free Software

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is the European Union’s regulation to promote fair competition in the digital markets. The law applies to large tech companies exercising “gatekeeper control” in the EU. The DMA imposes on such companies several obligations, like allowing the right to install and uninstall software in devices, prohibition of non-removable pre-installed software, enabling third-party app stores, and access rights via interoperability with software and hardware functions.

This event is specifically designed for members and representatives of Free Software organizations to discuss the opportunities the DMA creates for Free Software, such as enabling alternative app stores, side-loading of applications, and improved interoperability policies.

Additionally, the event will serve as a platform for discussing FSFE’s legal efforts, specifically regarding its litigation against Apple at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with FSFE experts, ask questions, and explore how their organizations can support and benefit from the DMA’s implementation.

Speakers:

• Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal Programme Manager
• Jithendra Palepu, Independent Researcher. Volunteer in the FSFE’s legal area

Details:

• When: 24 March 2025, 17:30 (CET)
• Where: FSFE’s online instance

To attend this online event, registration is required. Please fill this form out to register.

Device Neutrality

Although digital devices are ubiquitous today, the number of devices on which users cannot run Free Software is exponentially increasing. The consequence is a growing loss of control over users' technology. Device Neutrality aims to enable end-users to bypass gatekeepers to have a non-discriminatory use of Free Software on their devices.

In 2022, several components, part of the Device Neutrality concept, were included in the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Union's largest initiative to regulate gatekeepers in digital markets. Although the law contains the principles for making Device Neutrality a reality, its regulations concern only very large platforms. The DMA establishes obligations for gatekeepers - “dos” and “don'ts” they must comply with - and prescribes fines and penalties for infringements. The DMA encompasses several rules concerning Device Neutrality, including safeguarding the right to uninstall pre-installed software and several measures for preventing lock-in, as well as fostering interoperability and end-user control over personal data.

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Legal Corner+++ FOSDEM recap+++ Ada movie in Spanish

In the last few weeks we published our first Legal Corner article and the recordings of our talks at FOSDEM. We were happy to see pictures from the I Love Free Software Day celebrations and can't wait to meet you at CLT 2025! We are organising an online Q&A session about the DMA and Free Software. The Ada movie is finally available in Spanish!

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• Digital Markets Act and Free Software: FOSDEM keynote, Software Freedom podcast and online Q&A session
• Public Money, Public Code! symposium
• Legal Corner: MIA or Dead Contributors - Does It Matter For Your Software Project?
• From Ada’s Workshop: The Latest on Ada & Zangemann
• I Love Free Software Day 2025 celebrations
• FOSDEM 2025: Check out the videos from our talks and listen to our new podcast episode
• Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2025: we will be there!
• Edulife partnership: one more year teaching Italian students about Free Software
• From our community!
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“In Volkswagen Group Spain Distribution we are committed to the development of STEM careers for the new generations. Diversity is especially important because it will ensure that the development of software has a more inclusive perspective and in this regard, "Ada & Zangemann" is a very inspirational book because it is completely aligned with the purpose of our company”

Ricardo Bacchini, People & Organization Director from Volkswagen Group Spain

Digital Markets Act and Free Software: FOSDEM keynote, Software Freedom podcast and online Q&A session

On 24 March 2025, the FSFE is organizing the ‘Online Q&A session – Digital Markets Act and Free Software: everything the Free Software community needs to know’. There we will present our efforts to ensure effective enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, with space for questions from the Free Software community. More info will be published soon, stay tuned!

Meanwhile, you can watch our colleague Lucas Lasota's keynote speech on this topic at FOSDEM 2025 under the title “How we are defending Software Freedom against Apple at the EU's highest court”. Apple is attempting to avoid obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and in this talk, we explained why this case is pivotal for Free Software in Europe and why we should all care.

If you want to know more about Free Software and the DMA, we suggest that you listen to episode 30 of our Software Freedom Podcast, where Bonnie Mehring talks with Marc Prud'hommeaux about the App Fair Project: an alternative iOS marketplace that exclusively distributes Free Software applications. The project's goal is to promote a more accessible and inclusive Free Software ecosystem in iOS.

Public Money, Public Code! symposium

On 8 April 2025, the FSFE is hosting a symposium on ‘Public Money? Public Code' in the practical work of public administrations. One focus will be on the use of Free Software in municipalities: What can best practices look like and where are local administrations already leading the way? What opportunities for collaboration are opened up by Free Software? What challenges arise when awarding contracts? What opportunities does the use of Free Software bring for public administrations?

The event will take place in Essen.

Legal Corner: MIA or Dead Contributors - Does It Matter For Your Software Project?

If your software project has multiple contributions, and a contributor becomes uncontactable or passes away, this can become an issue in certain situations. Here we discuss when a missing or deceased contributor affects your software project, and what options you have.

Check out our article on this topic!

This is the first article in a new series, "Legal Corner".

From Ada’s Workshop: The Latest on Ada & Zangemann

The movie Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream is now available in Spanish! Thanks to our donors, and especially Volkswagen Spain, you can now organize screenings of this inspiring animated story in your community also in Spanish. Help us to spread the word about the movie so in the future young people have the opportunity to tinker, experiment, and code with Free Software as the default.

Prefer a reading instead? The Spanish version of the story is also available in our Git repository.

I Love Free Software Day 2025 celebrations

Hidden projects was the topic of I Love Free Software Day 2025, a day to say thank you to Free Software contributors but also to celebrate, together, our awesome community and appreciate the work of developers, system administrators, translators, community moderators…

This year we had 19 meetings around Europe in our local communities in Albania, Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK! Check out some pictures of the different events!

The hashtag #ilovefs was also a trend on the Fediverse! Thanks to everyone who participated in this day and also those who sent messages thanking Free Software projects!

FOSDEM 2025: Check out the videos from our talks and listen to our new podcast episode

Some occasions are too special to miss, like our February trip to FOSDEM, where we connected with the Free Software community. Even when things didn’t go as planned, it was an energizing boost against the winter blues. Thanks to everyone who joined our DevRooms, attended our talks including our keynote on the Apple litigation, came to our women breakfast, and stopped at the booth.

In our 31st episode of the Software Freedom Podcast, Alexander Sander and Bonnie Mehring discuss the highlights of the two Devrooms that the FSFE co-organized during FOSDEM 2025: the 'Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom' and the 'Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom'. Find out more about the topics discussed there and tips about what to re-watch.

Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2025: we will be there!

Once again, we are participating in the Chemnitzer Linux - Tage that will take place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 March.

On Saturday at 12:00h., the FSFE's Technical Advisor Florian Snow will talk about "Open system, closed doors: Freedom in Banking" (room V5). At 15:00h., Tobias Diekershoff (FSFE System Administrator, Friendica developer) will explore the non-textual areas of the Fediverse (V5). On Sunday at 11:00h., Johannes Näder (FSFE Senior Policy Project Manager) will shed a light on openwashing, the practice of misleading consumers and public authorities by disguising proprietary software products as Free Software (V7)."Ada & Zangemann", the story about the girl Ada who loves to tinker and bravely stands up to the mighty inventor Zangemann, will play a prominent role at this year's CLT: The new animated film will be shown on Saturday and Sunday at 14:00 (W1), and a reading will take place on Saturday at 11:00 (Kinderparadies).We will also host a community meeting at the FSFE booth on Saturday at 12:30. If you're attending the CLT, be sure to stop by to learn about FSFE's current activities, get your copy of the Ada & Zangemann book, or get a new hoodie or shirt!

Edulife partnership: one more year teaching Italian students about Free Software

As part of the FSFE partnership with the Edulife Foundation, Italian students in the ITS Academy LAST project had the opportunity to learn about Free Software. During January and February the FSFE provided educational content covering legal aspects, policy, and public awareness, helping students gain a deeper understanding of Free Software and its significance.

Known as the “IT Free Software Knowledge Project”, this two-year partnership started in November 2023. As part of this academic program, the FSFE delivered educational content about Free Software, with a focus on Free Software legal issues, policy aspects and public awareness in the form of lectures. Besides, the students attended Free Software conferences, such as the SFSCon.

From our community

• There is no cloud, just other people's computers. The Dutch parliament realized this last year and expressed concern over the reliance on foreign IT services. In a recent report the Court of Audit concluded that the Dutch central government started using cloud services without thoroughly considering the implications and risks. The Netherlands local team, who contributed to the discussion participating in several meetings as a stakeholder, is closely following this topic

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

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"I Love Free Software Day" 2025: Hidden Projects

In the week of the 14th of February we celebrated the I Love Free Software Day 2025. This year we marked this special day with 19 events in 11 different European countries. Even more, hundreds of people and many organisations joined us in the Fediverse - with a special "Thank you!" note for Free Software projects and contributors. To all who joined us this time: "Thank you" for participating in this 15th edition of the "I Love Free Software Day" ❤️❤️❤️!

In 2025 the FSFE and its local groups focused on hidden Free Software projects for the "I Love Free Software Day". Together with our local groups we wanted to raise awareness of all the hidden Free Software Projects that power our daily infrastructure. Free Software is everywhere and often it is the small projects that become a vital part of our lives - therefore we dedicated this "I Love Free Software Day" to all those projects that are not that prominent, so to shed some light on them ❤️

"I Love Free Software Day" Thank you message by Dario

I Love Free Software Day celebrations 2025

For this year the FSFE's local groups planned several events across Europe. There was a great variety of activities at the different events, also depending on the size of the gathering - there were events from around 10 people to nearly 200 people.

To help the FSFE's local groups with organising all the different events we created a toolkit. The toolkit includes hands on tips and tricks for organising and sharing your event, some presentations on Free Software and the 'I Love Free Software Day' as well as fun games to fill the evening. The kit was a great resource for the organisers to use the available material or to take it as an inspiration for their own material. With this preparation our local groups could get started with organising all the amazing events across Europe ❤️.

Clockwise, picture of Ada & Zangemann postcard" (CC-BY Marta), picture of 'I Love Free Software Day' celebration by FSFE local group Zurich (CC-BY-SA 4.0 FSFE-local-group-Zurich), picture of FSFE staffers playing SuperTuxKart together (CC-BY Matthias Kirschner), Sharepicture of Ana Galan with 'Thank you' message ( CC BY 4.0 Lisa Schmidt)"

New events and new local groups

Tiranë, Albania

For the first time "I Love Free Software Day 2025" was organised in Albania. This event kicked off with several presentations about different Free Software projects and ended with some snacks and drinks. It was a cosy get-together and a great start of 'I Love Free Software Day' celebrations in Albania.

"'I Love Free Software Day' celebration by Tiranë, Albania, CC BY-NC-SA-LibreLabs"

Poland - a local movement started

For several years our local group in Poland has not been active. But as the turn of 2025 approached, this changed. No fewer than three new local groups began celebrating ‘I Love Free Software Day’ in several Polish cities. Those celebrations and gatherings are the foundation of the new activity in the Polish local groups.

"'I Love Free Software Day' celebration by Poznań, Poland, CC0"

Nuremberg celebrations

Among our newest event locations also the FSFE people in Nuremberg started to plan a get together. Nuremberg has very strong Free and Open Source businesses. While SUSE was originally founded in the neighboring city of Fürth, there are now several other Free Software companies based in Nuremberg. Together the local FSFE people, NETWAYs, SUSE, openSUSE, the Geeko Foundation, OpenCloud and the useful check_systemd tool organised a great meeting. During the meeting all the local projects shared their ideas in different talks and it was a great chance to start networking with each other about Free Software. The celebrations were a great way to get in contact with each other and to form new alliances.

Italy and the local Linux User Groups

In 2024 we had a great event in the Italian town Bergamo, which was organised by the FSFE together with the local Linux user group, BGlug. For 2025 we had a re-launch of this event and also several new events across the country. From Bozen-Bolzano to Este, and including one event in Sicilia, which was attended by 180 students. All of those events were possible by the great support of the local Linux User groups and the local FSFE groups.

"'I Love Free Software Day' celebration by BGLug, Bergamo, Biblioteca Tiraboschi CC-BY Marta"

Luxembourg Ville

For the first time there was a local celebration in Luxembourg with Free Software enthusiasts. They shared some knowledge about Free Software, the 'I Love Free Software Day' and many more interesting topics. Through out the celebrations people connected and fortified their local Free Software movement.

"'I Love Free Software Day' celebration Barcelona, Spain, CC-BY Albert Astals Cid"

Next, to all our new events also several ones from the previous years were relaunched and it was a great pleasure to see the people again gathering in Potteries (UK), Nijmegen (Netherlands), Zurich (CH), Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, and the German local groups in Frankfurt and Berlin.

"'I Love Free Software Day' celebration by FSFE local group Zurich CC-BY-SA 4.0 FSFE-local-group-Zurich" "'I Love Free Software Day' celebration by FSFE Netherlands CC0"

Reaching out to the people behind Free Software: Thank you

Again, even though hundreds more non-Free Software enthusiasts have joined the Fediverse in recent years, the #ilovefs made it to the top most used hashtags on the 14th of February. For this, we want to say 'Thank you'! Thank you to all of you who shared their appreciation for Free Software and their gratitude to all free software contributors. There where a lot of great ways that people, projects and organisations took up to share their 'I Love Free Software Day' message in the Fediverse, highlighting some of the infrastructure Free Software projects, like the Internet archive. Even more, this year there were some several creative ways to share the love for Free Software. Take a look at this amazing song done by Musiqueando for the 'I Love Free Software Day: 2025'.

"@Musiqueando singing for the 'I Love Free Software Day'"

For the first time the German based Chaos Computer Club took part in the celebrations and shared a post (DE only) by Bonnie Mehring and Constanze Kurz on their famous CCC webpage. This lent a great visibility to the local groups celebrations. It is amazing to see how much this collaboration highlighted the importance of the day while reaching out to new people.

Brewster Kahle, founder of the Inter archive, and Matthias Kirschner, President of the Free Software Foundation Europe, CC-BY Beatrice Murch

Additionally, for this ‘I Love Free Software Day’ Matthias Kirschner shared a notable recognition of Bram Moolenaar, creator of the Vim text editor. Vim, is a widely recognised and esteemed editor, which is used on countless systems. The work of Bram Moolenaar has played a crucial role in the software freedom movement. Following his passing in 2023, the continued development of Vim by the community ensures that his legacy remains influential – Thank you to all contributors.

"I Love Free Software Day" Thank you message by Matthias to Vim editor, CC-BY-SA 4.0 NOI

Software Freedom Podcast episode with Marc Prud'hommeaux

Of course also for the 2025 celebrations the FSFE recorded a new Software Freedom Podcast episode. For our 30th episode Bonnie Mehring sat down with Marc Prud'hommeaux and discussed the The App Fair Project. Together at FOSDEM they searched and found a quite area to sit down and have a chat about the project, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and how to further level the playing field for Free Software. Take a few moments and listen to our Software Freedom Podcast episode.

Thank you for joining this year's “I Love Free Software” celebrations ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Support FSFE

SFP#31: Policy and EU: FOSDEM recap

In our 31st episode of the Software Freedom Podcast, Alexander Sander and Bonnie Mehring discuss the highlights of the two Devrooms that the FSFE co-organized during FOSDEM 2025: the 'Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom' and the 'Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom'. Find out more about the topics discussed there and tips about what to re-watch.

FOSDEM is always a great experience and it is amazing to see how the hard work in organising talks, panels and discussions pays off. Once again the FSFE team, including Alex and Bonnie, had a fantastic time at what continues to be a place to be.

The Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom focuses on current EU and US legislation, and this year with a strong focused on the implementation of the Cyber Resiliance Act. This dedicated DevRoom provided the chance to discuss the worries and thoughts that are raised in the community. It was amazing to see how the DevRoom turned once again into a networking space and provided a source of feedback loop to get in touch with the local Free Software communities and advocates.

On the other hand the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom started a new network for all people involved in funding of FOSS projects to connect and share resources. This turn out is really inspiring and a great way to get new discussions started, to learn from each other and to share knowledge - just what Free Software is at is core a great community with four freedoms, to use, study, share and improve. ❤️

This is the perfect episode for everybody who missed FOSDEM or wants to keep the spirit of networking and staying in touch alive for a few more moments!

Show notes

• Recordings from the Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom
• Recording from Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom
• Get in touch with Alexander Sander
• The FSFE calls for broader interoperability by Apple under the DMA
• Stay up-to-date and join our Newsletter
• Support our work for Free Software

If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a donation.

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FOSDEM: Celebrating 25 years of community and Free Software

Some ocassions are too special to miss, like the FSFE February trip to FOSDEM, where we connected with the Free Software community. Even when things don’t go as planned, it was an energizing boost against the winter blues. Thanks to everyone who joined our DevRooms, attended our talks including our keynote on the Apple litigation, came to our women's breakfast, and stopped at the booth. Your support means a lot!

This year, we didn’t start FOSDEM on the right foot, as all our merchandise and info materials got lost. But once again, FOSDEM didn’t disappoint! It was great to see you, listen to inspiring talks, engage in discussions around our booth, and spend time together in the evenings.

For FOSDEM 2025, we had a packed agenda: beyond attending many interesting talks, we organized two DevRooms, hosted several talks and a workshop, and were present in many other DevRooms around FOSDEM. We even arranged an informal women’s breakfast. Not to mention our booth, where our staff and volunteers spent two days explaining our work and answering your questions. Unfortunately, we couldn’t show you our great merchandise in person, but you can check it out and order online!

The Legal & Policy Issues DevRoom, which we’ve co-organized for the past five years, took place on Saturday, this time spanning a full day. As always, it was a popular DevRoom, and we’re happy to report that the room was packed throughout the day. Thank you for attending and showing such strong interest in these crucial topics! We look forward to seeing you and our co-organizers again next year for the 14th edition of this very important DevRoom.

If you don’t have time to watch all our DevRoom talks but are interested in the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we highly recommend watching the talk on the App Fair project’s perspective on the DMA, as well as the panel discussion that followed. This session explored the current status of the DMA implementation in Europe and featured the participation of European Commission representatives.

A session not to be missed was led by Tobias Diekershoff, FSFE’s System Hacker and a core developer of the Friendica project, alongside Michael Vogel, another core member of the Friendica development team. They provided a concise introduction to Friendica. Together they highlighted its unique features and how it differs from other systems.

After a packed first day, we kicked off Sunday "on the right bite" with our women’s breakfast. Over the past 25 years of FOSDEM, we’ve seen our community grow increasingly diverse (👏), fostering a more inclusive and welcoming space for everyone! Our breakfast offered a dedicated moment for women* to connect and network away from the bustling conference corridors. Thanks to everyone who attended, and if you’re interested, remember that you can join our FSFE Women group.

FOSDEM is also a great place to tinker and learn new skills. On Sunday morning, our former working student—now volunteer—Darragh Elliot organized the “FSFE Upcycling Android Workshop” with assistance from our volunteer Max Schlüter and System Hacker Tobias Diekershoff.

If you love to tinker and are between 14 and 18 years old, check out Bonnie Mehring’s talk about Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. The fourth edition of this competition is now open for registration, inviting European teenagers to showcase their creativity and programming skills. Participants will have the opportunity to bring their project ideas to life.

The past 25 editions of FOSDEM have shown us that Free Software thrives thanks to a strong community and the dedication of developers and maintainers. However, ensuring the longevity and security of FOSS projects requires sustainable funding models. That’s why the FSFE helped organize the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem devroom, a track that debuted this year on Sunday.

We closed our FOSDEM 2025 participation in style with a keynote by Lucas Lasota on “How we are defending Software Freedom against Apple at the EU's highest court”. Apple is attempting to avoid obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and in this talk, we explained why this case is pivotal for Free Software in Europe and why we should all care.

As we wrap up another unforgettable FOSDEM, remember that you can watch all the talks on the FOSDEM website. From engaging discussions and interesting talks to valuable networking moments, FOSDEM 2025 was a weekend to remember and to share the strength and passion of our movement. Thank you to everyone who joined us! We can’t wait to see you again next year for another inspiring edition!

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Legal Corner: MIA or Dead Contributors - Does It Matter For Your Software Project?

If your software project operates on multiple contributions, and a contributor becomes uncontactable or passes away, this can become an issue in certain situations. Here we’ll discuss when a missing or deceased contributor affects your software project, and what options you have.

Which contributions are copyrightable?

Before anything, when is a contribution copyrightable in the first place? Commonly, software projects that are hosted on popular hosting websites, such as GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket etc, often encompass contributions by multiple contributors. Nevertheless, as only “creative works” can be copyrighted, the extent to which the contribution can be regarded as a “creative work” can be a bit tricky to ascertain. The length of the contribution does not matter because short contributions can also be creative.

Primarily, anything that is accepted as a change into the source code, and modifies the source code can constitute a creative work that is copyrightable. This is the case even if they are minor or small changes; even single line bug fixes with a creative scope is a contribution that falls into this category.

On the other hand, non-source code contributions, such as translations, documentation, or configuration files can be commonly made available in the public domain, or even regarded as insignificant changes outside of the scope of the applicable Free Software license. Nevertheless, to err on the side of caution, the safest approach is to assume whenever in doubt that a contribution is a copyrightable contribution, and act accordingly.

When do you need to get in contact with a contributor?

Generally, you would need to get in touch with a contributor to your project whenever you wish to enact some kind of major change to the overall project. The most common situation for this would be where a project runner intends to re-license the project.

If you need to make such a change, your first step should be to compile a list of all contributions that are copyrightable, as well as their respective contributors. You should then obtain consent for all copyrightable contributions, including those of deceased or otherwise uncontactable contributors.

The reason that you need to do this is that software enjoys copyright protection from the instant that is created. This means that a contributor by default has copyright over their contribution, and does not need any additional steps to protect their work under copyright. There are of course exceptions to this, most notably when the contributor has effectively transferred their copyrights over the contribution to you or your project, making you or your project the copyright holder.

What happens if the contributor has passed away?

Generally, copyright law provides that ownership of the copyright remains with the contributor even after death. In most EU jurisdictions, this means that copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the author, or in the case of joint authorship, after the death of the the last surviving author. Once this 70-year term expires, the work will enter into the public domain, where others may use the work for commercial purposes without requesting any authorization or license.

Copyright is considered to be personal property, and therefore copyright ownership can be included in a will, and passed on to another person upon the copyright holder’s death. Accordingly, you should inquire with the deceased contributor's estate to see who the copyright has passed onto and seek their consent before making any changes to the project that require the consent of all contributors. In the event that there is no specific provision for who takes ownership of the copyright of software contributions in the will, the rights will be passed along in accordance with the national laws of intestacy where the contributor was residing in.

Regardless of whether or not the ownership of the deceased’s copyright in the project was covered in a will, the new copyright owner(s) would now be the people that you have to obtain your consent from. Nevertheless, please remember when doing so to always be respectful and sensitive in such communications. Losing a loved one is a difficult enough thing to go through, and many relatives will not want to be contacted too soon after the death of their loved one with questions about contributions.

Looking for help with established platforms or software foundations

If your project is hosted online on a popular code repository hosting platform, you should check to see if they have any policies for deceased or absentee contributors. As an example, GitHub has a Deceased User Policy. This policy is written primarily to allow GitHub to work with authorized persons in the deceased's estate to determine what to do with the deceased’s GitHub account. It is also useful for next of kin, pre-designated successors, or other authorized individuals (which could include a collaborator or business partner) of a deceased user, to be able to gain control over a deceased user’s account. It could also be useful to send a request to other popular foundations such as the Apache Software Foundation, the Mozilla Foundation, or the Linux Foundation inquiring about the status of the deceased developer's account, as some developers have adopted the practice of willing contributions to Free Software foundations.

What happens if you can’t contact a contributor or their heirs?

If obtaining the consent of a contributor or their estate has turned out to be impossible, one practical recourse would be to fork the project repository, while moving the contribution(s) of the missing contributor(s) to stay under the original. A good practice when taking this course of action would be to credit previous contributors who have created the original program from which the fork is carved out. Therefore, if all efforts fail to trace and contact the missing contributor(s), you can at least point to some form of attribution to mitigate any potential complications down the line.

Another practical option that many project runners frequently take would be to ignore the deceased and/or missing contributor(s) and their contributions altogether. While this is not strictly the correct legal approach, it is nonetheless a practical one that allows projects to move forward with their plans. Software project that go down this route do so after a thorough risk assessment, more specifically, after analyzing (1) the significance of the contribution in question; (2) the likelihood of the contributor or their estate contesting the decisions of the project, based on their ownership of the copyright over the contributions; and (3) the likelihood of success of any such contestation.

In many cases, project runners may come to the conclusion that the risk of the missing/deceased contributor showing up to assert the rights of their ownership of the contribution is small enough, such that moving forward without the explicit consent of that particular contributor or their estate is worth the risk.

We hope that this has been useful for your understanding of managing this particular legal issue within a software project.

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SFP#30: The App Fair Project with Marc Prud'hommeaux

At FOSDEM, Bonnie Mehring and Marc Prud'hommeaux met to talk about Marc's Free Software initiative, The App Fair Project. This project is a marketplace for all devices and especially also for iOS devices that only distributes Free Software applications. Its goal is to foster a more accessible and inclusive Free Software ecosystem.

For this year's I Love Free Software Day Marc and Bonnie talk about The App Fair Project, which enables iOS users to access Free Software applications. Together, they unravel how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) helped to level the playing field - although a lot of work is still ahead to truly enable Free Software and foster fair competition.

Listen to our 30th episode and find out what The App Fair Project is, how it is related to the DMA and what the next steps are to make Free Software more accessible to everyone.

This is the perfect episode for anyone still searching for Free Software on iOS!

Show notes

• The App Fair Project
• Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom: A Free Software App Store for iOS, The App Fair Project's perspective on the DMA
• The App Fair's github project
• Digital Markets Act (DMA)
• DMA: Litigation against Apple
• The FSFE calls for broader interoperability by Apple under the DMA
• Stay up-to-date and join our Newsletter
• Support our work for Free Software

If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a donation.

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German elections+++ I Love FS Day+++ DMA, Ada, Router Freedom

February started with FOSDEM! It was great to meet some of you there before we meet again for “I Love Free Software Day”! In recent weeks, we shared our demands for the coming German elections, great news about Router Freedom, and an update about DMA. Moreover, the Ada movie is now available in French and we published two podcast episodes.

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• German Elections 2025: We demand public code, secure funding for Free Software, and transparent measurement of progress!
• I Love Free Software Day”: celebrate it with us!
• Router Freedom in Germany: A victory for consumers!
• The FSFE calls for broader interoperability by Apple under the DMA
• The FSFE launches 'Ada & Zangemann' movie in French as Open Educational Resource
• The FSFE supports Dutch call to adopt social media platforms that respect public values
• Software Freedom Podcast! Find out how South Tyrol is taking a step in the direction of software freedom
• From our community!
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“Creating a community for Free Software and sharing our appreciation for all Free Software contributors is a task that needs our commitment throughout the year. And all this work can be highlighted on I Love Free Software Day! It is amazing how many people come together and celebrate their favourite type of software together <3”

Albert Astals Cid, co-organizer of 'I Love FS Day' Barcelona since 2019

German Elections 2025: We demand public code, secure funding for Free Software, and transparent measurement of progress!

The next German government must finally push for the controllability, security, and sovereignty of the public digital infrastructure. As Free Software is a prerequisite for this, the FSFE is making 4 key demands: "Public Money? Public Code!", securing long-term funding for Free Software, deepening Free Software knowledge in administrations, and monitoring progress.

“I Love Free Software Day”: celebrate it with us!

Ready for I Love Free Software Day 2025? We are celebrating this day, to say thank you to Free Software projects, with different events across Europe.

Join us to celebrate this day in Villach in Carinthia (Austria); Nuremberg, Berlin or Frankfurt (Germany); Bozen-Bolzano, Sicilia, Este or Bergamo (Italy); Luxembourg; Nijmegen (Netherlands); Warsaw, Poznań or Wrocław (Poland); Barcelona or Madrid (Spain); Zurich (Switzerland); and Staffordshire (United Kingdom). Find all the information about the events on ilovefs.org.

You can also get involved and celebrate this day by: crafting a personalized thank you message using our redesigned template from the Sharepic Generator or record a short thank you message to your favourite Free Software project, and share it on your social media channels using the hashtag #ilovefs; send a postcard to your favourite Free Software project; and share your knowledge about Free Software. Let us spread the word about the four freedoms – come and join us for this year’s I Love Free Software Day <3

Router Freedom in Germany: A victory for consumers!

After a failed attempt by internet providers to exclude Router Freedom from fiber networks, the German regulator BNetzA has confirmed Router Freedom in the country. The FSFE, which has been pushing for this since 2013, will continue to monitor implementation and compliance.

The FSFE calls for broader interoperability by Apple under the DMA

The Free Software Foundation Europe, alongside civil society organizations, developers, and researchers, submitted its position to the European Commission’s public consultation on measures requiring Apple to ensure compliance with the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability provisions. The FSFE stressed the urgent need for Apple to provide effective, free-of-charge interoperability.

Furthermore, on February 6, the FSFE participated in the "DMA and Beyond Conference" organised by the Knight-Georgetown Institute and Yale University in Washington, D.C. There, our volunteer Jithendra Palepu presented a comprehensive study, elaborated upon by Lucas Lasota, FSFE's Legal Programme Manager, on Apple's restrictive interoperability policies and their harm to Free Software in the context of the DMA.

Check out our participation here!

The FSFE launches 'Ada & Zangemann' movie in French as Open Educational Resource

The Free Software Foundation Europe is releasing the animated film ‘Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream’ in French as an Open Educational Resource. Originally a highly successful illustrated book, now available in 10 languages and counting, the story has been adapted into a film that can be freely used in schools.

The FSFE supports Dutch call to adopt social media platforms that respect public values

Last week six Dutch civic organisations launched the campaign ‘Make Socials Social Again’. They call upon public organisations to adopt social media platforms that respect public values and thus are the real ‘social’ platforms. The FSFE joins this campaign to encourage a public debate on this. As stressed in the FediGov campaign by the Swiss FSFE local team. It is important that platforms used by public bodies enable independent and self-determined use of technology.

Software Freedom Podcast! Find out how South Tyrol is taking a step in the direction of software freedom

In our latest Software Freedom Podcast, Marta Andreoli, FSFE's Italian deputy coordinator, talks to Paolo Dongilli, technical inspector of the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano - South Tyrol, about the FUSS project. Together they unravel how FUSS is helping the schools in South Tyrol take a step towards software freedom.

Also, we continued our series of episodes about Policy and the EU. Last month, we talked about the two DevRooms that the FSFE organized at FOSDEM 25.

From our community!

• Ada & Zangemann themed mini game on the Luanti gaming platform: thanks to Marco Amato -Zughy-, FSFE Italy volunteer and his team A.E.S., you can now pass your ice cream cone to someone else before it melts in your hand. Try it out!
• A volunteer, who recently moved to South Spain, organized a reading and tinkering “Ada & Zangemann session” at an art center in Granada. More than 20 children were able to tinker and play with technology as well as learn about the story of Ada!

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

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Bundestagswahl 2025: Wir fordern öffentlichen Code, sichere Finanzierung für Freie Software und transparente Statistiken!

Die nächste deutsche Bundesregierung muss endlich die Kontrollierbarkeit, Sicherheit und Souveränität öffentlicher digitaler Infrastrukturen vorantreiben. Dazu braucht sie Freie Software. Die FSFE stellt deswegen vier Kernforderungen: „Public Money? Public Code!“, eine sichere, langfristig Finanzierung für Freie Software, Kompetenzaufbau und Statistiken zum Fortschrittsmonitoring.

Öffentliche Verwaltungen und demokratische Institutionen sind wie unsere gesamte Gesellschaft auf verlässliche digitale Infrastrukturen angewiesen. Die heutige Abhängigkeit dieser Infrastrukturen von proprietärer Software birgt erhebliche Risiken für Deutschland und Europa. Freie Software hingegen fördert Zusammenarbeit und Innovation und stärkt die technologische Souveränität Deutschlands. Die Gestaltbarkeit und Kontrollierbarkeit der digitalen Infrastruktur unserer Demokratie muss ein zentrales Projekt der nächsten Bundesregierung sein. Der konsequente Einsatz Freier Software (auch bekannt als Open Source) ist dafür unerlässlich.

Die Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fordert deswegen die neue Bundesregierung auf, entschieden auf Freie Software für Deutschlands öffentliche Verwaltungen zu setzen, und dabei folgende vier Maßnahmen umzusetzen:

1. Public Money? Public Code! Mit öffentlichen Geldern für öffentliche Verwaltungen entwickelte Software muss unter Freie-Software-Lizenzen veröffentlicht werden. Dieses als „Public Money? Public Code!“ bekannte Prinzip muss die neue Bundesregierung gesetzlich verankern und umsetzen. Nur so kann die Abhängigkeit öffentlicher Verwaltungen von proprietärer Software und ihren Herstellern gelöst und technologische Souveränität erreicht werden.
2. Freie Software langfristig finanziell absichern! Statt Milliarden in proprietäre Lizenzen zu investieren und damit bestehende Abhängigkeiten zu zementieren, muss die Bundesregierung die Finanzierung Freier Software für den öffentlichen Sektor langfristig sichern, sowohl in der öffentlichen Vergabe als auch durch gezielte Förderung zentraler Infrastruktur. Das Zentrum für Digitale Souveränität (ZenDiS) spielt eine wichtige Rolle beim Einsatz für Freie Software in Deutschland. Das ZenDiS braucht daher ein langfristiges, stabiles Budget, um öffentliche Verwaltungen weiterhin auf dem Weg zu technologischer Souveränität durch Freie Software zu unterstützen.
3. Kompetenzen der Verwaltung stärken, Zivilgesellschaft einbeziehen! In vielen Verwaltungen und in der Zivilgesellschaft gibt es bereits heute Kompetenz zu Beschaffung und Einsatz Freier Software. Die Bundesregierung muss diese Ressourcen für die Breite der öffentlichen Verwaltung nutzbar machen. Vorhandene Kompetenzen in Freie-Software-Communities und in der Zivilgesellschaft müssen dabei strategisch einbezogen werden.
4. Fortschritt messbar machen! In öffentlichen Verwaltungen müssen Daten zur Beschaffung, Nutzung und dem Anteil Freier Software erhoben und veröffentlicht werden. Diese Statistiken ermöglichen ein effektives Fortschrittsmonitoring bei der Erhöhung des Anteils Freier Software im öffentlichen Sektor.

Seit die FSFE die Initiative „Public Money? Public Code!“ ins Leben gerufen hat, setzt sich bei den demokratischen Parteien im Deutschen Bundestag zunehmend die Überzeugung durch, dass technologisch souveräne öffentliche Verwaltungen Freie Software brauchen. „Public Money? Public Code!“ findet sich bereits heute in Parteitagsbeschlüssen und Wahlprogrammen wieder. Auch wenn die vergangene Bundesregierung ihr vielversprechenden Vorhaben aus dem Koalitionsvertrag nicht umgesetzt hat, zeigte sich zuletzt im Dezember 2024 in einer öffentlichen Anhörung im Digitalausschuss des Deutschen Bundestags: Das Ziel, durch Freie Software Deutschlands technologische Souveränität zu stärken, ist unter den demokratischen Fraktionen im Bundestag unstrittig. Es ist die Aufgabe der nächsten Bundesregierung, dieses Ziel nun endlich anzugehen und umzusetzen, um unsere digitalen Infrastrukturen kontrollierbar und zukunftssicher zu machen.

Freie Software und „Public Money? Public Code!”

Freie Software gibt allen das Recht, Programme für jeden Zweck zu verwenden, zu verstehen, zu verbreiten und zu verbessern. Durch diese Freiheiten müssen ähnliche Programme nicht komplett neu programmiert werden und dank transparenter Prozesse muss das Rad nicht ständig neu erfunden werden. Bei großen Projekten können Expertise und Kosten geteilt werden und Anwendungen stehen allen zur Verfügung. So wird Innovation gefördert und mittel- bis langfristig Steuergeld gespart. Abhängigkeiten von einzelnen Anbieterinnen werden minimiert und Sicherheitslücken können leichter geschlossen werden. Die Free Software Foundation Europe fordert daher mit über 200 Organisation und Verwaltungen „Public Money? Public Code!“ - Wenn es sich um öffentliche Gelder handelt, sollte auch der Code öffentlich sein! Mehr Informationen zur Initiative sind auf der „Public Money? Public Code!”-Website zu finden.

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SFP#29: How South Tyrol is taking a step in the direction of software freedom

For our 29th episode we have something very special for you. Marta Andreoli, the Italian deputy coordinator, talks to Paolo Dongilli about the FUSS project. Together they unravel how FUSS is helping the schools in South Tyrol take a step towards software freedom.

Paolo Dongilli, the technical inspector for the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano, South Tyrol, is the brains behind the FUSS project. FUSS stands for Free Upgrade for a Digitally Sustainable School, a complete operating system based on GNU+Linux. The system is currently used by 1900 teachers and 16.000 students. FUSS is installed on 4500 computers.

How did South Tyrol's schools start relaying on Free Software and what are the social implications of this decision? These and more topics are discussed in this episode by Marta and Paolo.h

Listen to our 29th episode and find out what all the fuss is about!!

Show notes

• FUSS project
• Background information on the FUSS project (IT only)
• Brochure on FUSS (IT and EN)
• Paolo Dongilli
• Sign the Open Letter for “Public Money? Public Code!”
• Stay up-to-date and join our Newsletter
• Support our work for Free Software

If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a donation.

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Join us at FOSDEM 2025!

FOSDEM 2025 is almost here, and guess what? We want you to be, once again, part of it! Mark your calendars for 1 and 2 February 2025. The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) will be there with a keynote on our Apple court case, talks, devrooms, workshops, and of course, a booth where you can meet us, chat and share ideas. Stop by and say hello!

As one of the most established Free Software conferences in Europe, FOSDEM hosts thousands of developers and Free Software enthusiasts every year, on the first weekend of February to meet, discuss the latest news and updates about Free Software, and collaborate. As always, the FSFE will be there with a booth, co-organizing two devrooms, and giving talks, like the one from our Legal Programme Manager, Lucas Lasota, at the main FOSDEM stage about ongoing legal battle to defend software freedom in the European Union. Come around and check out our latest merchandising, including hoodies, t-shirts, socks and get some stickers for your devices!

We are organising social gatherings throughout the weekend—stay in the loop, come by for a relaxed evening and great discussion while making interesting connections! Join our FOSDEM Matrix Chat Room and be up to date with all the information.

Friday, 31 January: Pre FOSDEM warming- up

We will start starting the party early! If you are already in Brussels on Friday, you can give us an extra hand in our booth set-up (please, if you can make it, contact us beforehand).

Once our booth is ready for Saturday, we will meet at La Mazzette at 19:00h., where we can have some drinks and some small treats. See in OpenStreetMap.

Saturday, 1 February: Legal & Policy Issues, fediverse and more!

We are early birds. From the moment the doors open, you will us at our booth, ready to welcome everyone. Come chat with our team about Free Software, learn more about our activities, and grab some stickers and postcards! Our booth is the best place to connect with us. You will find us in Building K, Level 2, Group A – Community Advocacy, Room 5. We look forward to seeing you there!

Saturday will feature the Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom, which we've been co-hosting since 2020. The devroom will take place from 10:30h., H.1301 Cornil. Once again, Matthias Kirschner (FSFE’s president) and Alexander Sander (FSFE Senior Policy Consultant), together with Karen Sandler and Bradley Kuhn (Software Freedom Conservancy), Tom Marble (Informatique, Inc.), and Richard Fontana (Red Hat) will be addressing key legal and policy issues related to Free Software. We anticipate an engaging and insightful discussion!

Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal Programme Manager, will participate in the fireside chat titled “Breaking Tech Monopolies in Europe: A Fireside Chat with the European Commission”. Later, Alexander Sander, FSFE Senior Policy Consultant, will also participate with two talks: Legislative overlay: anticipating and navigating through regulatory vectors and CRA Q&A on Open Source Stewards under the Cyber Resilience Act.

Additionally, Tobias Diekershoff, FSFE’s System Hacker and core developer of the Friendica project, along with Michael Vogel, also a core member of the Friendica development team, will provide an concise introduction to Friendica that late afternoon.

• 09:00h - 19:00h. FSFE Booth Building K level 2. Group A - Community advocacy, 5.

• 10:30h - 19:00h. Legal & Policy Devroom: H.1301 (Cornil)

  • 10:30h - 10:35h. Welcome to the Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom
  • 15:30h - 15:55h. Breaking tech monopolies in Europe: A fireside chat with the European Commission
  • 17:00h - 17:25h. Legislative overlay: anticipating and navigating through regulatory vectors
  • 17:30h - 17:55h. CRA Q&A on Open Source Stewards under the Cyber Resilience Act
  • 18:00h - 19:00h. Organizer's Panel
• 15:30h - 16:00h. Friendica - under the radar since 2010. UA2.118 (Henriot)

After a long day, it is time to relax and continue our interesting discussions in an informal environment. Join us for dinner at L’Horloge du Sud at 19:00h. See in OpenStreetMap.

Sunday, 2 February: Join us for the keynote speech, Upcycling your Android workshop, YH4F...!

We are starting the day with an informal breakfast to meet and connect other QWLINTA*s (Queer, women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans and agender) before kicking off another full day at FOSDEM. If you wish to join, please fill in this form.

While we prepare for keynote speech later this day, by our staffer Lucas Lasota who will talk about the FSFE intervention in the Apple vs. European Commission case, we have several talks and events beforehand.

One way is to start with the “FSFE’s Upcycling Android Workshop”, organized by Darragh Elliot, a former FSFE working student. If you ever wanted to try installing custom Android ROM’s, this workshop is for you! Demonstration phones will be available.

Also in the morning, Bonnie Mehring, FSFE’s Project Manager will explain our programming competition, Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, whose fourth edition is now open for registration! Youth Hacking 4 Freedom invites European teenagers aged 14 to 18 to showcase their creativity and programming skills. Participants will have the opportunity to bring their project ideas to life.

Sunday is also the day of the second devroom that the FSFE is co-organizing, a debuting one on funding the FOSS Ecosystem. Its aim? To bring together developers, maintainers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, donors and funders to explore various models and mechanisms for funding that ensure longevity and security of FOSS projects. Find the schedule here.

Just right after the closing of the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem devroom, run to FOSDEM main stage, Room Janson, where at 16:00h. Lucas Lasota, FSFE's Legal Programme Manager, will give a key speech about “How we are defending Software Freedom against Apple at the EU's highest court”. In this keynote, Lucas Lasota will explain why this case is pivotal for Free Software in Europe, and why we should all care.

The FSFE has been granted the right to intervene in the Apple vs European Commission case at the Court of Justice of the European Union, where Apple is trying to dodge its obligations as gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act.

• 09:00h - 17:00h. FSFE Booth. Building K level 2. Group A - Community advocacy, 5
• 09:00h - 10:00h. FSFE Upcycling Android Workshop BOF. AW1.121
• 09:10h - 09:35h. Youth Hacking 4 Freedom 2025. UD6.215
• 09:10h - 16:00h. Funding the FOSS Ecosystem. K.3.601
• 16:00h - 16:50h. Keynote Speech: How we are defending Software Freedom against Apple at the EU's highest court. Janson

There will be many more interesting talks going on! You can check the schedule of the two-day conference in the FOSDEM website.

As the weekend wraps up, join us for the final community gathering to say goodbye to FOSDEM 2025 in style.But first... after party packing! We hope to leave FOSDEM with as little merchandising as possible, but we’ll need some extra hands to help pack everything up on Sunday. If you can help us with booth tear down, please get in touch with our Office Assistant, Francesca, fi@fsfe.or. It’s always a challenge, but with a bit of teamwork, we’ll get it done in no time!

Once all is packed and tidy, it is time to meet at L'Ermitage Saint-Gilles at 19:00h. for a laid-back evening of conversation, drinks, and celebration. It’s a chance to unwind, meet new people, and reflect on the amazing time we’ve had. Here’s the OpenStreetMap link to find us!

See you there!

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Routerfreiheit in Deutschland: Ein Triumph für Nutzerinnen und Nutzer!

Als Reaktion auf einen gescheiterten Versuch von Internetanbietern, Glasfasernetze von der Routerfreiheit auszunehmen, hat die deutsche Bundesnetzagentur Routerfreiheit bestätigt. Die FSFE setzt sich seit 2013 für dieses Ziel ein und wird die Umsetzung und Einhaltung weiterhin überwachen.

Routerfreiheit ist das Recht, beliebige Router und Modem für den eigenen Internetzugang zu nutzen. Ähnlich wie die Wahl des Smartphones und anderer internetfähiger Geräte ist die Routerfreiheit der Hardware-Aspekt der Netzneutralität. Im Jahr 2013 begann die Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) in Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Organisationen, sich in Deutschland für diese Regulierung einzusetzen und sie bei Entscheidungsträgern voranzutreiben. Dies führte 2016 zu einem Gesetz, das die Routerfreiheit für Endnutzer sicherstellt.

Unmittelbar vor dem Jahrestag des Gesetzes, das 2016 die Routerfreiheit in Deutschland einführte, hat die Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) ein von einem Verband der Glasfasernetzbetreiber in Deutschland beantragtes Regulierungsverfahren zum Ausschluss der Routerfreiheit von Glasfasernetzen erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Der Antrag aus dem Jahr 2023 stützte sich auf eine Reihe von Argumenten, darunter die Sicherheit des Netzes, die Kosten für den Support, die Qualität des Dienstes und Fragen der Interoperabilität.

Keine technische Notwendigkeit zur Begrenzung der Routerfreiheit in Glasfasernetzen

Im September 2023 legte die FSFE eine detaillierte Stellungnahme vor, die die Argumente der Glasfaserbetreiber entkräftete. Wir forderten die Regulierungsbehörde zur Ablehnung des Antrags auf, da kein rechtlicher oder technischer Grund eine Ausnahme für Glasfaseranschlüsse von Routerfreiheit rechtfertigen kann. Obwohl die Netzbetreiber versuchten, Glasfasernetze als Sonderfall darzustellen, konnten wir zeigen, dass es keine objektive technische Notwendigkeit gibt, Routerfreiheit abzuschaffen. Im Gegenteil bedeutet Routerfreiheit auch bei Glasfasernetzen Wahlfreiheit, Sicherheit, Verbraucherschutz, fairen Wettbewerb und Nachhaltigkeit.

Die deutsche Regulierungsbehörde hat den Fall unter Anwendung der vom GEREK, der europäischen Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation, vorgeschlagenen Leitlinien zum Standort des „Netzabschlusspunktes“ (NTP) geprüft. Die Leitlinien zum NTP erlauben es den nationalen Behörden, die Routerfreiheit einzuschränken, wenn eine „objektive technische Notwendigkeit“ festgestellt werden kann. Zu den Kriterien dafür gehören Interoperabilität, Sicherheit, Einfachheit des Betriebs und Datenschutzfaktoren. Die deutschen Betreiber forderten die BNetzA auf, die Möglichkeit der Endnutzer, ihre eigenen Router auszuwählen, vollständig einzuschränken oder im schlimmsten Fall den Abschlusspunkt des Glasfaseranschlusses (ONT) abzutrennen, so dass eigene Router nur nur ohne Einsatz des integrierten Modems verwendet werden könnten, was sich ebenfalls negativ auf die Wahlmöglichkeiten der Verbraucher auswirken würde.

In ihrer umfangreichen Entscheidung wies die BNetzA alle von den Telekommunikationsbetreibern vorgebrachten Argumente zurück und erläuterte ausführlich, warum die Endgerätefreiheit jeden einzelnen der vom GEREK geforderten Kriterienfaktoren erfüllt. Wir möchten folgende Punkte hervorheben:

• Übertriebene Darstellung der Netzsicherheitsrisiken: Die BNetzA wies die Betreiber darauf hin, dass die Vergangenheit gezeigt habe, dass auch die proprietären Geräte der Betreiber Sicherheitslücken aufwiesen. Außerdem konnte in den neun Jahren seit Inkrafttreten des Gesetzes in Deutschland keine nennenswerte Anzahl von Sicherheitsvorfälle festgestellt werden. Die Betreiber versorgten die Geräte, die sie den Endnutzern zur Verfügung stellen, nur langsam mit Sicherheitsupdates, so dass eine Einschränkung der Routerfreiheit die Vermeidung von Sicherheitslücken nicht verbessern würde;
• Weit hergeholte Störszenarien: Die BNetzA stellte die weitreichenden Sicherheitsszenarien der Betreiber in Frage und kritisierte die mangelnde Objektivität der Berichte. Die von den Betreibern getroffenen Annahmen bezüglich Störungsszenarien seien für eine Einschränkung der Routerfreiheit nicht zu rechtfertigen;
• Fragwürdige Belege gegen die Interoperabilität: Die BNetzA bestätigte, dass sie nur sehr wenige Meldungen über Störungen aufgrund des Einsatzes von Routern der Nutzer und Nutzerinnen erhalten hat. Im Jahr 2016 gab es einen Fall, der jedoch ein Einzelfall blieb;
• Technikneutralität ist notwendig: Die Regulierungsbehörde bekräftigte eine Position der deutschen Regierung aus dem Jahr 2018 zur Wahrung der Technikneutralität in der Regulierung. Da verschiedene Arten von Routern und Modems auf dem Markt verfügbar sind, sollte die Gesetzgebung nicht bestimmte Technologien diskriminieren. Nur ein technikneutraler Ansatz gewährleistet die europarechtlich geforderte Endgerätefreiheit zum Vorteil der Endnutzer.

Ein Erfolg für langfristiges zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement

Der Einsatz der FSFE für die Router-Freiheit begann 2013, lange vor Inkrafttreten des deutschen Gesetzes, mit dem dieses Recht eingeführt wurde. Im Jahr 2019, während der Reform des EU-Telekommunikationsrechts, weiteten wir unsere Beühungen auf die europäische Ebene aus und arbeiteten mit europäischen Regulierungsbehörden zusammen. Die Routerfreiheit wurde in verschiedenen EU-Ländern zur Realität, darunter Finnland, Italien, Belgien und die Niederlande.

Bei all diesen Prozessen haben wir lokale Communities, Experten und Entscheidungsträger einbezogen, um die Rechte der Endnutzer zu schützen. Die Unterstützung durch die Community war der Schlüssel zu diesem Erfolg. So führte die FSFE beispielsweise ein zweijähriges Community-Projekt durch, um Daten über Missbräuche von Telekommunikationsbetreibern und andere Schwierigkeiten im Zusammenhang mit der Routerfreiheit zu sammeln. Die übergreifende Umfrage führte zu einem umfassenden Bericht, der 2023 veröffentlicht wurde und aufzeigt, wie Internet-Provider immer noch die Wahlfreiheit der Verbraucher behindern, Kontrolle über Internet-Geräte ausüben und proprietäre Geräte fördern.

Überall in Europa sprachen sich Nutzer dafür aus, dass wir uns für eine Regulierung einsetzen, die das Wahlfreiheit bei Routern und Modems schützt. Mehr als 90 % der Teilnehmer an unserer Umfrage stimmten zu, dass die Routerfreiheit der Schlüssel für ein offenes Internet, Sicherheit und Datenschutz, fairen Wettbewerb und digitale Nachhaltigkeit ist.

Erweitern wir Routerfreiheit auf andere Länder!

Da Routerfreiheit die Hardware-Ebene der Netzneutralität darstellt, ist sie eine wichtige politische Forderung.

Aus diesem Diagramm über die Anschlussarten und die Routernutzung geht hervor, dass die meisten DSL-Kunden zwar ihren eigenen Router verwenden, aber bei Glasfaser- und Koaxialanschlüssen immer noch auf die Geräte der Anbieter angewiesen sind.

Anders als in Deutschland ist Routerfreiheit in mehreren EU-Ländern noch immer keine Realität. In Ländern wie Österreich und Frankreich, die beschlossen haben, Routerfreiheit abzuschaffen, oder in Ländern wie Griechenland, die nicht in der Lage waren, sich vollständig für die Rechte der Endnutzer einzusetzen rights und Routerfreiheit nur für bestimmte Arten von Netzen zuließen, ist der Rechtsrahmen nach wie vor uneinheitlich.

Deshalb zählen wir auf Ihre Unterstützung. Es gibt noch viel zu tun. Geräteneutralität wird nicht nur von Internetdienstanbietern bedroht, sondern auch von Software- und Hardwareherstellern und -anbietern, die die Freiheiten und Rechte der Endnutzer nicht respektieren. Wir sind der festen Überzeugung, dass Softwarefreiheit der Standard sein sollte und Endnutzern keine Fesseln angelegt werden sollten. Technologieunternehmen sollten die Nutzer nicht in „Walled Gardens“ einsperren, die die Möglichkeiten ihrer Geräte einschränken.

Es ist an der Zeit, dass wir alle unsere Geräte, einschließlich Router und Modems, befreien. Helfen Sie uns mit einer Spende, dies in Europa zu erreichen!

Wir brauchen Ihre Unterstützung für unser langfristiges Engagement. Wir sind bereit, im nächsten Jahrzehnt für Routerfreiheit zu kämpfen. Schließen Sie sich jetzt unserer Sache an!

Werden Sie jetzt FSFE-Supporter!

Support FSFE

Routerfreiheit in Deutschland: Ein Triumph für Nutzerinnen und Nutzer!

Als Reaktion auf einen gescheiterten Versuch von Internetanbietern, Glasfasernetze von der Routerfreiheit auszunehmen, hat die deutsche Bundesnetzagentur Routerfreiheit bestätigt. Die FSFE setzt sich seit 2013 für dieses Ziel ein und wird die Umsetzung und Einhaltung weiterhin überwachen.

Routerfreiheit ist das Recht, beliebige Router und Modem für den eigenen Internetzugang zu nutzen. Ähnlich wie die Wahl des Smartphones und anderer internetfähiger Geräte ist die Routerfreiheit der Hardware-Aspekt der Netzneutralität. Im Jahr 2013 begann die Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) in Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Organisationen, sich in Deutschland für diese Regulierung einzusetzen und sie bei Entscheidungsträgern voranzutreiben. Dies führte 2016 zu einem Gesetz, das die Routerfreiheit für Endnutzer sicherstellt.

Unmittelbar vor dem Jahrestag des Gesetzes, das 2016 die Routerfreiheit in Deutschland einführte, hat die Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) ein von einem Verband der Glasfasernetzbetreiber in Deutschland beantragtes Regulierungsverfahren zum Ausschluss der Routerfreiheit von Glasfasernetzen erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Der Antrag aus dem Jahr 2023 stützte sich auf eine Reihe von Argumenten, darunter die Sicherheit des Netzes, die Kosten für den Support, die Qualität des Dienstes und Fragen der Interoperabilität.

Keine technische Notwendigkeit zur Begrenzung der Routerfreiheit in Glasfasernetzen

Im September 2023 legte die FSFE eine detaillierte Stellungnahme vor, die die Argumente der Glasfaserbetreiber entkräftete. Wir forderten die Regulierungsbehörde zur Ablehnung des Antrags auf, da kein rechtlicher oder technischer Grund eine Ausnahme für Glasfaseranschlüsse von Routerfreiheit rechtfertigen kann. Obwohl die Netzbetreiber versuchten, Glasfasernetze als Sonderfall darzustellen, konnten wir zeigen, dass es keine objektive technische Notwendigkeit gibt, Routerfreiheit abzuschaffen. Im Gegenteil bedeutet Routerfreiheit auch bei Glasfasernetzen Wahlfreiheit, Sicherheit, Verbraucherschutz, fairen Wettbewerb und Nachhaltigkeit.

Die deutsche Regulierungsbehörde hat den Fall unter Anwendung der vom GEREK, der europäischen Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation, vorgeschlagenen Leitlinien zum Standort des „Netzabschlusspunktes“ (NTP) geprüft. Die Leitlinien zum NTP erlauben es den nationalen Behörden, die Routerfreiheit einzuschränken, wenn eine „objektive technische Notwendigkeit“ festgestellt werden kann. Zu den Kriterien dafür gehören Interoperabilität, Sicherheit, Einfachheit des Betriebs und Datenschutzfaktoren. Die deutschen Betreiber forderten die BNetzA auf, die Möglichkeit der Endnutzer, ihre eigenen Router auszuwählen, vollständig einzuschränken oder im schlimmsten Fall den Abschlusspunkt des Glasfaseranschlusses (ONT) abzutrennen, so dass eigene Router nur nur ohne Einsatz des integrierten Modems verwendet werden könnten, was sich ebenfalls negativ auf die Wahlmöglichkeiten der Verbraucher auswirken würde.

In ihrer umfangreichen Entscheidung wies die BNetzA alle von den Telekommunikationsbetreibern vorgebrachten Argumente zurück und erläuterte ausführlich, warum die Endgerätefreiheit jeden einzelnen der vom GEREK geforderten Kriterienfaktoren erfüllt. Wir möchten folgende Punkte hervorheben:

• Übertriebene Darstellung der Netzsicherheitsrisiken: Die BNetzA wies die Betreiber darauf hin, dass die Vergangenheit gezeigt habe, dass auch die proprietären Geräte der Betreiber Sicherheitslücken aufwiesen. Außerdem konnte in den neun Jahren seit Inkrafttreten des Gesetzes in Deutschland keine nennenswerte Anzahl von Sicherheitsvorfälle festgestellt werden. Die Betreiber versorgten die Geräte, die sie den Endnutzern zur Verfügung stellen, nur langsam mit Sicherheitsupdates, so dass eine Einschränkung der Routerfreiheit die Vermeidung von Sicherheitslücken nicht verbessern würde;
• Weit hergeholte Störszenarien: Die BNetzA stellte die weitreichenden Sicherheitsszenarien der Betreiber in Frage und kritisierte die mangelnde Objektivität der Berichte. Die von den Betreibern getroffenen Annahmen bezüglich Störungsszenarien seien für eine Einschränkung der Routerfreiheit nicht zu rechtfertigen;
• Fragwürdige Belege gegen die Interoperabilität: Die BNetzA bestätigte, dass sie nur sehr wenige Meldungen über Störungen aufgrund des Einsatzes von Routern der Nutzer und Nutzerinnen erhalten hat. Im Jahr 2016 gab es einen Fall, der jedoch ein Einzelfall blieb;
• Technikneutralität ist notwendig: Die Regulierungsbehörde bekräftigte eine Position der deutschen Regierung aus dem Jahr 2018 zur Wahrung der Technikneutralität in der Regulierung. Da verschiedene Arten von Routern und Modems auf dem Markt verfügbar sind, sollte die Gesetzgebung nicht bestimmte Technologien diskriminieren. Nur ein technikneutraler Ansatz gewährleistet die europarechtlich geforderte Endgerätefreiheit zum Vorteil der Endnutzer.

Ein Erfolg für langfristiges zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement

Der Einsatz der FSFE für die Router-Freiheit begann 2013, lange vor Inkrafttreten des deutschen Gesetzes, mit dem dieses Recht eingeführt wurde. Im Jahr 2019, während der Reform des EU-Telekommunikationsrechts, weiteten wir unsere Beühungen auf die europäische Ebene aus und arbeiteten mit europäischen Regulierungsbehörden zusammen. Die Routerfreiheit wurde in verschiedenen EU-Ländern zur Realität, darunter Finnland, Italien, Belgien und die Niederlande.

Bei all diesen Prozessen haben wir lokale Communities, Experten und Entscheidungsträger einbezogen, um die Rechte der Endnutzer zu schützen. Die Unterstützung durch die Community war der Schlüssel zu diesem Erfolg. So führte die FSFE beispielsweise ein zweijähriges Community-Projekt durch, um Daten über Missbräuche von Telekommunikationsbetreibern und andere Schwierigkeiten im Zusammenhang mit der Routerfreiheit zu sammeln. Die übergreifende Umfrage führte zu einem umfassenden Bericht, der 2023 veröffentlicht wurde und aufzeigt, wie Internet-Provider immer noch die Wahlfreiheit der Verbraucher behindern, Kontrolle über Internet-Geräte ausüben und proprietäre Geräte fördern.

Überall in Europa sprachen sich Nutzer dafür aus, dass wir uns für eine Regulierung einsetzen, die das Wahlfreiheit bei Routern und Modems schützt. Mehr als 90 % der Teilnehmer an unserer Umfrage stimmten zu, dass die Routerfreiheit der Schlüssel für ein offenes Internet, Sicherheit und Datenschutz, fairen Wettbewerb und digitale Nachhaltigkeit ist.

Erweitern wir Routerfreiheit auf andere Länder!

Da Routerfreiheit die Hardware-Ebene der Netzneutralität darstellt, ist sie eine wichtige politische Forderung.

Aus diesem Diagramm über die Anschlussarten und die Routernutzung geht hervor, dass die meisten DSL-Kunden zwar ihren eigenen Router verwenden, aber bei Glasfaser- und Koaxialanschlüssen immer noch auf die Geräte der Anbieter angewiesen sind.

Anders als in Deutschland ist Routerfreiheit in mehreren EU-Ländern noch immer keine Realität. In Ländern wie Österreich und Frankreich, die beschlossen haben, Routerfreiheit abzuschaffen, oder in Ländern wie Griechenland, die nicht in der Lage waren, sich vollständig für die Rechte der Endnutzer einzusetzen rights und Routerfreiheit nur für bestimmte Arten von Netzen zuließen, ist der Rechtsrahmen nach wie vor uneinheitlich.

Deshalb zählen wir auf Ihre Unterstützung. Es gibt noch viel zu tun. Geräteneutralität wird nicht nur von Internetdienstanbietern bedroht, sondern auch von Software- und Hardwareherstellern und -anbietern, die die Freiheiten und Rechte der Endnutzer nicht respektieren. Wir sind der festen Überzeugung, dass Softwarefreiheit der Standard sein sollte und Endnutzern keine Fesseln angelegt werden sollten. Technologieunternehmen sollten die Nutzer nicht in „Walled Gardens“ einsperren, die die Möglichkeiten ihrer Geräte einschränken.

Es ist an der Zeit, dass wir alle unsere Geräte, einschließlich Router und Modems, befreien. Helfen Sie uns mit einer Spende, dies in Europa zu erreichen!

Wir brauchen Ihre Unterstützung für unser langfristiges Engagement. Wir sind bereit, im nächsten Jahrzehnt für Routerfreiheit zu kämpfen. Schließen Sie sich jetzt unserer Sache an!

Werden Sie jetzt FSFE-Supporter!

Support FSFE

SFP#28: Policy and EU: FOSDEM DevRooms with Alexander Sander

FOSDEM, Europe's largest Free Software conference, is just around the corner! In this episode of the Software Freedom Podcast, Bonnie Mehring and Alexander Sander discuss the two DevRooms organised by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). Learn all about the Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom and the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom.

As FSFE's Senior Policy Consultant, Alex is involved in the set-up of those two DevRooms at FOSDEM. Both tracks are a must-visit for Free Software developers and advocates. The Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom focuses on current EU and US legislation, its implementation, and its future impact on the broader Free Software ecosystem as well as legal questions. Meanwhile the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom explores the often-overlooked topic of funding Free Software, featuring talks on current challenges and discussions in the field. This DevRoom provides a solid introduction to funding while also addressing pressing and relevant topics.

This is the perfect episode for everybody attending FOSDEM either in person or in the virtual world!

Show notes

• Legal and Policy Issues DevRoom
• Funding the FOSS Ecosystem DevRoom
• Join the FSFE's women breakfast during FOSDEM
• The FSFE calls for broader interoperability by Apple under the DMA
• Stay up-to-date and join our Newsletter
• Support our work for Free Software

If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a donation.

Support FSFE

The FSFE launches 'Ada & Zangemann' movie in French as Open Educational Resource

The Free Software Foundation Europe is releasing the animated film ‘Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream’ in French as an Open Educational Resource. Originally a highly successful illustrated book, now available in 10 languages and counting, the story has been adapted into a film that can be freely used in schools.

Following the success of the illustrated book 'Ada & Zangemann - Un conte sur les logiciels, le skateboard et la glace à la framboise', the FSFE is now releasing the story as an animated movie in French, with the support of the French Ministry of Education.

The story, aimed at children aged 6 and above, is about the inventor Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with hardware and software, and in the process realises how crucial technology is for her and others. It is a fascinating and motivating story for children, especially girls, to tinker with hardware and software and encouraging them to shape their own technology.

The movie is also available in English and German and will be released in Spanish and Danish soon. It is distributed under a Creative Commons license, so anyone will be able to download and share the movie, embed it on websites, use it in schools, display it at events, and integrate it with other educational material, making a difference to the quality of IT education that is so vital for young people in our digital society.

The book has been translated into 10 languages, primarily by volunteers worldwide, and Ada’s story has reached more than 20,000 children globally. It has been shared through readings, discussions, and workshops. The FSFE's Git repository provides access to the story in various languages, along with additional resources for educational purposes. For more details about the French edition, visit the dedicated website created by C&F Editions, its publisher.

Support FSFE

The FSFE supports Dutch call to adopt social media platforms that respect public values

Last week six Dutch civic organisations launched the campaign ‘Make Socials Social Again’. They call upon public organisations to adopt social media platforms that respect public values and thus are the real ‘social’ platforms.

The campaign, ‘Make Socials Social Again’, expresses the need for social media based on public values like transparency, privacy and sustainability.

The FSFE joins this campaign to encourage a public debate on this. As stressed in the FediGov campaign by the Swiss FSFE local team. It is important that platforms used by public bodies enable independent and self-determined use of technology.

The possibilities of using open and transparent systems, Free Software and open standards to enable truly social media, contributing positively to the public debate are legion. Good examples of this are, the Mastodon pilots by the Dutch government and SURF and Universities of the Netherlands. This encourages flexibility, security, the possibilities to innovate, societal debate and our digital

A series of events are lined up in the following weeks to support interested parties in adopting alternative social media.

Join this Dutch campaign by using the hashtag #MakeSocialsSocialAgain and use the campaign images.

Support FSFE

The FSFE calls for broader interoperability by Apple under the DMA

The Free Software Foundation Europe, alongside civil society organizations, developers and researchers, submitted its position to the European Commission’s public consultation on measures requiring Apple to ensure compliance with the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability provisions. The FSFE stressed the urgent need for Apple to provide effective, free-of-charge interoperability.

CC-BY-SA 4.0. by Rahak for FSFE.

In parallel to the litigation efforts against Apple, the FSFE continues to collaborate with the European Commission and other stakeholders in the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Alongside other civil society organizations, researchers and developers, the FSFE submitted its position to the European Commission to improve the European Commission’s proposal to regulate Apple’s approach towards interoperability in its iOS and iPadOS operating systems, as required by Article 6(7) of the DMA.

The FSFE is demanding a shift towards “interoperability by default”. Apple’s reactive approach is at odds with the DMA, undermining developer agency and consumer choice. The FSFE urges that Apple should not deny software interoperability at its discretion, but the process for assessing interoperability requests should be transparent and non-discriminatory. We recommend that the Commission take a more active role by scrutinizing Apple’s decisions and intermediating conflict resolution among Apple and access-seeking developers. Besides, Apple should not rely on API security by obscurity, but the Commission should require public API documentation. We suggest that the Commission require Apple to also adopt an effective bug-tracking system and prohibit the company from requiring non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) from developers who wish to interoperate with iOS and iPadOS.

The FSFE has ensured that the voices of Free Software developers, particularly smaller projects, are heard. We welcome the European Commission’s steps toward demanding effective and transparent measures from Apple, but a fundamental shift towards "interoperability by design" would be the most impactful improvement. DMA is not only about regulating competition among gatekeepers but also levelling the playing field to SMEs and smaller software developers. Therefore, it is crucial to keep Apple’s approach to interoperability under strict scrutiny from the Commission and civil society." Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal Programme Manager

In addition, the FSFE is participating in a comprehensive study on how Apple’s restrictive interoperability policies harm Free Software. This research was first presented in November 2024 during a conference on the DMA implementation in Brussels and will also be presented at an upcoming event organized by the Knight-Georgetown Institute and Yale University in Washington, D.C., in February 2025.

Additional Material

Joint submission to the European Commission’s public consultation on Apple’s request-driven approach towards Art. 6(7) DMA.

Dedicated page to FSFE’s strategic litigation efforts on the Apple vs European Commission case at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Support FSFE

I Love Free Software Day 2025 is around the corner!

Ready for I Love Free Software Day 2025? At this annual event on 14 February the FSFE and other Free Software enthusiasts celebrate all the contributors to Free Software. It is a day dedicated to recognising and appreciating all the work done for Free Software projects, big or small.

“Hidden Projects” is this year’s theme for ‘I Love Free Software Day’, that wants to highlight Free Software initiatives that may not always be in the spotlight but that are essential to the infrastructure we rely on every day. These “hidden” projects -from server software to critical tools that power our systems- form the backbone of our daily infrastructure. It’s time we give them the recognition they deserve!

Join us on Friday, 14 February 2025, as we celebrate the Free Software projects that power our digital infrastructure, and most importantly, the incredible people behind them: all those contributors doing their bit so all of us can benefit.

Together, we can make a real difference in showing the world how crucial Free Software is for our society.

The more people participating in ‘I Love Free Software Day’, the stronger the message we send about the importance of Free Software in our daily lives. This day is a chance for all of us to shine a spotlight on the hidden heroes who make it all possible. Whether you’re a developer, system administrator, translator, community moderator, your work matters.

You can join any of the events listed below *more are coming soon:

• 🇬🇧 FSFE Potteries, Staffordshire (UK)
  • ⏰ 11.02.2025, 18:30 (GMT)
  • 📍 Upstairs at KPA Clubhouse, 97 Horwood Road, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire
• 🇵🇱 Warsaw, Poland
  • ⏰ 12.02.2025
  • 📍Warsaw Hackerspace, Żelazna 103A, 01-017 Warszawa
• 🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany
  • ⏰ 13.02.2025, 18:00 (CET)
  • 📍 Deutschherrnstr. 15-19, 904129 Nürnberg in the Schulungsraum from Netways. Please, register here for attending the event.
• 🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain
  • ⏰ 13.02.2025, 19:00 (CET)
  • 📍 AKASHA Hub Barcelona, Carrer de la Verneda, 19, Local 1, 08018 Barcelona
• 🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain
  • ⏰ 13.02.2025
  • 📍 La Corriente, C. de la Reina Mercedes, 1, Tetuán, 28020 Madrid
• 🇩🇪 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • ⏰ 14.02.2025
  • 📍 Chaos Computer Club Frankfurt e.V., more information to be announced soon
• 🇦🇹 Villach in Carinthia, Austria
  • ⏰ 14.02.2025
  • 📍 Tschinowitscher Weg 5, 9500 Villach. More information on the webpage.

Take a look at our activity page for more information about the events. And for all of you who are now feeling inspired to organise their very own event check out out new toolkit. In this toolkit you find all the necessary information plus prepared presentations, games, toots and tweets for organising your very own I Love Free Software Day event.

You can’t make it to these events? No problem! There are many other ways to get involved in I Love Free Software Day 2025:

• Create a Sharepic: Use our Sharepic Generator to craft a personalized thank you message and share it with the world. Post it on social media with #ilovefs and inspire others to show their appreciation!
• Thank You Videos: Think of a Free Software project that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves but is integral to our infrastructure. Record a short video with a thank you message and share it on your social media channels using the hashtag #ilovefs.
• Host a local event: Gather with your friends, family, or colleagues to celebrate Free Software and its contributors. Whether it’s a small get-together or a larger community event, your support matters! We have prepared a toolkit with all the essential materials and information for organising a local event.
• Send a postcard to your favourite Free Software project and order free promotional material for spreading the word about Free Software. You find all our free promotional material including stickers, posters and postcards on our spread the word page.
• Share your knowledge about Free Software and spread the word about the four freedoms: Use, Understand, Share, and Improve.

Need Help or More Information?

More information and additional resources to celebrate I Love Free Software Day are on activity page for the I Love Free Software Day.

Join us in celebrating all the contributors to Free Software – Thank you! <3

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FOSDEM & DMA updates+++ 2025 YH4F +++ Our visions for 2048

The new year has begun, offering 365 days to promote Free Software! As we prepare for FOSDEM and continue working on the DMA implementation, we are excited to launch the fourth edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. We closed 2024 sharing our predictions for 2048 and taking part in the Chaos Communication Congress.

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• T minus 23 years until 2048
• Ready for FOSDEM? Join our “Legal & Policy issues” and “Funding the FOSS Ecosystem” devrooms
• The FSFE demands that Apple provide broader interoperability
• Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: 2025 edition and interviews with 2024 participants
• The FSFE at 38C3
• The FSFE promotes freedom of software, hardware, and data
• SFP#27: Policy and EU: Free Software hearing in the German Bundestag
• Get Involved: I Love Free Software Day
• FSFE Women Meetings
• Back to the stages! Past events from our community
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“I have a huge list of advice I would give people participating in Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, but there is one that I would highlight: don't be afraid to submit unfinished projects! Thankfully my mother encouraged me to submit it and my life has completely changed for the better ever since!”

- Sofía Aritz, 2024 YH4F winner

T minus 23 years until 2048

“What will happen in the movement for software freedom in 2025? It is hard for me to make such predictions. What the past 20 years working for the Free Software Foundation Europe have taught me is to be prepared for the things you cannot predict. While predicting the future is always hard, we know what we are aiming to accomplish in the long run."

Ready for FOSDEM? Join our “Legal & Policy issues” and “Funding the FOSS Ecosystem” devrooms

FOSDEM 2025 is around the corner and its schedule is out! This year the FSFE is co-organizing two devrooms: “Legal & Policy issues” and “Funding the FOSS Ecosystem”.

For the fifth consecutive year, the FSFE, together with our co-hosts, is proud to organize the Legal and Policy Issues devroom, a popular track focused on the political and legal challenges in the realm of software freedom.This devroom is now in its 13th edition.

This year, we are also contributing to the organization of the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem devroom. Debuting at this FOSDEM edition, this track aims to bring together developers, maintainers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, donors, and funders to explore sustainable funding models and mechanisms that ensure the longevity and security of FOSS projects.

The FSFE demands that Apple provide broader interoperability

In parallel to the litigation efforts against Apple, the FSFE continues to collaborate with the European Commission and other stakeholders in the implementation of the DMA. The FSFE is participating in a comprehensive study on how Apple's interoperability policies negatively affect Free Software. The study has been accepted by a conference to be held in Washington DC organised by the renowned Knight-Georgetown Institute and Yale University.

Besides, the FSFE is working together other civil society organisations to submit a position for the Commission's public consultation on Apple's compliance measures regarding interoperability required by the DMA.

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: 2025 edition and interviews with 2024 participants

The new edition of YH4F has officially begun, marking the start of its programming period earlier this month. As we eagerly await the exciting projects this fourth edition will unveil, we talked with three participants from the last edition: Vinícius, Simon, and Sofia, who was one of the 2024 winners.

On 9 January the competition kicked off with its opening event in which participants got information about the contest and their questions were answered, while learning some tips from former winners.

Do you want to participate? Late registration is possible!

The FSFE at 38C3

The Free Software Foundation Europe, along with over sixteen thousand attendees, took part in the 38th Chaos Communication Congress with a booth, several talks, and a lot of stickers. It was a great pleasure to join, once again, the Chaos family for another impressive four-day congress. Thank you all for coming!

The FSFE promotes freedom of software, hardware, and data

The ZOOOM (3Os) Initiative promotes innovation based on freedom of software, hardware, and data. With its recent conclusion, the FSFE hopes to inspire broader use and effective application of Free Software by business, academia, and the public sector.

In only two years, the ZOOOM project produced comprehensive research merging aspects of Free Software, Open Data and Open Hardware. Focusing on the importance of these assets for the future of AI, the initiative not only produced scientific materials tackling legal and business issues regarding Free Software, but also developed a series of recommendations.

Find out more

SFP#27: Policy and EU: Free Software hearing in the German Bundestag

At the beginning of December, the FSFE participated in a German parliament hearing on Free Software, organised by the Digital Committee. The hearing focused on the use of Free Software for public administration. In his speech for the position of the FSFE, Alexander Sander highlighted the importance of funding for Free Software and the current trend of 'openwashing' and how this can affect the procurement process in public administration.

Listen to this Software Freedom podcast episode and find our take on the hearing is!

Get Involved: I Love Free Software Day

Join us in our celebrations of this year's I Love Free Software Day: Hidden Projects on 14 February. this year we focus on Free Software projects that are part of our daily lives but are hardly spoken about.

Around this I Love Free Software Day many local group event swill be happening all over Europe, organised by our amazing community. You find them on our ‘I Love Free Software’ activity page! For organising your own local group event we have our amazing toolkit, which provides organisational tips, slides for presentations, and fun games to play during the event.

If you want to stay quiet and cosy at home there are several ways to participate in this year's celebrations. You can create a sharepic, toot and or tweet online, or send a postcard with a thank you message to your favourite Free Software.

FSFE Women* Meetings

• FSFE Women* January Meeting with a guest speaker

  On 20 January, at the FSFE Women’s meeting, Melanie Bartos will describe the initiative to establish a Mastodon instance and a Fediverse presence at the University of Innsbruck.

  Join the online meeting to find out more about how the University of Innsbruck uses, designs and promotes non-profit, privacy-friendly, and Free Software media and the role of Melanie Bartos

• FOSDEM Women* breakfast

  You are a QWLINTA* person and you are interested in Free Software? Then we are happy to meet you at our Free Software QWLINTA* breakfast! We will meet during FOSDEM on Sunday the 2nd of February in Brussels for breakfast.

  Join us for this informal and relaxed meeting to connect with other QWLINTA*s around you and discuss Free Software and how to create a more welcoming space for QWLINTA*s in the movement. If you are planning to come, please fill in this form so we can reserve an appropriate space according to our needs.

Save the date: Public Money, Public Code! symposium On 8 April we are hosting a symposium on ‘Public Money? Public Code' in the practical work of public administrations. One focus will be on the use of Free Software in municipalities.

The symposium will be held in German and you can find more information at events.fsfe.org.

Back to the stages! Past events from our community

• Spreading Free Software in Thessaloniki

At the end of December, volunteers from Greece organized an event for the freshmen students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, focused on promoting the use and philosophy of Free Software. The event attended by about 40 enthusiastic students, consisted of an introductory lecture on GNU/Linux and discussions and activities that highlighted the principles and benefits of Free Software. FSFE stickers were distributed at the end of the event.

• Upcycling Android workshop in Berlin

At the end of November, the public library Pablo Neruda in Berlin hosted an 'Upcycling your Android' workshop. There a group of FSFE volunteers helped participants to root their devices to be able to get rid of unwanted app that had been installed by default apps install a Free Software environment.

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

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The FSFE at 38c3

The Free Software Foundation Europe, along with over sixteen thousand attendees, took part in the 38th Chaos Communication Congress with a booth, several talks and a lot of stickers. It was a great pleasure to join, once again, the Chaos family for another impressive four-day congress. Thank you all for coming!

From 27 to 30 December the Congress Center in Hamburg turns into an alternative universe full of unicorns, rockets, colourful lights, lots of technology, and mate! It is the time of the Chaos Communication Congress. This iconic annual gathering remains one of the most significant technology conferences globally, attracting developers, activists, artists, and thinkers from all over the world. The Congress serves as a vibrant space for exchanging ideas and discoveries, and exploring innovative approaches to technology and society. Did you manage to make it to 38c3?

As in previous years, the FSFE was part of the Bits & Bäume habitat, where our staffers and volunteers spread the word about Free Software, our work, and our activities. At our booth, we were surrounded by our new hoodies, Ada & Zangemann books, t-shirts, socks, magnets, and stickers. Countless individuals from diverse backgrounds stopped by to learn more about Free Software, get some of our merchandising, and share their own experiences and thoughts with us. Many attendees from across the globe stopped by to expand their sticker collections, ask questions about our current activities, support us, and help spread our message of software freedom.

But there was more: our activities were shown in a short video on the main 38c3 screens; as part of the Bits & Bäume habitat, we took part in a 2024 timeline, and we also challenged some participants to make a "There is no Cloud" blinking badge. It was a great pleasure to guide participants through the process of soldering and assembling the badges. There was great enthusiasm for the project, and we and the participants acquired new skills along the way.

The FSFE hosted several activities, including a FSFE Women meetup, a screening of the Ada & Zangemann movie, a talk at the Community Stage, two lightning talks, a reading of the Ada & Zangemann book, and a Fediverse fishbowl discussion.

• The Bits & Bäume Workshop Area was opened by a meetup of the FSFE Women group organised by its coordinator and volunteer, Liv Dywan. The workshop area was filled up by members of the group and curious passers-by. After a short introduction, the group shared and discussed topics related to diversity and education.
• The screening of the "Ada & Zangemann – A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream"was full of children and parents excited to watch the recently premiered movie. The audience was fully engaged, enjoying the characters' journey and their connection to the Free Software movement. It was a perfect opportunity to inspire the next generation about the power of technology and the importance of software freedom. Of course, the children left the venue with a lot of Ada stickers! Moreover, the day after the screening of the Ada & Zangemann movie, we had a reading of the book at the Bits & Bäume Wohnzimmer lounge.
• Our talk "Let’s Spark Children’s Interest in Coding" (EN) on the Community Stage was well received with almost a full house. Attendees were very interested in and gave positive feedback on our initiatives for the younger generations, such as Ada & Zangemann and Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, and provided positive feedback. Attendees also asked insightful questions about Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, which were answered by one of the winners of the last edition.
• On Day 3, we took the stage for two lightning talks. At the "From Apple litigation to Legal Education: how the FSFE can help you" (EN), we made a summary of the FSFE legal work while Sofía Aritz, one of the 2023 YH4F winners, explained how to participate in this programming competition in her talk "Youth Hacking 4 Freedom" (EN). Both talks gathered a lot of attention and some of the attendees visited our booth afterwards to learn a bit more about those two topics and our activities in general.
• Finally, Tobias Diekershoff, our System hacker and Fediverse expert with Leena Simon hosted a fishbowl discussion about fediverse governance. This idea was sparked by a talk presented by Leena in 2023. Several attendees discussed how to moderate the fediverse and identified some problems with existing structures and technologies.

Overall, the event was really successful, bringing together a diverse audience eager to learn and share. From engaging talks and workshops to the movie screening, participants left inspired and motivated to contribute to the Free Software movement.

Thank to everyone who stopped at our booth and thanks to Bits & Bäume for a great habitat! We look forward to seeing you at the next Chaos events! In the meantime, stay tuned by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on PeerTube.

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Up for 2025 YH4F? 2024 Winner Sofía Aritz shares why it's a must-join!

The fourth round of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom (YH4F) is officially underway, with its opening event on 9 January. Sofía, one of the 2024 winners, gives us an insight into her project, how she came up with her idea, and her experience of the competition in general. Find out more! And do not forget to register for this edition!

A new edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom (YH4F) is starting this week with its opening event on Thursday 9 January. At this event, the YH4F organizers will explain how this competition works and will resolve your doubts so, if you still haven’t done it, register! This unique programming competition, organized by the Free Software Foundation Europe, encourages young Europeans to develop a personal technical project under one premise: whatever it is, it has to be Free Software. But it is more than just a contest: it's an opportunity for young talent to showcase their creativity, learn new skills, and contribute to their community.

We spoke with Sofía Aritz, one of last year's winners, who shared her journey from doubting to register to participate due to a lack of ideas to winning with her project Identity, a project she developed almost at the end of the programming phase. Identity is a general purpose memory storage app, but the data you store in Identity has an unlimited number of use cases such as medical ones, helping people suffering dementia, palliative care, depression, etc.

FSFE: Hi Sofía! First of all, congratulations on being one of the winners of the last round of YH4F! Could you please briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you like to do before we delve into your project?

Sofía: Thank you very much! My name is Sofía Aritz and I am 18 years old. I love reading and programming, these two have been my greatest passions for the last decade. Over the years, I’ve applied my computer knowledge in different areas: music, databases, data sovereignty...

FSFE: What was your first experience with programming and how did you start learning it? Was it with Free Software?

Sofía: My first experience with programming was at the age of five, when my uncle gave my mother a printed copy of the Python tutorial. The prospect of being able to control a computer was one of my biggest motivations for learning to program. I was able to learn Python thanks to both the tutorial and the fact that it is Free Software.

Register for Youth Hacking 4 Freedom 2025!

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FSFE: How and why did you decide to join YH4F? What do you like the most about the contest?

Sofía: Although YH4F was exactly what I had been looking for years, I had doubts about joining it because at that time, I had no (good) ideas and I was in my last year of high school, so I was quite busy. But since it sounded really good [a programming contest for young people who could work on whatever they wanted!], I thought about it and finally joined at the end of February 2024. I was sure at the end, I was going to have an idea.

About what I like the most… It's hard to choose: the concept of YH4F, the groups meetings, my peers…

FSFE: So, when you joined, you didn’t have an idea. How did you come up with your final project, Identity?

Sofía: I didn't come up with the idea of Identity until the programming phase was almost over. My mother is a singing teacher, but she's done some medical work in the past. One of the things she researched was the relationship between dementia and music. Over the years, she has tried to look for things similar to Identity, but couldn't find any. Then one night, we started talking about the relationship between dementia and music, and the idea of Identity became a reality.

Since I didn’t have any meaningful ideas in mind when I joined, I started working on an application to help my school manage their computers, but similar Free Software projects already existed and the idea didn’t really appeal to me. I also had a couple of other ideas that I worked on for a very short time, but I can’t remember what they were.

In the beginning, Identity was going to be a music-centric app with integrations to platforms such as Libre.fm, Spotify… but after discussing possible use cases and who Identity could be useful to, we landed on the current concept of Identity. Together, my mother and I, we came up with the current idea of Identity.

FSFE: What motivates you to work on your project? How can Identity be useful for everyone?

Sofía: What motivates me the most is the fact that Identity can help millions of people, not just those with dementia, but everyone! That's why I'm currently working on the project.

Right now Identity is just a general purpose memory storage app, but the data you store in Identity has an unlimited number of use cases. What I'm currently researching is how memories can help people in different areas: dementia, palliative care, depression, etc.

On a technical level, I plan to implement a plug-in system that will allow anyone to use the data they store for specific purposes: from things like an "Identity Wrapped" to more medically focused use cases.

This is one of the open questions from my presentation during the award ceremony, and even though things are clearer now, it is not yet resolved, but I am working on it!

FSFE: What were the main problems or challenges that you encountered during the programming phase?

Sofía: I didn't face many technical challenges while working on the project. I used a tech stack that I was familiar with and didn't worry much about code quality and scalability. I had a huge time constraint and I decided to just build a proof of concept.

The biggest challenge was working on the project without having a clearly defined idea. I started coding while I was still discussing with my mother what Identity would become and what Identity would be used for.

FSFE: Did you work on your project alone or had any help by others? How did you learn so much about the needs of elderly people?

Sofía: I did all of the programming myself, but I got feedback and ideas from a dozen of people who were really invested in the idea of Identity. Without those people, especially my mother, Identity wouldn't be what it is today.

I did a lot of research into how the use of memories could benefit palliative care and dementia patients, but the cornerstone in the initial phases was my mother. She had already done research on these topics some years ago.

FSFE: How has participating in YH4F and working on your project affected you personally? What have you learned about yourself through this experience?

Sofía: Participating in YH4F has changed my life for the better. I've learned how to manage projects efficiently, how to work on a project whose requirements change constantly, how to give and receive constructive and actionable feedback…

I've always had loads of energy and motivation and, thanks to YH4F and my current internship at the FSFE, I can focus that energy and motivation on changing the world for the better.

FSFE: Do you think you will continue working on your project and what would be some next steps you would like to take? Are you planning to improve the documentation so that more people can reuse your projects?

Sofía: Of course! Right now I'm working with some doctors specialized in palliative care and with some experts on the field of data security to make sure that Identity is as secure and as useful as it needs to be.

I'm rewriting Identity with a focus on scalability, interoperability, security, and modularity, and one of the things I am focusing on is proper and useful documentation. In the future, Identity may have to interoperate with existing medical systems, so documentation is one of the most important aspects of the project.

FSFE: Is there any kind of advice that you would like to tell new Youth Hacking 4 Freedom participants?

Sofía: I have a huge list of advice I would give people participating in Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, but there is one that I would highlight: don't be afraid to submit unfinished projects!

Identity works, but there are many things that don't (e.g. the trustee system) and I thought about not submitting Identity to YH4F.

Thankfully my mother encouraged me to submit it and my life has completely changed for the better ever since!

FSFE: What are your future plans in the area of Free Software?

Sofía: I'll continue working on Identity and contributing to Free Software projects, as I've been doing for the last few months. But my focus has shifted. I have just started an internship at the FSFE, in which I will learn how to do public awareness and policy work to improve the state of Free Software in Europe!

FSFE: Thank you Sofía for your time and for sharing your thoughts and insights about Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. It is a pleasure to welcome you to the FSFE staff team! It is truly amazing to see what you have accomplished due to Youth Hacking 4 Freedom.

The 2025 edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom started on 1 January with its programming phase. On 9 January, the competition will officially kick off with an opening event in which participants will get all the information about the contest and will be able to solve all their questions. Moreover, the event will include former participants that will tell about their experience and will give some tips on how to find a project and making it a winner.

Late registration is possible but we recommend you to register as soon as possible to be able to meet other participants. Check out the YH4F website to find out all the details of this competition or feel free to reach out to the organisers via mail! Thanks to our donor Reinhard Wiesemann and our sponsor Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH for making this competition possible.

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T minus 23 years until 2048

"What will happen in the movement for software freedom in 2025? It is hard for me to make such predictions. What the past 20 years working for the Free Software Foundation Europe have taught me is to be prepared for the things you cannot predict." - Below a message from our president Matthias Kirschner to our readers.

While predicting the future is always hard, we know what we are aiming to accomplish in the long run.

Last year, we discussed what the world might would look like in the different areas of our work in 2048, if the FSFE is successful. Why 2048? Because the likelihood of any of us still being alive in 4096 is quite low ;)

This is our vision for the year 2048:

• Everyone has the right to remove and install any software on any of their devices! As part of our work for device neutrality, we are already defending Free Software against Apple at the European Court of Justice, while we continue to advocate for router freedom. The push for device neutrality will be a cornerstone of our work in 2025 and beyond.
• All public funding for software should be for Free Software only! This principle has been at the heart of our efforts, and we continue to advance it through various initiatives under the "Public Money? Public Code!" motto. Last year, we further supported public administrations in their transition to Free Software; in December we were invited to participate as experts in a hearing in the German parliament; as part of our watchdog role we held decision-makers accountable for their work in this area; and in 2025 we will pilot a new event format on "Public Money? Public Code!".
• All regulatory frameworks encourage the use and development of Free Software. In recent years we have witnessed an increase in regulation in our field of work. Last year, we were engaged with the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the Product Liability Directive (PLD), the AI Act, the Interoperable Europe Act, and other regulations. In 2025 and beyond, we will continue to serve as an independent voice for individual contributors and users and we will ensure that decision-makers understand and value the contributions by Free Software companies to society. And we want regulatory frameworks to recognise those contributions, by incentivising companies and organisations to develop and use Free Software.
• Licensing and legal decisions are based on facts, rather than fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Free Software contributors should be able to focus on contributing to society without constantly worrying about legal issues. As in 2024, we will keep providing a safe and neutral space for controversial legal and licensing discussions with the FSFE's Legal & Licensing Workshop. We will continue our decades of work supporting Free Software contributors with their legal questions. In 2025, we will launch a new format for our work on legal education, in addition to our Licensing and Legal FAQs.
• Young people have the opportunity to tinker, experiment and code with Free Software as the default. As well as calling for “Public Money? Public Code!” for the education sector, we are encouraging young people to code and experience how much fun it is to shape technology! In 2025 we will be conducting the fourth edition of our European programming competition "Youth Hacking 4 Freedom". In this contest, teenagers across Europe can win €1024, €2048, or €4096 for their Free Software project. Our goal is for young people from all over Europe to see what others in their peer group can accomplish with software, and to get inspired and motivated. We bring the winners together in Brussels to celebrate their hard persistent work, connect with each other in person, receive their awards, have a good time, and show their parents that what their children are doing is great, even if they might not fully understand anything about computers themselves. And we help them connect more with the Free Software community. Besides that, we will continue to translate and publish the "Ada & Zangemann" book and the movie, and help people organising events to spark children's interest in technology.

You see, there is a lot of work ahead of us over the next 23 years. As in the past 40 years of our movement, it will not be easy. We will have to work hard every day to accomplish this and I am confident that we will also accomplish some of those goals before 2048.

I am thankful to all the FSFE supporters, who are part of the FSFE's ongoing efforts. I promise you that, today and in the next years, the FSFE will work hard to make our goals for 2048 a reality. Together we will make a positive impact on our society. Let us make sure that whenever we have a look back, we will be proud of our joint efforts for software freedom!

All the best, Matthias Kirschner President, Free Software Foundation Europe

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The FSFE promotes freedom of software, hardware, and data

The ZOOOM (3Os) Initiative promotes innovation based on freedom of software, hardware, and data. With its recent conclusion, the FSFE hopes to inspire broader use and effective application of Free Software by business, academia, and the public sector.

Free Software, Open Data and Open Hardware are essential building blocks for a sustainable and trustworthy industrial and commercial ecosystem. Nevertheless, business, academia, and the public sector sometimes lack important fundamental understandings of these topics, and as a result many industries often develop systemic problems by matching business models with inappropriate licensing frameworks, or even without sufficient frameworks at all.

To help solve these problems, the FSFE became a partner of the ZOOOM Initiative (3Os – Open Source Software, Open Data, Open Hardware), that started in 2022. This European project funded by the European Commission aimed to build competence and raise awareness on the importance of proper management of these three open assets (Software, Hardware, and Data). The FSFE contributed specifically in the research and the development of educational materials on various topics related to Free Software, tailored for industrial and commercial needs. We are pleased to share the outcomes of our collaborative work with our ZOOOM partners over the past 2 years.

Innovative research involving open assets

Together with our ZOOOM consortium partners, we have conducted innovative research to understand commonalities and interactions on the issues faced when dealing collectively with Free Software, Open Hardware, and Open Data. The results have been documented in a report that assists stakeholders with understanding the 3Os and proposes strategies to align their business models with the complexities characterizing each of these open ecosystems.

To support this reporting, the FSFE also conducted extensive research and analysis on Free Software legal issues for business and innovation. As a result of this work, we have contributed to a review of legal cases on issues related to the 3Os, specifically on legal cases related to Free Software. Those interested in an overview of legal issues in open hardware and open data will also find this review useful.

The ZOOOM project broke AI down into its most fundamental elements, so research involving Free Software licensing is facilitated.

Recommendations on Free Software AI licensing

Another significant outcome of this European project was the creation of a comprehensive paper on Free Software and openness in the area of artificial intelligence development. This paper examined the convergence of Free Software and AI focusing on the legal aspects of licensing

In the paper, we considered the necessity to promote openness in a manner that respects the principles of Free Software, especially in light of the various challenges in achieving such openness in AI licensing. In particular, we highlighted the uncoordinated growing proliferation of licenses claiming to be “free and open source” in the AI scene, but that actually impose extra limitations on software freedom and that may lead to license incompatibility.

To improve the situation, we proposed three important recommendations:

1. Preserving openness in AI by safeguarding the Four Freedoms of Free Software;
2. Keeping licensing of AI technologies cohesive and interoperable with Free Software licenses;
3. Encouraging engagement with civil society actors in initiatives aimed to make AI more open, accessible, transparent, and auditable.

The drafting of these papers with our ZOOOM consortium partners has also enabled us to raise awareness among the academic community about the importance of Free Software and open concepts, as they relate to software, hardware, and data.

The hybrid nature of AI, involving data and code, poses challenges for licensing. The ZOOOM project analysed this in detail from the perspective of Free Software.

Development of training materials

In addition to these research activities, we contributed to the development of training materials intended for any organisation – private or public – to equip users with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate Free Software, open hardware, and open data. The training toolkit can be especially useful for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Europe with the necessary skills to adopt strategies and evaluate business modules that relate to open technologies.

Check out our Legal Education Day playlist

Successful outreach in Europe for Free Software

The ZOOOM project also engaged in an extensive awareness campaign to promote our work, and general awareness of the principles of Free Software, Open Hardware, and Open Data. As part of this campaign, more than 40 events were organised. The FSFE spoke at various conferences and events across Europe, including at FOSDEM 2024, DORS/CLUC 2024, and SFSCon 2022

Additionally, the ZOOOM consortium organized exclusive meetups and events involving a broad range of stakeholders (academia, public sector and business), to further promote Free Software in Ljubljana, Trento, and Brussels.

The ZOOOM project allowed the FSFE to reach university students, academics, and science folks to raise awareness for the importance of Free Software.

Sustainability goal: open science

In only two years, the ZOOOM project produced comprehensive research merging aspects of Free Software, Open Data and Open Hardware. Focusing on the importance of these assets for the future of AI, the initiative not only produced scientific materials tackling legal and business issues regarding Free Software, but also developed a series of recommendations. The next steps are to deploy further the material produced, engaging with organisations and individuals interested in reusing and developing further the materials.

If you are interested in knowing more about the wealth of knowledge produced by ZOOOM, feel free to reach out!

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