20 Years FSFE: Interviewing past interns

In the final publication about 20 Years FSFE, we want to thank everyone who has worked for the organisation in an internship position. We contacted eight former interns and asked them about their time at the FSFE and their current involvement with Free Software.

These interviews are only a glimpse of the many people who have helped shaping the FSFE with their contributions in an internship position. An internship in the FSFE can be an intensive yet enriching experience. It familiarises people with the use of Free Software and it helps them networking with the Free Software community. We have asked eight of our former interns about their time at the FSFE and how they are doing today: Diego, George, Lucile, Ludmila, Martin, Matti, Polina, Stian.

Diego Naranjo is the head of policy in the European Digital Rights (EDRi) organisation.

George Brooke-Smith focuses on Risk Management in the KPMG company.

Lucile Falgueyrac is a Parliamentary assistant in the European Parliament.

Ludmila Vaseva is a software developer at ctrl.alt.coop eG.

Martin Husovec is an assistant professor and academic specialising in IP law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Matti Lammi is a System Specialist at ETLA Economic Research.

Polina Malaja is a Policy Director in the CENTR organisation.

Stian Rødven-Eide is a Doctoral researcher in computational linguistics at the University of Gothenburg.

Looking back, what did the FSFE inters learn during their internship?

• 

  Diego

  From this internship I gained more insight into how the Free Software community organises, how to organise campaigns and workshops, and how to deal with legal issues related to Free Software.

• 

  George

  It was more about who the Free Software community was for me. I got to know a great group of people from all over the world. I won't forget that. Doing an internship at the FSFE makes you more competent to tackle IT collaboratively. And moreover the four software freedoms (use, study, improve, and share) can be applied in all walks of business. In this way, I have felt it was fundamentally helpful.

• 

  Lucile

  During my internship I learned much about how Free Software is made and used. I came for the policy and political relevance to resist mass surveillance, and learned much about technology and infrastructure. I learned a lot about campaigning and community organising during my internship at the FSFE.

• 

  Ludmila

  My first conscious contact with Free Software was some 14 years ago. It was my second semester at uni and a friend wouldn't stop bugging me to install Ubuntu on my laptop, because it was, you know, "cool for political reasons". At the end, we spent an evening with the institute's Linux user group since back in the day stuff mostly didn't just work and the sound and wireless cards needed some extra persuasion. I eventually stopped booting up the windows entirely and up to this day cannot begin to fathom how one does software development or network stuff on a windows machine. (Although I've heard, that's bettered in recent years.)

  With time, I grew more aware about political issues surrounding software and computers, about privacy, security, re-usability and community. I then gradually started advocating for the usage of Free Software myself (because it was cool for political reasons), and was hence delighted when the opportunity presented itself to intern with the FSFE for a while. There, I got to know some wonderful people and had the chance to do important political work with like-minded folks.

• 

  Martin

  My internship at FSFE was a very pleasant experience. I just came out of law school, hungry for some technology law experience in Germany. And I landed in Berlin in 2011. What could go wrong? Intellectually, what stuck with me the most was how differently Free Software activists thought about the world of legal rules. For a fresh graduate of law, rules were set by someone else. TRIPS Agreement was an unchangeable fact. The vocabulary was not a choice. Not for these activists. Throughout my internship, I better understood why and how concepts and labels drive political outcomes. I learned to appreciate what civil society does for legal change and how much work and discipline this requires.

• 

  Matti

  To my surprise, the FSFE had much fewer staff members at the Berlin office than I had expected. Yet, they have done a lot for software freedom over the years. This shows what dedication can achieve. A good lesson for all of us.

• 

  Polina

  Free Software is so much more than a software licence or publicly available source code. It is a social movement and a community that strives for more equal and just society. After completing my internship at the FSFE, I continued my path in the FSFE as an employee, leading its both legal and policy areas. My time in the FSFE contributed immensely for my professional and personal growth, setting my course on the topics and areas I am involved in my current professional environment outside of the FSFE i.e. EU digital policies and regulation.

• 

  Stian

  My first and main task as an intern for the FSFE was to organise FSCONS. After my internship ended, I continued being involved with the conference for eight more years. The principles of Free Software resonates with a lot of modern philosophy and can be applied to almost anything. This has guided my life and my personal philosophy since, especially the idea that with cooperation and sharing, everyone will be better off, than with competition and secrecy.

  Following my internship, I started a Free Software cooperative along with like minded friends, offering consultancy and support for organisations that wish to transition from proprietary software. While I like to think that we did manage to achieve some good during the four years the cooperative existed, we probably learned more than anything about the many obstacles that remain for Free Software to become ubiquitous. It became clear that we need to promote Free Software on many fronts, politically and practically, and how vital organisations like the FSFE are to this.

Are former interns still active in software freedom?

• 

  Diego

  Free software is an every day topic for EDRi. On a practical level, we use as much Free Software as we can (operative systems, server applications, apps on our phones…). Furthermore, we advocate for Free Software whenever a European legislative file we follow involves the use of software. We referred to the public money, public code campaign in several occasions and that framing is still an important part for EDRi’s framing our technology and the role of public infrastructures.

• 

  George

  My involvement is to donate now and then, and to raise the issue with friends and family. I haven't done much volunteering since the internship. I'd have to get good permission from my employer to do that. (So fingers crossed).

• 

  Lucile

  I use Free Software personally but not professionally. I do get a Free Software link when we discuss bigger political questions about privacy or strategic independence - I know that without independent technology and infrastructures it is impossible to reach.

• 

  Ludmila

  Since I'm a software developer, Free Software is an important part of my day-to-day work — any developer's job would look quite differently and be a great deal more tedious if we weren't able to rely on the myriad of FLOSS libraries, tools and frameworks out there.

• 

  Martin

  Since I teach and research intellectual property and technology law, one could say I remain somewhat involved in the Free Software issues. I do not think of myself as a hard-core expert on Free Software licensing, but I continue to research many issues of the digital ecosystem that are relevant to the FSFE’s mission. I still benefit from the broader technological outlook that I was introduced to at the FSFE.

• 

  Matti

  When choosing software, we lean towards Free Software solutions by default. Often, we end up choosing a free solution unless specifically requested otherwise by the upper management or business needs.

• 

  Polina

  After my time in the FSFE, I still strongly stand for the values of Free Software, continuing as a volunteer in the FSFE CARE Team, the European Core Team and the General Assembly.

• 

  Stian

  At my department at the University of Gothenburg, we publish all code, and most data, under a free licence. Researchers in our field are usually quite knowledgeable about Free Software, as we need to know exactly what a program does to the data and be able to share and improve it in order to reproduce and further the research.

  Outside of work, my volunteering efforts are these days limited to the democratic e-mail association Fripost.org. It started out as a project of our local FSFE chapter ten years ago, but has since evolved into its own organisation. In addition to running an e-mail service for our members, we have had many outreach programs and community events centred around Free Software.

What do former FSFE interns wish for the future of the FSFE?

• 

  Diego

  I would love two things. First, I would love the FSFE to go beyond software and embrace issues related to hardware, infrastructure and generally digital sovereignty. We need a European federation that takes a holistic approach to how technology should be a tool for fundamental rights, and focusing only on software leaves out many of the fundamental questions we’re facing today such as the power of Big Tech, surveillance capitalism, mass surveillance, surveillance-based advertising and planned obsolescence of our devices.

  Second, I would love the FSFE to become even more involved in EU policies. For example, the FSFE has been involved in issues related to artificial intelligence where the FSFE expertise has been very valuable. We need more of this knowledge-sharing between the FSFE and EDRi and make more connections between Brussels and FSFE chapters.

• 

  George

  The FSFE is inclusive and puts the learning perspective at the heart of its mission. So I hope it thrives for many years to come, inspiring people like it inspired me. GNUtopia here we come!

• 

  Lucile

  Continue linking tech, policy and ethics, and outreaching to people who are not IT professionals.

• 

  Ludmila

  I wish the FSFE to keep up the good work, keep spreading the word of the advantages of Free Software, and keep pushing for more just regulations on political level such as the Public Money? Public Code! campaign.

• 

  Martin

  I wish the FSFE many bright young people who will be attracted to its vision. On many levels, we are currently designing our digital future. Having the FSFE’s voice when building its infrastructure, will be critical.

• 

  Matti

  Keep advocating for software freedom especially at EU level and public sector. Institutional changes can and must be achieved.

• 

  Polina

  I wish the FSFE to continue to be the voice of Free Software users in Europe and beyond. Free Software stands on the shoulders of all the great people being part of a social movement that should not forget about its heroes.

  I wish the FSFE to be strongly rooted in its beginnings but at the same time to not be afraid of change and developments of a fast-paced digital society. Free Software has become a critical part of both business and end-user experience in every day life. It is no longer an “alternative” solution but a standard empowering our society today.

  However, have we achieved a more just society as a result of more wide-spread adoption of Free Software? Is this the end-goal of the movement to retain the status quo and not to bother about wider ethical issues? Or should we as citizens and contributors of the movement that rose out of a need for more freedom strive for a better and more sustainable future, where Free Software is just a part of a puzzle? I think we should be asking ourselves these questions and seek answers that may help us in bridging the gaps between Free Software and how the ‘four freedoms’ can support fundamental rights. As a civil society actor, I hope the FSFE will be in the lead here for many years to come, including on the side of potential regulatory change in Europe.

• 

  Stian

  I wish for the FSFE to finally cease operations. That is, to say “Our work here is done. All software is now free. Let’s go celebrate!”

Thank you!

Thanks Diego, George, Lucile, Ludmila, Martin, Matti, Polina, Stian, and all FSFE interns during these 20 years. Everyone who uses and develops Free Software, everyone who researches and advocates for Free-Software-related issues, everyone who donates and volunteers in the FSFE, is irreplaceable and takes software freedom a step further.

Related articles

With this article we conclude the celebrations for the twenty years since the founding of the FSFE in 2001. 20 years FSFE was an opportunity to thank everyone who has helped the organisation since the beginning. You might also be interested in the interviews with the founder of the organisation, Georg Greve, the former Financial Officer Reinhard Müller, the founder of the FSF Latin America Fernanda Weiden, or the creator of the Free Your Android campaign Torsten Grote.

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Public Money? Public Code! brochure is now available in Spanish

A large part of our work is possible thanks to the contribution of our volunteers. This was not the exception. Our Public Money? Public Code! brochure is now translated into Spanish, and we hosted an event to share this great news with our community. GNUHealth, Pica Pica HackLab, Lliurex, Linkat, and KDE took part in our event.

In the framework of our Public Money? Public Code! initiative, we have an exhaustive brochure dedicated to public administrations. It summarises the FSFE's long-term expertise with additional knowledge from leading experts in various ICT areas. It helps readers understand Free Software and its benefits for a modern digital public infrastructure. Hot topics covered include the avoidance of vendor lock-in, improvement of IT security through openness, exploring different business models, handling of procurement issues, and learning from innovative approaches to smart cities.

Now, thanks to the work of our volunteers, this brochure is also available in Spanish, which means a broader audience that can read about the benefits of modernising public infrastructure with public code in their own language, and that is a highlight to us.

To share this good news, we organised an event dedicated to our Spanish speaking community. We had the participation of experts such as Luis Falcón, founder of GNUHealth, Ricardo Muñoz from Lliurex, Alexis Puente Montiel from Pica Pica HackLab, Francesc Busquets in representation of Linkat, and Aleix Pol Gonzalez, president of KDE. Our speakers and panelist also had the chance to discuss the challenges that still lie ahead for Free Software in the public sector with a special focus on Spain.

Do not worry if you could not participate; we have recorded our sessions and the videos are now available.

Public Money? Public Code! and the importance of a new translation

FSFE Project Manager Lina Ceballos gave an introduction to our Public Money? Public Code! initiative which requires Free Software as the standard for all publicly financed software. Lina also shared how important is for our community to be able to read this brochure in their own languages, and encouraged others to join us. Video in Spanish.

GNUHealth

Dr. Luis Falcón is a Spanish physician, scientist, and activist. He is the founder of GNU Solidario, a non-profit humanitarian organisation focused on Social Medicine. Luis is the author of GNU Health, the award-winning Free Health and Hospital Information System. In our event, he talked about GNU Health and the importance of Free Software in Public Health regarding data privacy, technological sovereignty, and equity of access to health services. Video in Spanish.

Lliurex

Ricardo Muñoz, who is the coordinator of the Lliurex project, is a Telecommunications Engineer, a teacher, and now he is part of the team of the Computer Service for Educational Centres of the Regional Ministry (SICE) of Valencia as a Technical Teaching Advisor (ATD). Ricardo told us a bit more about the history, challenges, and the values that Lliurex offers to the education sector but also to the Free Software ecosystem. Video in Spanish.

Linkat

Francesc Busquets is part of the Unit of infrastructures, Free Software, and online services of the Digital Culture Area of the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He talked about Linkat, a Free Software solution used for over 15 years in some of the schools in the Catalonian community, highlighting the ethical values of Linkat. Video in Spanish.

Pica Pica HackLab

Alexis Puente Montiel is the founder and coordinator of Pica Pica HackLab (PicaHack), a HackLab that managed to convince the parliament of Asturias to support our campaign Public Money? Public Code!, being the first parliament in Spain to do so. He told us about this experience and what is needed to achieve such goals. Video in Spanish.

Panel

The already mentioned speakers with the addition of Aleix Pol Gonzalez - developer and current President of KDE e.V. and founder of Barcelona Free Software - discussed some of the challenges that they face in their everyday work for software freedom and what is needed to overcome them. The panel was moderated by Lina Ceballos - FSFE Project Manager. Video in Spanish.

Remember that you can take action as well by joining our campaign, distributing our brochure, and convincing your local administration to use Free Software.

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La neutralité des appareils devient une réalité +++ Stockholm +++ Infrastructure de la FSFE +++ IA

Dans notre lettre d'information de janvier, nous reconnaissons l'importance de la Législation sur les marchés numériques comme un développement majoritairement positif pour la liberté des logiciels. Lisez comment les logiciels non libres ont couté 100 millions d'euros à Stockholm. Notre équipe Hackeurs de systèmes éclaircit ce qui se cache derrière l'infrastructure de la FSFE. Vincent Lequertier souligne le fait que les IA doivent être transparentes. L'évènement FOSDEM approche.

La neutralité des appareils devient finalement une réalité

Le Parlement européen a adopté la Législation sur les marchés numériques, qui introduit le principe de la neutralité des appareils. C'est une première étape majeure. Le droit pour les utilisateurs finaux d'utiliser leur propre appareil et système d'exploitation est un facteur important pour garantir l'accès des systèmes d'exploitation Libres aux plateformes dominantes. En tant que réalité du jour pour de nombreux utilisateurs, cette option étend l'audience pour l'adoption de Logiciels Libres.

La Législation sur les marchés numériques protège les utilisateurs car elle requiert un consentement plus strict pour les applications préinstallées, elle vise à empêcher les blocages des vendeurs, et elle requiert la portabilité des données en temps réel. Cependant, nous regrettons que le vote n'ait pas conduit à mettre les Standards Ouverts comme standards par défaut pour définir l'interopérabilité.

Les logiciels non libres ont couté 100 millions d'euros à la ville de Stockholm

Les parents à Stockholm reçoivent des informations sur l'école ou la maternelle de leur enfant directement sur leurs appareils avec l'aide de Skolplattformen (« Plateforme pour école »), une plateforme numérique offerte par la ville de Stockholm. Cette plateforme a couté environ 100 millions d'euros et bien qu'elle ait été financée par de l'argent public, son code était privé. Les parents ont remarqués des irrégularités et des problèmes de sécurités dans la plateforme et se sont mis à corriger les problèmes eux-mêmes. Ils ont créé une alternative Libre fonctionnelle et sécurisée, Öppna skolplattformen (« Plateforme ouverte pour école »). La ville de Stockholm a pris des mesures légales contre les développeurs qui ont voulu aider.

Entretien avec Christian Landberg et Alexander Crawford d'Öppna skolplattformen

Nous avons interrogé Christian Landberg et Alexander Crawford, deux contributeurs majeurs de l'initiative. Selon Alexander Crawford, Öppna skolplattformen change le discours sur la technologie civique et la mise au numérique du secteur public.

Infrastructure vivant les idéaux de la liberté des logiciels

Les organisations avec des ressources limitées peuvent-elles être numériquement souveraines et toujours fournir des services modernes ? Ce n'est pas évident, mais la FSFE prouve que cela est possible. Nous avons maximisé notre contrôle sur des services et des serveurs en utilisant des Logiciels Libres. Nous manifestons une transparence interne et externe. La complexité de nos systèmes est supportable, tandis que nous fournissons une variété de fonctionnalités utiles.

La FSFE partage une vue d'ensemble de son infrastructure numérique dans un article qui peut aider d'autres ONG à devenir indépendantes des fournisseurs de services propriétaires. Laissez-nous vous emmener en voyage à travers notre infrastructure et ses principes, allant d'interfaces utilisateur brillantes de nos services, en passant par les méthodes de virtualisation et la surveillance, jusqu'aux serveurs de métal sur lesquels elles tournent. Notre infrastructure est gérée par l'équipe Hackeurs de système.

Entretien avec Vincent Lequertier sur les IA

Vincent Lequertier est un membre de l'équipe Hackeurs de système et un chercheur en intelligence artificielle pour les services de santé. Pour les 20 ans de la FSFE, nous avons interrogé Vincent sur des aspects cruciaux des intelligences artificielles. La transparence en IA est nécessaire pour évaluer et comprendre comment les données sont traitées et comment les résultats sont calculés. Les Logiciels Libres peuvent jouer un rôle crucial pour rendre les IA plus transparentes.

Vincent Lequertier présente des ponits cruciaux sur les IA au cours d'une réunion communautaire de la FSFE à Bolzano. Italie, 2019.

Vincent note que dans le secteur de la santé, certaines statistiques aggrégées sont largement disponibles. D'après son estimation, l'ouverture et les aspects collaboratifs de la recherche sur les IA va s'améliorer. L'entretien déchiffre des sujets de pointe comme la possibilité pour les IA d'obtenir le droit légal de demander le droit d'auteur.

Réservez la date

• Le mercredi 19 janvier, l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas va tenir son rassemblement en ligne mensuel.
• Samedi 5 et dimanche 6 février, l'évènement FOSDEM 2022 aura lieu en ligne, et la FSFE coorganisera à nouveau la Salle de développement légal et politique. L'année dernière, nous avons coorganisé cette salle pour la première fois ; elle a inclus 11 discussions sur une riche variété de sujets. Nous attendons FOSDEM 2022 avec impatience. Rejoignez-nous pour apprendre les derniers développement en liberté des logiciels. Restez connecté pour le programme.

Ce que nous avons fait

• Le 28 décembre, Alexander Sander, Consultant politique de la FSFE, a fait un discours sur « Argent public ? Code public ! pendant les périodes de covid » à la conférence rC3.
• Le 16 décembre, Lina Ceballos, une Gestionnaire de projet de la FSFE, a participé à une session en ligne sur certaines des activités principales de la FSFE avec une concentration sur « Argent public ? Code public ! » et son statut actuel en Espagne et en Europe. Le discours a pris place à Trantor Tech Talks ; une vidéo est disponible en espagnol.
• En décembre, des membres de la communauté ont publié trois messages sur Planet. Une revue de livre du roman de Cory Doctorow « Walkaway » fait l'éloge de la narration en dépit d'un dégout personnel pour la fantaisie autour de la technologie « mind scan ». Un message instructif explique comment désactiver votre clavier/pavé tactile interne quand un chat arrive. Un message de fête annonce la livraison de PGPainless version 1.0.0. Vous pouvez lire les pensées de la communauté de la FSFE sur Planet.

Contribuer à notre lettre d'information

Si vous voulez partager des pensées, images ou actualités, veuillez nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous attendons de vous entendre ! Si vous voulez aussi nous soutenir et soutenir notre travail, rejoignez notre communautez et soutenez-nous avec un don ou une contribution mensuelle. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les volontaires, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre d'information dans votre langue maternelle.

Votre éditeur, Fani Partsafyllidou

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Lack of public code cost the city of Stockholm €100 million

Öppna skolplattformen was developed out of the frustration of some parents in Stockholm when they noticed some irregularities and security issues in the proprietary school platform provided by the city. The original app cost the city one billion Swedish krona (around €100 million) and it turned out to be badly flawed.

Administrations are relying more and more on digital solutions to improve their workflows and to make daily processes easier. This was exactly the case of the city of Stockholm and its original Skolplattformen. This platform was meant to be used as a common digital platform for Stockholm's kindergartens and schools, by giving parents information about their children's school directly to their devices. However, the platform did not work as expected, and once some parents took a closer look at the software, they found numerous flaws in the app.

This frustrating situation made them decide to reverse-engineer the platform's API to create a Free Software alternative - Öppna skolplattformen - that offers a simpler, faster, and more secure experience. Despite these efforts, the city of Stockholm was neither happy nor willing to collaborate with the team of Öppna skolplattformen, and instead decided to start a legal investigation and fill out a police report against the developers of the app arguing misuse of personal data.

"If we could use openness as our competitive advantage and do much better collaboration with each other, we could start seeing a lot of potential for Europe to be more competitive in terms of global economy." Christian Landberg, co-founder and developer of Öppna skolplattformen

This is the story of a struggle of some parents trying to fix the problems that pricey proprietary software brought, and a skeptical administration that found itself trapped in a serious vendor lock-in. With Christian Landberg - co-founder and developer of Öppna skolplattformen - and Alexander Crawford - early supporter and strategic, policy and communication advisor of Öppna skolplattformen - we talked in depth about the Open School Platform. What drove them to release it under a Free Software license, its progress and current situation, and what lies ahead for this platform, but also for the use of public code in the public sector?

Video (in English)

"Öppna skolplattformen is becoming a snowball that has escalated and it's changing the conversation around civic tech and digitalisation of public sector." Alexander Crawford, early supporter and advisor of Öppna skolplattformen

Public Money? Public Code!

Over the last four years, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) has been advocating for more software freedom in the public sector in the framework of the Public Money? Public Code! initiative. It requires that publicly financed software developed for the public sector should be made publicly available under Free Software licenses. The arguments for this demand are based on the benefits that Free Software can foster, such as saving long-term costs, promotion and support of the local economy, transparency, interoperability, and more.

You can support this call by joining our campaign, distributing our brochure, and convincing your local administration to use Free Software.

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Digital Markets Act: Device Neutrality finally becomes a reality

After many iterations and amendments, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Markets Act by 642 votes in favour, 8 votes against, and 46 abstentions. With this vote the principle of Device Neutrality is introduced. At the same time, the Parliament missed the chance to introduce strong requirements for interoperability based on Open Standards.

"We strongly believe the digital markets will benefit by facilitating access to Free Software in devices. Device Neutrality translates in the DMA as stricter consent rules for pre-installed apps, safeguards against vendor lock-in, and real-time data portability. Interoperability of services was also introduced, but not with the requirement to be based on Open Standards. This is a lost chance to leverage competition with accessible and non-discriminatory technical specifications. Open Standards are an important element for innovation by allowing market actors to innovate on top of technical specification standards and build their own services.", says Lucas Lasota, the FSFE's Deputy Legal Coordinator.

The FSFE has urged EU legislators to safeguard Device Neutrality in the DMA. We regret the voting has not contemplated setting Open Standards as default to define interoperability. However, getting Device Neutrality in the legislation is the first step. The right for end-users to use their own device and operating system is an important factor to guarantee access of Free Software operating systems to dominant platforms. As a daily reality for many users this option enlarges the audience for Free Software adoption.

The FSFE has been working for two decades empowering people to control technology in their devices. We will closely follow the implementation of the law and continue to conduct activities and initiatives to safeguard end-users' interests.

Device neutrality principles

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