FediGov seeks to promote sovereign communication in the public sector

The FSFE Swiss local group launches an initiative with GNU/Linux.ch to encourage public institutions to use federated free software solutions to communicate with their people. FediGov is the name of this campaign that is encouraging people to ask their governments to adopt ethical communications.

Encouraging public institutions to communicate sovereignly is the aim of the FediGov campaign, launched by FSFE Switzerland and GNU/Linux.ch, that is asking individuals to explain to their local authorities the importance of sovereign communication in the public sector.

Public administrations are currently using commercial social networks to establish direct communications, excluding residents that are not using the commercial services but alternatives that allow them to use the Internet in a self-determined and privacy-friendly way.

These alternatives such as the Fediverse are also enjoying growing popularity, for example with many federal authorities in Germany. The Fediverse is a federated social network of free opensoftware servers (referred to as “instances”) with applications such as Mastodon that communicate with each other via a common protocol. Users have the option of operating their own instance or joining existing instances.

This results in an independent and self-determined use and design of digital technologies. It forms the cornerstone for our democracy in an increasingly digitalized society. People are not forced to pass on their data to large corporations in order to be able to communicate with public institutions.

With the FediGov campaign, FSFE Switzerland and GNU/Linux.ch want to raise awareness of the issue and offer both individuals and public authorities direct opportunities for action. Interested parties can use a template to send a letter to public authorities to motivate them to also be represented in the Fediverse. Public institutions are given assistance in dealing with decentralized social networks based on Free Software.

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♥ I Love Free Software Day: Let’s Meet and Connect!

Every February 14 the Free Software community around the world comes together to celebrate the “I Love Free Software Day”. On this special day we show our gratitude for every Free Software contributor. Join us in celebrating our love for Free Software and thank all the supporters of software freedom.

At the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) we want to acknowledge and celebrate the work done on Free Software throughout the year. There are different kinds of free software projects around the world, but we all share our belief in software freedom and its four freedoms to: use, study, share, and improve. To highlight the important role of the developers and supporters in software freedom, we celebrate the “I Love Free Software Day” every February 14.

On Tuesday, 14 February 2023, reach out to the individuals behind the software you use, and let them know that you appreciate their support and hard work for Free Software. Most contributors spend countless hours on Free Software projects, often without getting paid or receiving enough recognition for their work. Tell them a simple, but powerful, "Thank you!”. “I Love Free Software Day” has taken place for years now, forming a lovely community tradition. Join us! Pick your favorite way to participate. Here are four fun options.

Meet up in your city

Organize a local get-together with your colleagues, friends or family to celebrate and recognize the work of the contributors of Free Software. Of course, you can also reach out to your nearest local group for a meetup. Order for free some ilovefs balloons! After a long break of events, it’s a perfect way to connect and celebrate your favorite Free Software projects. Check out ideas and inspirations. Take pictures and share them on social media with #ilovefs. We strongly encourage that this event should be on February 14, 2023 (if not, on a nearby date).

Make a share-pic

Send a thank you message to your favorite Free Software project for their valuable work! You can include #ilovefs in your message on social media of your choice. Remember that an image says more that just words: create your own pictures with our SharePic Generator! In less than two minutes you will get a cool illustration ready to be shared. Let your imagination run free and show your appreciation for Free Software with a #ilovefs image.

Create a video of yourself saying “Thank You!”

For a more personal touch, record a short thank you message on the phone, in a video. Pick your favorite Free Software project and let them know that their work means a lot to you, helping you work or relax. Do not forget to add the hashtag #ilovefs when sharing your message through any social media channel.

Send a postcard to your loved ones

Order for free our ‘I love Free Software, but I love you more’ postcard and get all romantic with the people you love. Order the postcard as soon as possible to get it on time. Share a picture of the postcard next to a sweet present.

Enjoy!

A small gesture that means a lot. Make a Free Software contributor happy today. Read other people’s messages and enjoy the vibrant and positive side of our Free Software community. You can also mention us on your social media post so we can see how you are celebrating this day. We are on Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Happy I Love Free Software Day ♥ everyone!

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SFP#18: IT-Security from a cryptographer's point of view with Cryptie

A cryptographer and privacy specialist Amandine Jambert, a.k.a. Cryptie, is our guest in the 18th Software Freedom Podcast episode. With her experience, Cryptie is the perfect person to tackle some basics about Security in Free Software.

Cryptie has been involved with Free Software for around 20 years now and has been a volunteer for the FSFE for 10 years. Together Cryptie and Bonnie Mehring discuss the basics of cryptography and discover what a privacy specialist is. They then move on to the basics of IT-Security and talk about prejudices against the security of Free Software. If you have wondered what is needed to make Software more secure this is the perfect episode for you to start with this topic and learn about the basics of IT-Security.

Read more:

• Amandine "cryptie" Jambert

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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Support us and enter the ’Ada & Zangemann’ book raffle

TWe have great news! To thank you for your support, which we appreciate even more in these difficult times, we are giving away 28 English copies of the book 'Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream'.

To show our appreciation for your support we are raffling 28 books by the author Matthias Kirschner! 16 of those books will be raffled among all our supporters who are donating more than €128 including stickers, postcards and other swag. All those who donate more than €256 will participate in the draw for another 8 copies, which will include an individual signature by Matthias Kirschner. Donate more than €512 and you might get one of 4 books signed by Matthias including a unique illustration, drawn by the book's illustrator, Sandra Brandstätter.

This illustrated book tells the story of the famous inventor Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with hardware and software, and in the process realises how crucial it is for her and others to control technology.

“Introduces readers young and old to the power and peril of software. Behind it all is a backdrop of ethics of knowledge sharing upon which the arc of human history rides.” - Vint Cerf, Computer Scientist and One of the Inventors of the Internet

“What a fun read! I recognize myself in Ada at many moments.” - Isabela Fernandes, Executive Director, The Tor project

“A rousing tale of self-reliance, community, and standing up to bullies...software freedom is human freedom!” - Cory Doctorow, Sci-Fi Author

“ven as a non-child, I was captivated by the story from the first page to the last. Kudos to the author for packaging difficult topics such as monopolies, lobbyism, digital divide, software freedom, digital autonomy, IoT, consumer control, e-waste and much more in a child-friendly form in an easily understandable and exciting storyline” - örg Luther, chief editor of the German Linux-Magazin, LinuxUser, Raspberry Pi Geek

Please support us by 12 February!

Your support will allow us to continue with our daily work promoting and implementing concrete steps towards software freedom in Europe.

And do not forget to share the news!

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FSFE is hiring an office coordinator

We are looking for an office coordinator for 25-35 hours per week in our Berlin office. As part of our office management team you will be the administrative backbone of our operations. Our ideal candidate has experience as an office administrator, secretary, event organiser, or another relevant administrative role.

About the FSFE

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

The FSFE helps individuals and organisations to understand how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination. We enhance users' rights by abolishing barriers to Free Software adoption, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software in Europe.

We are involved in many activities in the legal, economic, political and technical areas around Free Software. Our work is made possible by a community of volunteers, supporters, donors, and staff.

We are a distributed team of dedicated volunteers and employees from all around the world united in the spirit to empower users to control technology. We know it will take a long time to achieve our mission, but we know we can just achieve it together and with persistence step by step. As a family friendly organisation we can offer flexible working hours.

Main responsibilities

• Reviewing financial documents, preparing them for accounting, and general (mainly electronic) filing.
• Communication with our salary service, health insurance, bank, insurances, and other authorities.
• Handle sourcing vendors, (re)-ordering, organising, invoicing, shipping, and the inventory for our information material and merchandise.
• Manage office equipment including organising smaller and bigger office supplies, assets inventory, and key management.
• Paying invoices and salaries as well as travel expense claims.
• Issue outgoing invoices and monitor incoming payments.
• Organise, store, and print organisational documents as needed.
• Prepare financial reports and presentations
• Help to constantly improve our administrative processes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as an administrator, administrative assistant, office coordinator or another related role.
• Basic knowledge of accounting and tax law.
• Knowledge and experience in understanding the financial side of the charitable non-profit sector are an advantage.
• Fluency in written and spoken German, intermediate command of written and spoken English; other European languages are considered an asset.
• Knowledge of how to handle the administrative side of EU-funded projects are a plus.
• Familiarity with office equipment and office management tools (Free Software tools are a plus).

Attitude

We are looking for a reliable, well-organised, and punctual team player with a problem-solving attitude and an eye for detail who would like to strengthen our administrative backbone in Berlin, so that the many people in the FSFE can continue to empower users to control technology.

How to apply

To apply, please send a maximum one-page cover letter -- including the desired hours per week -- and a maximum two-page CV (only PDFs are accepted) by email to jobs@fsfe.org, with the subject "organisational wizard". Please do not include pictures of yourself in the application.

Your personal data will be deleted 3 months after we have made our decision. The closing date for applications is Sunday 15 January 2023.

Free Software is meant to serve everyone regardless of their age, ability or disability, gender identity, sex, race, religion or sexual orientation. Hence, we encourage applications from all backgrounds and promise to judge all applications on merit, without reference to any of the characteristics listed. To promote diversity and equality in the Free Software community, we shall give preference to applicants who identify as part of a traditionally marginalised demographic in technology for applications of equal strength.

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