I Love Free Software - and you?

While you are reading this, someone somewhere is improving the code of a Free Software you use for yourself. Free Software has long been part of the daily use of billion of users, still the people behind the respective projects often remain invisible. Together we want to change that. On 14 February is the "I love Free Software Day", a day to show your love and celebrate your favourite Free Software and its contributors. Join us!

Behind every Free Software project is a team of developers, translators, designers, and other contributors. These are the people who fix bugs, improve the look and feel, and provide security updates. They do a great service to our society by making the sources of their work available to everyone and granting us the four freedoms. Day by day, a lot of people bring in priceless contributions, many of which do it voluntarily in their spare time. But how often do we actually thank them for this?

This is what the annual "I love Free Software" day is made for. On 14 February, Free Software users around the globe show their appreciation for a project of their choice. It's easy to join in: just write a short message of thanks on the social network of your choice with the hashtag #ilovefs. Or write a short thank you email to a development team. The message does not have to be long - even a simple thank you is highly appreciated.

Free Software users all over the world on #ilovefs day

Do you use one of the popular Free Software applications to browse the web, write your emails and documents, or a Free Software operating system? Or is there a smaller and less known project that you personally care about? You alone decide who you want to appreciate on this day. If you like some inspiration, you find various ideas and suggestions on the "I love Free Software Day" action page.

The "I love Free Software Day" is an important tradition for the Free Software community. The more people participate, the more we can show how immensely important Free Software is for our society. Take a few moments on Friday, 14 February, and show your love for Free Software!

Support FSFE

FSFE is hiring: interns and trainees for legal, policy and technical areas

We are looking for interns and trainees experienced in legal, policy or technical fields. The persons will work 35 hours per week with our team in the FSFE's Berlin office. There will be coordination with remote staff and volunteers, and depending on the work area opportunity to participate in events and meetings throughout Europe.

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 this technology empowers rather than restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt and share 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. It enhances users' rights by abolishing barriers to Free Software adoption, encourages people to use and develop Free Software, and provides resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software in Europe.

We drive numerous activities and campaigns to reach our targets, for example "Public Money Public Code", "Save Code Share" and the REUSE initiative.

What we can offer

We work together with decision makers, licensing experts in the world's largest Legal Network on these topics, facilitated by the FSFE, and Free Software organisations all over Europe and beyond. This work is either done directly by staff or together with volunteers, as well as other Free Software and digital rights associations around Europe.

You will enjoy:

A challenging and exciting time with a dynamic NGO working internationally. A close-up view of organisational and community processes. A chance to take the initiative and put your own ideas into practice. The opportunity to meet and work with Free Software advocates across Europe.

Read more about our internships and what former interns say about it.

Your profile and responsibilities

We are looking for a reliable team player who is passionate about driving new initiatives to make the world a better place for further generations. You should have some experience or a considerable interest in Free Software. Your field of study doesn't matter, but you should be able to relate it to our work. Traditionally, a lot of interns in the FSFE have a legal or political science background, but we've also had excellent interns working with us with a more technical or other social science background.

In the day to day work, you will:

Contribute to FSFE's ongoing projects, working with one or more of our staff and volunteers. Communicate with contacts from the FSFE community, NGOs, industry, and public administrations. Coordinate volunteers and others in the work on various projects. General office tasks. Find your own strengths, and do something you care about. Details and formal requirements

Location: Berlin, Germany. Please note the FSFE has no ability to help with accommodation or travel, you will need to cover this yourself and arrange this prior to your internship.

Duration: At least 4 months full time at 35 hours per week, starting as agreed. Longer periods are favoured.

Compensation: This traineeship is compensated with € 1418,08 gross per month.

You must be fluent in English. You will be required to show that you can legally work in Germany; either by being an EU citizen, or by having a residence and work permit for the duration. The FSFE can not help you in getting either of these documents, but we will accept them if you have them.

You must also have a German tax number, which you get by registering with the residents registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt) in Germany. This should ideally be done before starting the employment, or at latest on the first days of your employment.

How to apply

To apply please send a maximum one-page cover letter, reference letters and/or certificates and a maximum two-page CV (only PDFs are accepted) by email to jobs@fsfe.org subject "Trainee/Intern 2020". Please do not include pictures of yourself in the application. There is no immediate closing date for applications but we recommend to apply as early as possible as the open positions are limited. We will conduct interviews with candidates as soon as possible for both sides. Your personal data will be deleted 3 months after we take a decision.

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.

Already looking forward working with you: Volunteers from all over Europe.

Support FSFE

Cory Doctorow +++ (pre-) FOSDEM +++ 36C3

2020 is not just a new year, it is the dawn of a new decade. With more and more automated systems run by software, a political representation of freedom is more needed than ever. Read in our January Newsletter about why Cory Doctorow supports the FSFE financially and why you should do so too. Read about our upcoming FOSDEM activities including our pre-FOSDEM meeting and reflections on our presence at the Chaos Communication Congress. Also we have a new Software Freedom Podcast with Harald Welte and reports from our community.

FSFE needs you

2019 was a year full of successes for the FSFE and for Software freedom in Europe accordingly. The Parliament of Asturias has signed our open letter demanding public code, the biggest conservative party in Europe -- the german CDU -- decided to foster Free Software, we managed to get an exclusion for Free Software in the EU copyright reform, and we have many more success stories to tell. But while we spent our time spreading software freedom in such a successful way, we missed one goal to achieve, that is having enough donations for 2020.

Your financial support is crucial for our work! A secure financial basis gives us the ability to solely concentrate on our mission to spread software freedom in Europe - independent, professional and consistent.

Join the FSFE as a supporter or make a one-time donation.

Every 1 Euro brings us closer to this momentum! Every 15 Euro allow us to send a package full of information material to a Free Software supporter in Europe. Every 50 Euro help us to pay our infrastructure and every 150 euro enable us to support travel and accommodation costs for a volunteer from Europe to participate in one of the FSFE community events like our hack-a-thons.

By the way: Cory Doctorow, author of many digital rights-related books and co-editor of the blog Boing-Boing put the FSFE on the BoingBoing's charitable giving guide and explains:

Software has eaten the world, and software freedom is increasingly synonymous with human freedom. In Europe, far-right parties and authoritarians are inheriting a constellation of gadgets and devices that are "defective by design," built to allow corporations spy on and control their owners -- and those thugs are contemplating how they can use those companies' extraordinary powers to put whole populations under their thumbs. Free software in Europe, free software everywhere!

Join Cory Doctorow. Join the FSFE!

FSFE goes FOSDEM

Europeans biggest Free Software conference 'FOSDEM' is taking place on 1-2 February in Brussels. More then 7.000 participants are expected to come and the FSFE will be present with multiple talks and a booth.

Matthias Kirschner, President of the FSFE, gives a talk about "The core values of software freedom" and a lightning talk about "Civil society needs Free Software hackers". Max Mehl, Programme Manager of the FSFE, talks about REUSE in "Go REUSE to license your code" and the FSFE's Deputy Coordinator France, Vincent Lequertier, talks about "Putting Artificial Intelligence back into people's hands".

As every year we will have a booth at FOSDEM, but unlike in previous editions, this time you will find us on top level of building K - just upstairs from where it was in the past years.

Pass by anytime to have a chat with us, give us your feedback on our latest activities or proposals for further engagement. You can enjoy our latest merchandise and promotion material, for example our new multilingual I love Free Software T-Shirts.

On Saturday night we invite you to come together after FOSDEM to have a social evening with our community. The location will be announced at the booth the very same day. Pass by and find out. Looking forward meeting you!

And if you arrive early, you might also be interested in joining our Pre-FOSDEM Community Meeting (see below).

Bonnie Mehring and Erik Albers get interviewed by Komm:On at the FSFE booth at 36C3

Support our work with a donation

Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE The first self-organised FSFE event in 2020 will be our Pre-FOSDEM Community Meeting. In this meeting, the FSFE will bring together the key Free Software groups of Europe on Friday before FOSDEM to get to know each other and to get an overview about interesting activities of Free Software groups from all over Europe. The event takes place on 31 January 2020, 13:30 to 19:00 at MundoB, Edinburgh Street 26, in Brussels. Attendance is gratis but capacities are limited and registration is required. As written above, the FSFE will be prominently represented at FOSDEM with multiple talks, a full-packed information-booth and social events in the evening. I love Free Software: On 14 February the Free Software community celebrates again the I love Free Software Day. A day dedicated to say "Thank you" to all Free Software and their contributors. Save the date now and stay tuned for more news on the 2020 edition. Save the date: On 4 May 2020 the FSFE is inviting for an event about "Digital sovereignty and modernising public aministrations" in the Kalkscheune Berlin (in German). Attendance is gratis but registration is required. What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE The FSFE was present at the 36th Chaos Communication Camp (36C3) and one of the main organisers of the cluster "about:freedom" - a cluster that brings together civil society organisations with a focus on digital rights and Free Software advocacy at European's biggest hacking-related conference. In the four days of the event we had 19 self-organized session by the FSFE assembly, counted hundreds of visitors at our booth and we have created a cosy space for freedom activists to come together. On this occasion, Bonnie Mehring and Erik Albers have been interviewed by Komm:On in their report about the congress. Read our full report for more details. The FSFE booth at 36C3 In December we published our Software Freedom Podcast #3 about Free Software in the mobile phone communication featuring Harald Welte. Harald discusses with us his current projects regarding mobile phone communication and the general status of Free Software in this area. 3 new organisations signed our open letter demanding public code: Association Naga, RevLibre and GEN Europe Alexander Sander, the FSFE's Public Policy Manager wrote a comment on Netzpolitik.org (in German) on the recent decision of Germany's conservative party CDU to foster Free Software and where to go on from this decision. Alexander Sander was giving a talk about our "Public Money? Public Code!" at the GNU Health CON in Liege, Belgium and also in Utrecht (NL) at the "Online Participatie in Actie! Congress" The FSFE was present with a booth at the NLLGG meeting in Utrecht. Get Active

If you are already supporting the FSFE, then let other people know why you do so. Write a toot or an email, chat with your friends or mention it in your working group, let them know why software freedom matters to you and why you decided to support the cause with a donation for the FSFE. Thank you so much!

Contribute to our newsletter

If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!

If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution.

Thanks to our community, all the volunteers, supporters and donors who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators, who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages.

Best Regards,

Erik Albers

Support our work with a donation

Support FSFE

Report from the 36c3, about:freedom - about:fsfe

At the end of December, FSFE was in Leipzig at the 36th Chaos Communication Congress. As in previous years, we were present at the congress with lots of information material, talks and workshops. FSFE was one of the main organisers of the cluster about:freedom, an association of 12 civil society organisations and groups. Together with the other organisations, we focused on digital rights and network policy issues.

In about:freedom, a broad political spectrum of topics could be covered due to the many different focuses of the individual organisations and groups. At our booth we informed about Free Software and presented individual campaigns of us. Together with the cluster about:freedom, we organised 19 self-organised sessions during the 4 days. To only name a few, the hand-on workshop „Freedom to go“ for a Google Independent Android Smartphone by Erik Albers, the more general presentation "The Free Software 1x1: Clarifying the basics and typical misunderstandings", "Computer says no": Worüber sollen Algorithmen entscheiden dürfen by Chris Köver, Emergency VPN: Analyzing mobile network traffic to detect digital threats and the talk by Christian Busse regarding Free Software in Science: "Free Software for Open Science" were part of the sessions.

Our successful "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign. Our lecture on the Chaos West stage "Public Money? Public Code! A campaign framework to promote software freedom" by Matthias Kirschner and Bonnie Mehring fitted in well with the program. Both explained how the "Public Money? Public Code!" was created and has grown and how you can participate.

In our cluster, we have also attached great importance to our social interaction. In our political corner full of sofas we started the first evening with a concert of System_Absturz, an electro-punk band, in the Congress. The musical interludes during the congress were by no means limited to the first evening. Together with the visitors of the 36c3 we sang the Free Software song at our info booth every evening. Singing together has become a fun chaos event tradition of FSFE and is always accompanied by great musical talent.

We are looking forward to the next event with about:freedom until then a good recovery of resources!

Support FSFE

Software Freedom Podcast #4 about REUSE with Carmen Bianca Bakker

In the monthly Software Freedom Podcast we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In this episode, we talk with Carmen Bianca Bakker about the REUSE project. By this we are covering the very broad topic of software licensing and the problems there, which REUSE is able to solve with three simple steps.

With the first episode of 2020 and the fourth episode of the Software Freedom Podcast we aimed at the broad and sometimes complicated topic of software licensing. For this we invited Carmen Bianca Bakker who is together with Max Mehl working on the REUSE project. The REUSE projects helps with the licensing of software by making licensing easy for humans as well as for machines. Together with Carmen we discuss the problems that occur with licensing, talk about the REUSE tool and the next steps in its development.

Read more:

REUSE REUSE Git repositories REUSE-tool The four freedoms of Free Software What is Free Software?

If you liked this episode and want to support our work please consider helping us with a donation.

Support FSFE