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<html newsdate="2010-01-26"><head>	<title>FSFE honoured with Theodor Heuss Medal - "trendsetting organisation"</title></head><body>
  <h1>FSFE honoured with Theodor Heuss Medal - "trendsetting organisation"</h1>   <p newsteaser="yes"> The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)  receives this year's Theodor Heuss Medal for its extraordinary  work for equitable participation in the information society. Since  2001 FSFE has been committed to the freedom to use, investigate,  modify and redistribute software in all parts of society and  politics. Theodor Heuss Foundation states: "FSFE as a forward  thinking organisation contributes to the development and  establishment of rules for good global governance."</p>
  <p>"Free Software is an indispensable component of a free society  in the digital age. It ensures equal access to the information  society for everyone, " says Karsten Gerloff, President of FSFE,  commenting on the award.</p>
  <p>"A small group of people who were ahead of their time founded  Free Software Foundation Europe in November 2000. They have worked  for that success tirelessly and with great personal commitment,"  Gerloff emphasises. "Special credit is due to the initiator of  FSFE, Georg Greve and co-founder Bernhard Reiter. Georg Greve took  on substantial personal risk to get the organisation off the  ground, and until 2009 presided over its growth. For many years,  Bernhard Reiter built up the German team to become one of the  strongest groups for Free Software in Europe."</p>
  <p>"We founded the Free Software Foundation Europe to serve as an  independent organisation, fighting for the freedom of society in  the digital age. Our work is both about freedom from surveillance  and monitoring as well as about freedom for personal initiative in  all its forms," Georg Greve explains. "From the very beginning, the  organisation has taken a long-term view, distributing its work for  sustainable change across many shoulders."</p>
  <p>"From the start, we designed the organisation to work  independently of any specific person," adds Bernhard Reiter. "We  wanted FSFE to accompany the changes in society for the coming  decades.  Today FSFE is supported and protected by many dedicated  people."</p>
  <p>Matthias Kirschner, Germany Coordinator of FSFE, comments: "The  Medal goes to all those who have been contributing to FSFE's  success over the years with their considerable initiative and  personal commitment. But there is still much more to do in a world  where software is everywhere.  Our work is reaching more and more  people, from the United Nations to our towns and villages.  For  this, we need broad support. Contributors are always welcome!</p>
  <h2>About the Theodor Heuss Stiftung</h2>
  <p>The Theodor Heuss Stiftung is above party lines and carries the name of  Germany's first president (term in office 1949 - 59). After his death the  foundation was founded by Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, his son Ernst Ludwig Heuss,  and some friends, to remind of the political achievements of Theodor Heuss as  an example for social commitment, moral courage and the dedication to foster  democracy. The foundation seeks "to bring attention to something, which has  to be done and shaped in our democracy, without being finished" (Carl  Friedrich v.  Weizsäcker, 1965). The Theodor Heuss prize is given annually to  persons of high standing and organisations, which are groundbreaking in this  respect.</p>
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