From 9ba8683caf909b418f97ace8f4590043ead6ac01 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ana Galan Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2025 10:38:45 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] adding pr to be sent to journo --- fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml | 160 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 160 insertions(+) create mode 100644 fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml diff --git a/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml b/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..068982874b --- /dev/null +++ b/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml @@ -0,0 +1,160 @@ + + + 1 + + + Jean-Baptiste Kempf receives the European SFS Award 2025 at SFSCON + + + + +

Jean-Baptiste Kempf receives the European SFS Award 2025 at SFSCON

+ +

The FSFE and LUGBZ have recognized VLC +president and core developer with a European award for his long-term +dedication to the project. What began as a student initiative has, +through his continuous effort, evolved into one of the most widely used +media players, with billion of users worldwide.

+ +

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), together with the Linux +User Group Bolzano‑Bozen (LUGBZ), is proud to recognize Jean-Baptiste +Kempf with the European SFS Award 2025, in recognition of his +outstanding and lasting contributions to the Free Software movement and +his long-term dedication to the VLC project.

+ +

Born as a student project in 1996, this software has evolved into an +essential, all-in-one media player that plays almost anything +effortlessly. Originally a simple network streaming client, it has grown +into a powerful universal media player that continues to evolve and +impress.

+ +

“For many people running non-free operating systems, it was the very +first Free Software they ever installed. For many people running Free +Software, it saved them from installing and booting into a proprietary +operating system”, declared Matthias Kirschner, president of the FSFE +during the Award ceremony.

+ +

Jean-Baptiste Kempf joined the project as a student, and when it +faced the risk of dying after the graduation of its original developers, +he took the reins. With the help of other core developers, he +transformed it into the indispensable media player we rely on today.

+ +

Over the years, Kempf has become not only the president of the +VideoLAN non-profit but also one of the lead developers of VLC Media +Player and the founder of VideoLabs. “It’s small, fast, friendly, and +seems to "understand everything you throw at it. I have always thought +of it as "the program that eats everything", said Raphael Barbieri, a +member of LUGBZ, during the winner’s announcement.

+ +
+
"I am extremely honoured to receive the European SFS Award. The Free +Software multimedia community is quite niche and unknown, but we work +hard so that video content can be free, can be played and processed. The +work done around the VideoLAN community has been tremendous, despite its +little resources. I want to thank the whole VideoLAN and FFmpeg teams, +who spend their time on those projects, often with little recognition", +declares Jean-Baptiste Kemp.
+
+ +

The European SFS Award

+

The European SFS Award recognizes individuals whose work has made a +significant and sustained difference in advancing Free Software across +Europe. Originating in South Tyrol with LUGBZ, and now presented jointly +with FSFE since 2023, the award honours those whose efforts strengthen +software freedom, community building, and the ethical foundations of +technology.

+ +

In previous years, the award was given to Frank +Karlitschek (2023) for his leadership with Nextcloud, and +posthumously to Bram +Moolenaar (2024) for creating the Vim editor.

+ +

2025 Laudatio

+

Raphael: There’s a program most of +us have used - on laptops, phones, tablets or desktops computers. It +might have run on screens in supermarkets or shops. It’s small, fast, +friendly, and seems to "understand everything you throw at it". I have +always thought of it as "the program that eats everything."

+

Matthias: This amazing software did +not come from a giant technology company with a huge budget. It began +more than twenty years ago - as a modest experiment by a few students at +an engineering school. They wanted to solve a problem they identified. +Nothing fancy - just a student project to tinker, experiment, share, and +have fun. No one knew that those first lines of code written for +“network 2000” would one day reach billions of users.

+

Raphael: Like many student +projects, it almost faded away when graduation came and the contributors +had other priorities. But one young engineer, who had joined the group +in 2000, refused to let it die. He reorganised the code, inspired new +contributors, and slowly turned a university experiment into a +world-class piece of software.

+

Matthias: He built a healthy +community fostering the software. Hundreds of volunteers joined. They +contributed by programming, testing, auditing, helping others, with +translations, improving the design, or promoting the software. Thereby +the community grew and people started using the software on every +platform – GNU/Linux and other Unix like operating systems, Windows, +Android, or MacOS and iOS. For many people running non-free operating +systems, it was the very first Free Software they ever installed. For +many people running Free Software, it saved them from installing and +booting into a proprietary operating system.

+

Raphael: With this success our +winner was offered tempting deals - big money, advertising, corporate +buyouts. Every time, he gently said no. Because it was not about +maximising profit. It was about maximising freedom for computer +users.

+

Matthias: To protect that freedom, +he later founded a non-profit organisation - so the software would +always belong to its community. He also founded a company to support the +technical side - keeping development professional while staying true to +the values of software freedom. Under his leadership, the initiative has +reached billions of downloads, maintained and added amazing features - +all without losing its soul.

+

Raphael: And there’s another thing +this community is famous for - its sense of humour. Their symbol? A +bright orange-and-white traffic cone. Legend has it that the original +students used to collect these cones after late nights out. When it came +time to pick a logo, they chose it proudly - a playful symbol of +creativity, chaos, and collaboration.

+

Matthias: Nowadays, that little +cone has become an icon you find on a huge amount of computers +worldwide. At conferences their contributors wear the cones on their +heads with pride as a clear sign of who they are and what they stand +for.

+

Raphael: And the person behind it? +He’s not just a brilliant engineer. He’s a leader, a mentor, and a true +advocate for software freedom. In 2018, his contributions were honoured +with the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du +Mérite - the first Free Software developer ever to +receive that distinction. Yes - a real knight of software freedom.

+

Matthias: His “Holy Grail” was not +fame or fortune - it’s freedom: the freedom for +billions of people to watch, listen, and share multimedia files without +restrictions or surveillance. He has shown the world that integrity, +community, and a bit of humour can change how we experience digital +media.

+

Raphael: Today, we celebrate +someone who has made it possible for all of us to enjoy open, universal +access to media - and who continues to prove that Free Software is +powerful, beautiful, and fun.

+

Matthias: It is our great pleasure +to present the European SFS Award 2025 +to the president of the VideoLAN non-profit, one of the lead developers +of VLC media player, the founder of VideoLabs, the bearer of the traffic +cone, and a true knight of Free Software....

+

Matthias & Raphael: Jean-Baptiste +Kempf!

+ + + + +Press Release +SFSCON +Italy + + + + + From 3c7114687d03117440d4e506482cb55152e93224 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ana Galan Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2025 10:53:32 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] adding default picture --- fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml | 10 +++++++++- 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml b/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml index 068982874b..bc2cb82540 100644 --- a/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml +++ b/fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20261107-01.en.xhtml @@ -16,6 +16,13 @@ dedication to the project. What began as a student initiative has, through his continuous effort, evolved into one of the most widely used media players, with billion of users worldwide.

+ +
+FSFE Press Release default image. Blue background with the FSFE stars and the words Software Freedom and Press Release on it +
+ +

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), together with the Linux User Group Bolzano‑Bozen (LUGBZ), is proud to recognize Jean-Baptiste Kempf with the European SFS Award 2025, in recognition of his @@ -153,8 +160,9 @@ Kempf!

Press Release SFSCON Italy - +FSFE Press Release default image. Blue background with the FSFE stars and the words Software Freedom and Press Release on it