+ +The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and Linux User Group +Bolzano-Bozen (LUGBZ) posthumously honored Bram Moolenaar, creator of +the widely used Vim text editor, with the European SFS Award at SFSCON +2024. This award celebrates Moolenaar’s invaluable contributions to the +Free Software community. +
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+ +“This year’s European SFS Award goes to Bram Moolenaar whose mantra was +‘Detect inefficiencies, find a quicker way, make it a habit’, someone +for whom efficiency of computers users was crucial. His work transformed +how many interact with computers, maximizing programmers productivity by +minimizing unnecessary keystrokes. His tool has become invaluable for +Free Software contributors, developers, and creators.” said Matthias +Kirschner, president of the FSFE as he presented the 2024 European SFS +Award during SFSCON 24. +
+ +Bram Moolenaar is best known for developing VIM, a powerful, screen-based text +editor. Released in 1991, Vim was originally a port of the Stevie editor +for Amiga and has since become an indispensable tool for developers +worldwide, available across multiple platforms. Vim remains one of the +most popular and versatile development environments, supporting +countless programmers and fostering a dedicated user community. +Moolenaar released Vim as “charityware,” encouraging users to support +children in the south of Uganda through charitable +donations.
+ ++“Educating others to empower them was also important for Bram outside of +the technology field”, explained Raphael Barbieri, a member of LUGBZ, +during the ceremony. “He helped children in Uganda, many of whom had +lost their parents to HIV, gain access to education at the Kibaale +Community Centre. He founded an NGO to collection donations for this +work, even on his work desk there was a piggy bank so that visitors can +easily donate.” +
+ ++Beyond Vim, Moolenaar was a prolific contributor to the Free Software +movement, having worked on numerous technical projects, created a +programming language, and developed a tool to streamline software +installation and management. He also held official roles within software +organisations, amplifying his impact on the Free Software landscape. +
+ ++This award commemorates Moolenaar’s unwavering dedication to help others +to better understand computers and software. It gave him great pleasure +to participate in conferences, explain the Free Software culture at his +work place, and help others to develop and use his software. He wanted +others to also experience this joy. "If you are happy, I am happy!" was +one of his sayings. Moolenaar passed away on 3 August, 2023, due to a +rapidly deteriorating illness. His legacy in the developer community and +in social work is expected to continue. +
+ ++In a message from Moolenaar's family, they expressed their pride and +gratitude: "We are very proud that Bram received this award. As a +dedicated supporter of Free Software, we believe he would have been +honored to accept it. We thank the Free Software Foundation Europe and +LUGBZ for recognizing Bram's lifelong work and encourage anyone wishing +to honor him to support children in Uganda through ICCF Holland." +
+ ++The SFS Award was first presented in 2004 to Hugo Leiter at the SFSCON +South Tyrol Free Software Conference in recognition of his work +implementing LibreOffice across all municipalities in South Tyrol. In +2023, the award expanded to a European level, with the Free Software +Foundation Europe (FSFE) partnering with LUGBZ, the award’s initiator, +to honor those who have made exceptional contributions to the promotion +and dissemination of Free Software across Europe. +
+ ++The European SFS Award celebrates developers whose work has +significantly advanced the accessibility and impact of Free Software in +Europe. In 2023, the award was presented to Frank Karlitschek, founder +of Nextcloud, for his contributions to Free Software. +
+ ++Matthias: It is an honor to present the European SFS +Award 2024. The FSFE and LUGBZ worked together again this year to find a +winner from all nominations. This year’s European SFS Award goes to +someone whose work transformed how many interact with computers, +creating a tool for Free Software contributors, developers, and +creators. A tool that new users might be a little afraid of because it +can be tricky to exit. +
++Raphael: (Yes, you may know the software we’re talking +about.) A piece of code that makes every keystroke feel like a power +move, where “Esc” is the most important key on your keyboard. Since its +launch in 1991, this software has spread across more than 15 operating +systems and is installed on millions of computers around the world. +
+ ++Matthias: For our winner, efficiency of computer users +was crucial. His mantra was: “Detect inefficiencies, find a quicker way, +make it a habit!” and he helped many people to how to actually +accomplish this. He went on to help those he met on mailing lists, at +conferences like SFSCON in 2009, or at his workplace. He even talked to +public administrations, so they actually use and thereby benefit from +Free Software. He wanted to ensure that all software which is procured +by public administrations is published under a Free Software license for +the good of society. +
+ ++Raphael: Educating others to empower them was also +important for him outside of the technology field. He helped children in +Uganda -- who often lost their parents due to HIV -- to get education at +the Kibaale Community Centre. He enabled school education for many of +them so they can take care about themselves and their families in the +long run. He founded an NGO to collection donations for this work, even +on his work desk there was a piggy bank so that visitors can easily +donate. +
+ ++Matthias: There was a huge online rivalry between the +users of his software and those on the other side: those who used +another "operating system" and who called his software the "editor of +the beast". This rivalry became an enduring part of hacker culture and +the Free Software community. A huge fan of Monty Pythons, this year's +winner did not shy away from engaging in such banter. +
+ ++Raphael: His dedication was enormous. His family will +not forget the moments, in which he disappeared on Christmas day, +because he "needed to fix some bugs". It gave him great pleasure to +develop and use his software, and he wanted to help others to also +experience this joy. "If you are happy, I am happy!" was one of his +sayings. He took every opportunity to work on his projects, even while +in the hospital. +
+ ++Matthias:With his death on 3 August 2023 the Free +Software community lost a person who enabled thousands of people to +contribute efficiently to software freedom. We regret that he was not +able to live longer with his beloved turtles, finishing his plans for a +vacuum robot that could clean stairways, fixing bugs, implementing new +features for the users of his software, and being here with us. +
+ ++Raphael: For his remarkable contributions to software +freedom the European SFS Award 2024 goes posthumously to Bram Moolenaar, +the creator of Vi IMproved -- or VIM. +
+ +Matthias: So, please join us in a big round of applause for Bram Moolenaar.
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