Free Software "...should be seen, then, as more than just a different kind of product. It is a different kind of process for building, maintaining and changing the rules that govern information flows." - according to the United Nations.
An institution working for Free Software in Europe is the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). Its success is well known: "The Free Software Foundation does a great job - for example by protecting the rights of Free Software developers. Therefore we support the FSFE", says Paul Salazar, director of marketing for the GNU/Linux Distributor Red Hat in Europe, the middle East and Africa. He is not alone with this positive view.
Horst Nebgen, Vice President, Novell, Central Europe and Managing Director, Novell, Germany explains: "Novell released the installation and configuration tool "YAST" (yet another setup tool) under the GPL (GNU General Public License), to make it accessible for every developer. The GPL - and therefore the FSFE[/US] by which it is published, maintained and protected - guarantees transparency and platform independence, which assures that through the ability of Free Software to innovate, the already proverbial stability, security and broad network support of [GNU/]Linux continue to evolve and advance. Therefore, for Novell, the Free Software Foundation Europe is an important partner on its way into the future."
"We are of course very happy about this praise", says Georg Greve, President of the FSFE. "What makes this public appreciation particularly significant is that the FSFE never spared with criticism of these very companies when it seemed necessary. Obviously the job done by the FSFE is appreciated even if we even if we have to speak out quite clearly at times. This independence from politics, industry and other associations is a prerequisite for our present successes and the basis for our continued work."
The projects of the FSFE are multifaceted: participation in the German government's delegation at the "World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)", consulting with the European Union during the establishment of the framework programmes, participation in AGNULA, a project to build a fully Free Software distribution for professional musicians and multimedia authors and also the maintenance and advancement of the GNU General Public License (GPL). This diversity costs a lot of money, including: travel around the world, information production, marketing materials and personnel.
The FSFE Coordinator for Germany, Bernhard Reiter, illustrates the background: "We want to pursue our projects at the highest level. Moreover, we observe an increasing demand for support of the public: we are asked to give speeches and to consult on licensing Free Software. We would like to do all of this. However, without funding our hands are tied."