165 lines
13 KiB
HTML
165 lines
13 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2026-08-03">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>A quarter-century of Software Freedom: the FSFE turns 25</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>A quarter-century of Software Freedom: the FSFE turns 25</h1>
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<p>The FSFE was founded in 2001 by a group of European Free
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Software advocates. 25 years later, this European charity has grown into
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one of the most respected organisations defending Software Freedom in
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Europe.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/17/85/19248ba1d6a5a8880141b6253276.JPG"
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alt="ds"/>
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</figure>
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<blockquote>
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“Software already transcends daily life in an increasing manner and
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becomes a deciding factor. Just as other developments in the past of
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mankind, software developed from being an economic to a cultural
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property with increasing presence in everyday life. […] It is essential
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for the future of mankind that software as a cultural property will
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remain accessible for everyone and is preserved in libraries like other
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knowledge.” <cite>Founders of the FSFE, 2001</cite>
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</blockquote>
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<p>In 2001, a group of European Free Software advocates put their heads
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together to come up with ways to protect Free Software in Europe.
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Together they founded the Free Software Foundation Europe… and the rest
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is history.</p>
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<p>The FSFE's 25-year story is the story not only of the staff, but
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also that of our volunteers and supporters, who contribute to our daily
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work. For a quarter-century, we have been educating current and future
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generations about the
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importance of the Four Freedoms. We have been helping developers understand licensing
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and legal terminology so they can keep doing what they do best. As FSFE
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we have been standing up to those who want to take control away from the
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people. </p>
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<p>This July, at EuropPython 2026 in Kraków, our
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community came together to celebrate its 25th anniversary! FSFE staff, volunteers, donors, and
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founders gathered for a full weekend of talks, a booth, long evenings of
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networking, and ice-cream! All capped off with a proper birthday
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celebration: cake, a photo booth, and 25 years of stories swapped
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between old supporters and newcomers alike.</p>
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<p>These 25 years have been possible thanks to our donors and
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supporters! At the FSFE25 we heard first hand why some of our donors
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support us. It was inspiring to see how much trust is placed into our
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work. For this we want to say thank you: <a href="/donate/thankgnus-2026.html">to all of you</a>!
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</p>
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<h3>Looking ahead: our Vision 2048</h3>
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<p>Turning 25 is also a moment to look forward. As the
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FSFE looks to the next chapter, we are guided by our vision for 2048, a
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world where Software Freedom is no longer a niche concern, but the norm:</p>
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<ul>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 26.15px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 13.075px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 26px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>Everyone has the right to remove and install any software on any of
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their devices. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 26.15px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 13.075px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 26px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>All public funding for software goes exclusively to Free Software.
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</li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 51.3px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 25.65px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 51px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>Regulatory frameworks actively encourage the use and development of
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Free Software. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 26.15px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 13.075px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 26px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>Licensing and legal decisions are grounded in facts, not fear,
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uncertainty, and doubt. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 51.3px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 25.65px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 51px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>Young people grow up with the freedom to tinker, experiment, and
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code, with Free Software as the default. </li>
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</ul>
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<p>If the first 25 years were about proving that Software Freedom
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matters, the next 25 are about making it the norm.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/original/92/c5/b99bfd1b83f6087b86d1a02125f1.jpg"
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alt="A group of people posting for a photobooth with FSFE tshirts and some swag"/>
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<figcaption>Participants of the FSFE25 celebrations, who at some point, have been FSFE interns</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>What started as a small organisation in 2001 is now a Europe-wide
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charity with active volunteers across European countries, legal experts,
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a podcast, a children's book turned movie, a programming competition for
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teenagers, and court victories against some of the world's largest tech
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companies to its name. The Four Freedoms (to use, study, share, and
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improve software) are, if anything, more urgent today than they were
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back then.</p>
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<p><strong>Kudos to all of you who have been there supporting us and Software
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Freedom! Here's to the next 25 years!</strong></p>
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<div class="standout-text-bggreen">
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<h3>25 years of milestones</h3>
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<p>To mark this milestone, <a href="/about/timeline.html">the FSFE has published a timeline</a>, tracing 25
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years of policy wins, legal work, campaigns, and community milestones
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across its core focus areas.</p>
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<p>Over 25 years, the FSFE has chalked up wins that reshaped how Europe
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thinks about software:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><strong><strong>2005</strong></strong> - After an intense
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continent-wide campaign, the European Parliament rejected the <a
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href="/activities/swpat/swpat.html">Software
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Patents directive</a>, and thus keeping Europe's software ecosystem open for
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small developers. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 76.45px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 38.225px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 76px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li><strong><strong>2007</strong></strong> - Years of legal pressure
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alongside the Samba team forced <a
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href="/activities/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.html">Microsoft to publish interoperability
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information</a> following its antitrust case — a landmark moment for
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interoperability rights. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 76.45px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 38.225px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 76px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>2010 – Establishment of the <a href="/activities/ilovefs/index.html">"I
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Love Free Software Day"</a>: every 14
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February the FSFE asks Free Software users to thank the developers of
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the software they use every day. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 51.3px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 25.65px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 51px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li>2012 – Launch of the <a href="/activities/android/android.html">“Free
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Your Android” campaign</a> to help users free their phones and use Free
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Software apps.</li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 76.45px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 38.225px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 76px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li><strong><strong>2016</strong></strong> - Germany enshrined <a href="/activities/routers/routers.html">Router
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Freedom</a> into telecom law, allowing citizens choose their own routers
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instead of being locked into their ISP's hardware, after three years of
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FSFE advocacy. </li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 76.45px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 38.225px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 76px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li><strong><strong>2017</strong></strong> - Launch of <a href="/publiccode/publiccode.html">“Public Money?
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Public Code!”</a> initiative, which advocates for publicly funded
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software to be made publicly available. One of the FSFE's flagship
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initiatives across
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European parliaments. </li>
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<li>2018 - The FSFE joined its first <a href="/activities/ngi/ngi.html">NGI0 consortium</a>, providing support
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on legal and licensing questions and promoting the use of its <a href="https://reuse.software/">REUSE
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specification</a>. This set of recommendations make licensing Free Software
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projects easy, comprehensive, unambiguous, and machine-readable.</li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 76.45px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 38.225px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 76px !important;"><canvas class="lt-highlighter__canvas" width="95" height="23" style="display: none; top: 3px !important; left: 462px !important;"></canvas></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li><strong><strong>2021</strong></strong> - FSFE president Matthias
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Kirschner published <a href="/activities/ada-zangemann/index.html">“Ada
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& Zangemann”</a>, a children's book on Software Freedom. It was
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later adapted into an animated film in 2025.</li>
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<lt-highlighter style="display: none;" data-lt-linked="1"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 654.6px !important; height: 101.6px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 327.3px 50.8px 0px !important; zoom: 1 !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 654.6px !important; height: 101.6px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter><li><strong><strong>2024/2025</strong></strong> - FSFE intervened in
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<a href="/activities/apple-litigation/apple-litigation.html">Apple's
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Digital Markets Act litigation</a> before the Court of Justice of
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the EU. In July 2026, the Court dismissed Apple's challenge outright,
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confirming that the company remains bound by the DMA's interoperability
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obligations</li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="community">Community</tag>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="highlights">highlights</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://mastodon.social/deck/@fsfe/117031072759517369"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/17/85/19248ba1d6a5a8880141b6253276.JPG"
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alt="ds"/>
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<translator/>
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</html>
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