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	<title>FSFE honoured with Theodor Heuss Medal - "trendsetting organisation"</title>
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  <h1>FSFE honoured with Theodor Heuss Medal - "trendsetting organisation"</h1>
 
  <p> 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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