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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> |
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<html newsdate="2022-04-05" type="newsletter"> |
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<version>1</version> |
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<head> |
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<title>AI in EU +++ Open letter to Bundestag +++ Plasma Mobile +++ Meshnet</title> |
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</head> |
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<body microformats="h-entry"> |
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<h1 id="ai-in-eu-open-letter-to-bundestag-plasma-mobile-meshnet">AI in EU +++ Open letter to Bundestag +++ Plasma Mobile +++ Meshnet</h1> |
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<p> |
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In our April Newsletter, we welcome the promising developments on |
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AI in the EU. We address the German Government to demand a clear |
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budget for Free Software. We interview Plasma Mobile developer |
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Bhushan Shah, and talk with Elektra Wagenrad in a podcast episode |
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about Mesh Networking. We congratulate KDE on the world's first |
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eco-certified software. |
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</p> |
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<h2 id="european-parliament-recognises-free-software-as-key-for-fair-ai">European Parliament recognises Free Software as key for fair AI</h2> |
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<p> |
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The Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age |
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(AIDA) of the European Parliament voted on its resolution on |
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Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age on March 22nd, and |
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underlined the importance of Free Software for AI with a broad |
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majority. We now ask EU co-legislators to take this position into |
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account and to include provisions and guidelines on Free Software |
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in the upcoming legislation. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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Public authorities using AI systems should make them publicly |
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available. Public research inventing AI systems should make them |
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publicly available. Transparency in AI technologies is necessary to |
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test them, evaluate their results, and improve them. <a href="/news/2022/news-20220330-01.html">The FSFE |
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is following closely the legislative process</a> and analysed <a href="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/AIandFS/fsfe_AIandFreesoftware.pdf">how |
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AI can remain verifiable and trustworthy as well as lead to further |
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innovation</a> with Free Software. |
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</p> |
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<h2 id="germany-has-ambitious-free-software-plans-will-it-realise-them-">Germany has ambitious Free Software plans. Will it realise them?</h2> |
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<p> |
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The coalition agreement of the German government set digitisation |
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as a priority and Free Software as a secure and transparent |
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solution. 100 days into the new German government in office, no |
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action has been taken. On the contrary, German administrations are |
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alarmingly close to using Microsoft products, giving up the chance |
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to adopt a strategy based on open interfaces. Alexander Sander, the |
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FSFE's Policy Consultant, explains: "Instead of finally |
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providing a 'Free Software cloud' for administrations, the |
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new government will again rely on costly proprietary |
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applications." <a href="/news/2022/news-20220315-01.html">We call |
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upon the government to follow its own plans</a>. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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Specifically, together with other actors such as the Open Source |
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Business Alliance and the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany, the |
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FSFE demands that the German government <a href="/news/2022/news-20220328-01.html">includes |
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digital sovereignty in the 2022 federal budget</a> and implement |
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already announced initiatives for software freedom. In an <a href="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/letters/20220328-German-Budget-and-Free-Software-2022.de.pdf">open |
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letter (DE)</a> the signatories address the government groups in |
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the Bundestag. |
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</p> |
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<h2 id="plasma-mobile-running-a-privacy-respecting-and-secure-gnu-linux-phone">Plasma Mobile: Running a privacy-respecting and secure GNU/Linux phone</h2> |
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<p> |
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What are my options if I want to run my phone with Free Software? |
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We interviewed Plasma Mobile developer Bhushan Shah to learn more |
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about the project. Plasma Mobile is a full Linux-based system which |
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offers a completely transparent development process. When it comes to |
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privacy, Plasma Mobile is one of the most secure operating systems |
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for phones. There is no tracking, spying, nor data mining to craft |
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targeted ads. <a href="/news/2022/news-20220323-01.html">Bhushan |
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gives a clear overview of Plasma Mobile, including how it is |
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developed, and how to get it</a>. |
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</p> |
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<figure> |
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<a href="/news/2022/news-20220323-01.html"> |
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/b9b1f761fd936faa0aab1e11fe3f70bd.jpg" alt="7 people in front of a garden and a building in a summer day"/> |
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</a> |
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<figcaption> |
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Bhushan Shah (second from left), developer in the Plasma Mobile project since 2015. |
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</figcaption> |
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</figure> |
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<h2 id="listen-to-our-new-podcast-episode-discover-mesh-networking-">Listen to our new podcast episode. Discover mesh networking.</h2> |
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<p> |
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<a href="/news/podcast/episode-14.html">In our new |
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Software Freedom Podcast episode, Matthias Kirschner talks with our |
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guest, Elektra Wagenrad, about the origins of Freifunk, the |
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B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol, and the Mesh Potato project</a>. If you are |
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new to the world of mesh networking this episode is an easy |
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entrance to it. Elektra explains the theory behind the protocols |
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and dives deeper into its philosophical idea. |
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</p> |
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<figure> |
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<a href="/news/podcast/episode-14.html"> |
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/0bf10017e47d8510d09d6058db413290.png" alt="Portrait of a woman smiling"/> |
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</a> |
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<figcaption> |
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Elektra Wagenrad, one of the original developers of the |
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B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol and of the Mesh Potato project. Image is |
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licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 and created by Andrea Behrendt. |
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</figcaption> |
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</figure> |
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<h2 id="the-most-energy-efficient-pdf-reader-is-free-software-congrats-okular-">The most energy-efficient PDF reader is Free Software. Congrats, Okular!</h2> |
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<p> |
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To be exact, Okular is a universal document viewer. This means you |
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are not only able to read PDFs, comics, and EPub books, but also |
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you can browse your image files, visualize Markdown documents, and |
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much more. In February 2022, Okular was awarded the Blue Angel |
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ecolabel, the official environmental label awarded by the German |
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government. In 1978, the German Environment Agency was the first to |
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establish an environmental label; this year the label's scope |
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was extended to include software products, making Okular the first |
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️ever eco-certified computer program. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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In order to receive the Blue Angel ecolabel, a program needs to |
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meet many requirements, including transparency, backwards |
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compatibility, and the ability to run the application on hardware |
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at least five years old. Free Software usually excels in these |
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conditions. The FSFE <a href="/news/2022/news-20220316-01.html">congratulates |
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Okular and all of the KDE community</a>! |
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</p> |
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<figure> |
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<a href="/news/2022/news-20220316-01.html"><img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/bb97d5abf32d0f8f5c38ca7e190c4030.png" alt="Screenshot of comics opened with Okular" /></a> |
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<figcaption> |
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Screenshot from KDE's Okular, Illustrations from David Revoy CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
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</figcaption> |
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</figure> |
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<h2 id="save-the-date-">Save the date!</h2> |
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<ul> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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Thursday 14 April is the day of three FSFE local group meetings. |
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At 18:00-21:00 <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Zurich/2022-04-14">Zurich will |
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have its regular in-person monthly meeting</a>. Anyone interested |
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in Free Software and wanting to stand up for the ideals of Free |
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Software can join. The group will discuss ways to reach out to |
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new people and the upcoming Open Education Day. <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Hamburg">Hamburg is |
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having its regular in-person monthly meeting</a> too. Please join |
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the group's mailing list for more information. <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Berlin">Berlin</a> has |
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its regular online monthly meeting. Subscribe to the <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/berlin">mailing |
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list</a> or follow the group's <a href="https://libranet.de/profile/fsfeberlin">Mastodon page</a> |
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to stay tuned. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On Wednesday 20 April, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL">the FSFE country |
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team Netherlands</a> will have its regular online monthly |
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meeting. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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Date TBA. The FSFE local group Aarhus, Denmark, has delayed its |
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first meeting. If you are interested, now is a great time to |
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contact Carsten Agger (agger [at] fsfe [dot] org). |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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</ul> |
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<h2 id="what-we-have-done">What we have done</h2> |
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<ul> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 30 March, Erik Albers, FSFE Programme Manager and |
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sustainability expert, showcased in the Digital Social Summit |
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that software design and Free Software licencing impacts the |
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sustainability of hardware and infrastructure. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 24 March, <a href="https://libranet.de/display/0b6b25a8-2162-39a4-b089-4a2078010682">the |
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FSFE local group Berlin brainstormed with Jessica Wawrzyniak from |
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Digital Courage how an allowlist of suitable Free Software for |
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Education could work</a>, and how the German administration could |
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compile such a list. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 20 March, the FSFE Women group met online to discuss past and |
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future events. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 19 March, the participants of the Upcycling Android workshop |
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flashed phones in Berlin. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 16 March, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2022-03-16">the |
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FSFE Country team Netherlands had its monthly online meeting</a>. |
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The team discussed the new telecommunications law in Belgium, and |
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the potential actions to secure Router Freedom. The volunteers |
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have already contacted Neutrinet. The government's open |
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source strategy was also an important topic, as well as the |
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increased dependency on DigID, the Dutch digital identity app. On |
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19 March the team met in person in the Netherlands Linux Users |
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meeting. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 15 March, Erik Albers participated in 'Sustainable |
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software for phones that last', a webinar organised by |
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Fairphone. <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/4WvPgN79fuex3eaSR378yH">A panel of |
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experts</a> discussed why the longevity of phones continues to |
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decline. Within the panel, Erik took a stand on how the universal |
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right to install Free Software operating systems on any device |
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will help us to live in a more sustainable digital society. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 12 March, Matthias Kirschner, author of Ada & Zangemann, |
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read the book during Chemnitzer Linux-Tage. A video from an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bHLxFqTnRo">author |
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reading</a> during Wintercongress is now available. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 10 March, <a href="https://libranet.de/display/0b6b25a8-1262-279c-0282-3d4767329405">the |
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FSFE local group Berlin had its monthly meeting</a>. The |
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participants discussed matters of financing and security related |
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to Free Software. The group discussed the recent plans of Mozilla |
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to create privacy-friendly advertising. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 10 March, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Zurich/2022-03-10">the FSFE |
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local group Zurich discussed ways to reach out to new people, and |
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explored possible actions such as workshops and information |
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events</a>. |
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</p> |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<p> |
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On 9 March, the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Hamburg">FSFE local group |
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Hamburg had its monthly meeting</a>.</p> |
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</li> |
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</ul> |
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<h2 id="contribute-to-our-newsletter">Contribute to our newsletter</h2> |
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<p> |
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If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, please |
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send them to us. As always, the address is <email>newsletter@fsfe.org</email>. |
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We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to |
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support us and our work, join our community and support us with a |
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donation or a monthly contribution <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter"></a>. |
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Thanks to our community and all the volunteers, |
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supporters, and donors who make our work possible. And thanks to |
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our translators, who enable you to read this newsletter in your |
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native languages. |
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</p> |
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<p>Your editor, Fani Partsafyllidou</p> |
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</body> |
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<sidebar promo="about-fsfe" /> |
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<date> |
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<original content="2022-04-05" /> |
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</date> |
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<followup>donate</followup> |
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<tags> |
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<tag key="front-page"/> |
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<tag key="newsletter">Newsletter</tag> |
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<tag key="AI">AI</tag> |
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<tag key="european-parliament">European Parliament</tag> |
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<tag key="open-letter">Open letter</tag> |
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<tag key="de">Germany</tag> |
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<tag key="upcyclingandroid">Upcycling Android</tag> |
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<tag key="interview">Interview</tag> |
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<tag key="podcast">Software Freedom Podcast</tag> |
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<tag key="local group">Local group</tag> |
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</tags> |
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<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/825"/> |
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/c2f8622627d6d635020e8220380e4225.png" alt="Collage with four images. An illustration of a newspaper. An illustration of a neoclassical building with ones and zeros as its columns. An illustration of three phones depicting screens from Plasma Mobile home page, calendar, and calculator. A photograph of a woman."/> |
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</html>
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