Free Software Foundation Europe
 |
|
| Abbreviation | FSFE |
|---|---|
| Motto | Free Software, Free Society |
| Formation | 10 March 2001 |
| Type | Charitable organization |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, Germany |
|
Region served
|
Europe |
|
President
|
Matthias Kirschner |
|
Vice-President
|
Alessandro Rubini |
|
Executive Director
|
Jonas Öberg |
|
Founding-President
|
Georg Greve |
|
Main organ
|
Core Team |
| Affiliations | FSF* network |
|
Budget
|
c. €370,000 |
| Website | fsfe |
|
Formerly called
|
FSF Europe |
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) was founded in 2001 to support all aspects of the free software movement in Europe. FSFE is a charitable registered association (eingetragener Verein) under German law, and has registered 'chapters' in several European countries. It is as an official European sister organization of the US-based Free Software Foundation (FSF). FSF and FSFE are financially and legally separate entities.
FSFE believes that access to and control of software determines who may participate in a digital society. Therefore, the freedoms to use, copy, modify and redistribute software, as described in The Free Software Definition, are necessary for equal participation in the Information Age.
The focus of FSFE's work is political, legal, and social with the aim of promoting Free Software and the ethical, philosophical, social, political and commercial values that it implements. In particular, it
Each month, FSFE publishes a newsletter, in multiple languages (including English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish), of their activities that can be mentioned in public.
From FSFE's published "Self-Conception": "The people of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), see ourselves as Europeans from different cultures with the shared goal of co-operation across cultures and of developing a common culture of co-operation from a regional to a global level. We form a non-profit non-governmental organisation and network that itself is part of a global network of people with common goals and visions. We are not representative for anyone but ourselves and our work. Our common work and dedication to freedom in all aspects of digital society is what defines us."
Internally, the FSFE has a consensus-oriented, team structure in which participation is determined by each persons willingness to participate and do work. A democratic and representative-democratic model functions as a fallback for when the consensus-based approach either reaps no results or a quick decision is needed.
The FSFE has a modular legal structure with a central "Hub" organisation and the possibility of local legal bodies, called "Chapters". The Hub is a charitable association ("e.V.") which is, by happenstance, registered in Germany.
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Wikipedia