But first, the OSOR Team is very happy to announce the OSOR Awards 2023, which will highlight open source solutions and initiatives in two categories and will give them a platform in Brussels in November at OSOR’s 15th anniversary conference. The call for submissions is already open! OSOR will be forming an expert jury for one of the awards, and the other will be voted on by you, the OSOR users, via the Joinup platform. So please spread the word about this great opportunity for the best European open source projects to gain visibility and recognition.
On to the software news...
With Covid-19 activities slowing down, there's time to look back at the infrastructure created to see what can be reused. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is looking to create a Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN). With the success of the EU Digital COVID Certificates (EUDCC), and since it's open source, it has been decided the best approach is to start with this project and scale it up. The free and open source licence of this project ensures that the implementers already have the necessary permissions, which makes one part of their work easier.
Cybersecurity is another area of global concern. IT implementers may be interested to read Stiftung Neue Verantwortung's new paper on cybersecurity OSPOs. Open Source Programme Offices (OSPOs) are becoming an increasingly common model in the public sector, and this paper discusses their role in cybersecurity from local to EU levels.
One project that's scaling massively is Decidim. Originally developed in Barcelona and managed by the Decidim Free Software Association, this project provides a platform for participative democracy. There are currently over 450 instances in 30 countries and a thriving community of contributors.
As well as software, the sharing of information is very valuable. The latest edition of IEEE's magazine Software is all about open source in the public sector. Readers will find case studies of free and open source adoption in Europe and the US, including a detailed case study of the software available for users of Norway's transport system. This software builds on Stadnavi, which we've discussed in recent months, and is another example of how enabling reuse helps solutions scale past national borders.
We are also pleased this month to provide an update on the Open Source Strategy of the German state of Saxon. We reported that work began last December and we can now report that the strategy is complete and has been published. We hope this strategy will serve as an example for other regions.
We close with a story of how small gestures, when they're organised and easy, can scale up and tackle big problems. The Gieß den Kiez project in Berlin allows residents to get information about the water needs and the watering status of the trees in their surroundings, and to register when they've watered a tree. 800,000 trees are being monitored by this system in Berlin, and, being open source, the code is already being reused in Leipzig and is available to any other city that has this need.
That's it for this month's newsletter. We hope you're keeping cool and having a great summer.
The OSOR Team
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