United in diversity (22/06/2021)

June is celebrated by many as LGBT Pride Month, so it is only fitting to throw a spotlight on inclusion and diversity in open source communities for this month’s newsletter.

Where are women in open source? (16/06/2021)

Study after study has proven that women are underrepresented in virtually all sectors of ICT. Women make up a quarter of all persons working in the tech industry, according to PwC’s Women in Tech report (2017). Open source communities are even more male-dominated - women never make up more than 10% of their contributors and participants.

Co-creation in open source word-to-sign language databases (16/06/2021)

Sign language has its own grammar, which can be very different from the local spoken and written language. Open word-to-sign databases provide individuals with resources to learn and contribute to growing vocabularies, and governments are called upon to promote and support the development of open source in this domain.

Using inclusive language in programming (16/06/2021)

The Inclusive Naming Initiative aims to help create international standards for the replacement of non-inclusive and harmful IT language with neutral terms, and share them to both industry and public sector.

Open configuration options Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles in open source (16/06/2021)

Community Health Analytics Open Source Software (CHAOSS), a project of the Linux Foundation, recently launched the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group. It collaborates with public and private organisations to build diversity-related international standards for open source communities.

OSOR event on sustainability – webinar takeaways (16/06/2021)

On 18 May, our OSOR community got together to discuss the sustainability of open source software (OSS) communities in the public sector. With the ongoing update of OSOR’s Guidelines for Creating Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector, our goal was to gather feedback from the participants on elements that could be added to the Guidelines. Webinar participants shared their experiences on the topic of community sustainability and shared insights on which challenges have to be tackled to build sustainable OSS communities in the public sector.

Machine learning in public psychiatric hospitals (16/06/2021)

Social media platforms and some organisations use Machine Learning (ML) to detect signs of mental illnesses. Some developers have worked on developing open source ML which could be used in the public sector. However, developers also point to a bias in the algorithm due to the small dataset available. Nonetheless, various organisations have contributed and made repositories and open data available to help detect suicidal tendencies with the use of ML.

Searching for infectious diseases with open source (16/06/2021)

The value of and need for epidemiological threat detection is well-understood in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic still has a profound impact on our lives and will likely continue to do so for quite some time. When the Epidemic Intelligence team at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) started the development of a prototype of epitweetr, a tool designed to automatically monitor trends on Twitter in July 2019, it could be seen as good timing.

Open data and open source in national museums (16/06/2021)

Openness and digitalisation provide museums with new opportunities to reach a new audience and share cultural heritage data. In Norway and Sweden, the use and reuse of open source enables art to be accessible to all users and offers the opportunity to learn and build upon the available materials. To foster collaboration, access to the museums’ metadata API can facilitate future partnerships with other museums and cultural institutions.

OSOR webinar - Public administrations adapting to OSS development culture (29/06/2021)

OSOR is delighted to invite you to its third webinar of the series on public administrations' journey towards the adoption of and contribution to open source solutions. This webinar will focus on public administrations adapting to open source software (OSS) development culture.

Online event: OW2con’21 - Leveraging the European Open Source Ecosystem (23/06/2021)

Between 23 and 24 June 2021, the OW2 organisation is hosting the 2021 edition of the OW2con, a two-day conference celebrating the European Open Source Ecosystem. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, this event will be held online. The OW2con’21 will feature numerous presentations from global experts on the use of open source software in modern information systems.

Online event: Open Sourcing the Green Deal: Decarbonisation of Energy Grids (22/06/2021)

The innovative and collaborative nature of open source software is a critical factor to achieve the necessary digitisation of energy systems and shift away from fossil energy sources. On 29 June, OpenForum Europe will discuss the concrete issues to be resolved and opportunities to be tackled.

Asqatasun (17/06/2021)

Asqatasun is an open source accessibility assessment tool that verifies the design and colours of web pages for visually impaired users. The tool also tests the workflow of user scenarios such as registration pages and forms and the compatibility of files generated and stored.

ANDI (17/06/2021)

ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector) is a tool that helps inspect the accessibility standards of web pages, created by the Accessible Solutions Branch of the United States Social Security Administration. It analyses the HTML code and detects the accessibility issues of different pages.

SignDict (17/06/2021)

SignDict is an open source dictionary for signers and people interested in learning German sign language. The solution allows users to add variants or missing signs and was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Open Source Software Country Intelligence Report - India (17/06/2021)

Have you ever wondered why India is considered a forerunner in the field of open source? Find out more about the many initiatives put in place by the federal government and the vast network of organisations in the country.

Open Source Software Country Intelligence Report - Republic of North Macedonia (17/06/2021)

Learn more about open source policies in North Macedonia, including for example the activities to raise awareness of OSS by non-profit organisations, and the use of OSS by the government and the educational sector.

(25/05/2021)

OSOR webinar series 2021 (18/05/2021)

OSOR is happy to announce the launch of a webinar series that will focus on the key steps in the journey to develop and/or reuse open source solutions. Join our events to hear practical advice and first-hand experiences from OSS experts and enthusiasts, and share your own experience with us.

SVT turns to open source for its digital tools (25/05/2021)

In 2018, the Swedish national public television broadcaster SVT committed to increase its use of open source software. Having released a number of its own software developments over the last three years, SVT is now making its in-house developed transcoding solution, Encore, available as open source.

Who won over the classroom with Jitsi? (19/05/2021)

In the last week of April 2021, more than 150 people from 50 countries gathered in an education-themed online hackathon titled "Winning over the classroom with Jitsi”, sponsored by the ISA² Sharing and Re-use action (2016.31) to develop new features for Jitsi. In total, 21 projects were submitted, which was an encouragingly high number. The winning team, SIMPLE POLLS, developed a feature that allows users to create and launch polls within Jitsi both for desktop and mobile.

Open source tools for deforestation and land use monitoring (17/05/2021)

Open Foris is a set of free and open source software tools that facilitates flexible and efficient data collection, analysis and reporting on forest inventories. Hosted by the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, it allows for more robust reporting and decision-making related to land use and deforestation around the world.

Open source in the Digital Green Certificate (17/05/2021)

The Guidelines on Technical Specifications for Digital Green Certificates (DGC) were recently adopted unanimously by national experts, showing Member States’ commitment to the development of the DGC. One aspect of these specifications focused on open source, whereby open source technologies should be the basis of each Member States' certificate. Every Member State will have to deliver an open source solution at national level, building on this EU-led endeavor.

Open source at the DigitALL Public conference (17/05/2021)

From 20 until 22 April 2021, the European Commission hosted the three-day DigitALL Public conference. Speakers coming from the public sector (at international, European, national and local level), industry, SMEs and academia took part. A fireside chat entitled 'The role of open source in the public sector' was held on the second day. By addressing the challenges and opportunities of using open source in the public domain, the session focused on the benefits that public administrations could gain from open source and ideas to fuel cross-border cooperation.

X-Road towards sustainability (07/05/2021)

In collaboration with Gofore Plc and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS) assessed the environmental footprint of the X-Road ecosystem solution in order to reduce its CO2 emissions and make it the most sustainable data-exchange solution in the world.

City of Dortmund commits to prioritising open source (17/05/2021)

In what was likely the biggest success of the independent civil society organisation Do-FOSS, the city council of Dortmund adopted two resolutions with the goal for the city to make the use and development of open source the norm by 2025. With this decision, adopted in February 2021, the city is taking a step toward having more control of its IT infrastructure.

New partnership in the US for accelerating open source innovation (17/05/2021)

The Linux Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense signed an agreement to create the US Government Open Programmable Secure (US GOV OPS). The collaboration will work to accelerate innovation and security in the areas of 5G, edge technologies, artificial intelligence, standards, and Internet of Things.

Games for visually impaired children (17/05/2021)

Children with visual impairments are left out of playing computer games with seeing children. Using open source software, this issue has been addressed with audio-based games that improve the sensations of depth, movement, and speed. Several games are available in Greek, English, and Norwegian. Since 2016, the games have attracted more than 32.500 users.

Online event: FOSS-North 2021 (30/05/2021)

Between 30 May and 1 June 2021, the 2021 edition of FOSS-North will be held virtually. The event provides a meeting place for the Nordic FOSS communities and brings together a range of speakers for different target audiences, with a focus on open source software and hardware from the technical perspective.

Online event: EOLE – Closing Session (02/06/2021)

The European Open Source & Free Software Law Event (EOLE) aims to promote the sharing and dissemination of legal knowledge related to free software, as well as the development and promotion of good practices. In light of the COVID-19 public health crisis, the usual one-day conference has been divided into seven webinars. The final session takes place on 2 June at 11.30 - 13.00 CET.

Online event: FOSSGIS Conference 2021 (06/06/2021)

Between 6 and 9 June 2021, the 2021 edition of the FOSSGIS Conference will be organised online. This four-day event provides users and developers a meeting place to discuss and exchange ideas on open source software and open data, with a focus on geographic information systems and on the OpenStreetMap project.

Open Source Toolbox (17/05/2021)

The Dutch Government released a dedicated website to help promote the sharing and re-use of open source software in the public sector. Civil servants are provided with useful information on different aspects of open source development and a platform for community engagement through participation in groups and discussions.

Merihavainnot.fi (17/05/2021)

The Finish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and the Finish Environment Institute (SYKE) offer Merihavainnot.fi as an open source tool to download data on the state and conditions of the Baltic Sea. Developed as a project supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, it offers data on the water level, temperature, and water quality. All data is available free of charge and can be used for scientific, academic, or decision-making purposes.

Geonature (17/05/2021)

Geonature is a website that offers various open source tools to help explore and manage data on French fauna and flora. Developed through a partnership of different national parks, the solutions range from web and mobile applications to export data, fully customizable web solutions for citizen science projects, and tools to manage taxonomic ranks.

Open Source Software Country Intelligence Report - Montenegro (17/05/2021)

Want to know more about the use of open source software in Montenegro's public administration? OSOR's report and accompanying factsheet will help you to gain an overview of existing policies and legal frameworks throughout the country as well as various open source software initiatives in the public sector.

Open Source Software Country Intelligence Report - Turkey (17/05/2021)

Want to know more about the use of open source software in Turkey's public administration? OSOR's report and accompanying factsheet will help you to gain an overview of existing policies and legal frameworks throughout the country as well as various open source software initiatives in the public sector.

The Power of Collaboration (15/04/2021)

Dutch study on open source communities (16/04/2021)

The Dutch government is working to increase their competence in the usage of new technologies by establishing a new Digital Government Directorate under the Ministry of the Interior. In addition to this development, the government has also committed to using more open source software in Dutch public administrations with a new principle of "Open, unless...".

Open source toolbox released in the Netherlands (15/04/2021)

As part of its Digitisation Strategy, the Dutch government launched its new open source toolbox, which includes useful information for civil servants to switch to open source, as well as a communication platform to engage with each other. The first version of the platform is built on the idea of strengthening a community across public administration bodies.

LocalGov Drupal: open cooperation between and within UK Councils (15/04/2021)

In 2017, the city council of Brighton and Hove (BHCC) upgraded its content management system (CMS) from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, as part of its digitisation programme. As a result, the new council website was launched the year after. The source code was shared with Croydon city council following the signature of the Local Digital Declaration. Thanks to this open cooperation, Croydon city council was able to implement the Drupal 8 CMS in a fraction of the time - four months instead of one year.

Open source enables public sector digital transformation in the Netherlands (15/04/2021)

Citizens expect well-functioning digital services from their government. Until recently, municipalities in the Netherlands were held back in providing these services by fragmented systems that would not exchange data. If a citizen request would require data from two systems, a lack of interoperability meant this data had to be duplicated in multiple systems. The municipalities came together to change this.

Open source becomes the norm in public health software (15/04/2021)

One of the positive developments of COVID-19 was an increased expectation that government-developed apps using sensitive data should be made available as open source. OSOR has reported about European COVID-19 tracing apps and the Belgian and Slovenian government forking the German tracing app. Yet, this expectation now seems to extend to applications that are adopted by the government. One example of this is the case of Luca-App in Germany.

OpenStreetMap and Public Collaboration (15/04/2021)

A massive community of volunteers is behind OpenStreetMap, where participants collect raw geodata on streets, footpaths, pedestrian crossings, rivers, etc. based on their GPS-coordinates. In Denmark, the OpenStreetMap dataset is used by municipalities and researchers, as it is the only dataset with sufficient information for developing complex data models and algorithms.

Global OpenMRS communities (15/04/2021)

OpenMRS is a platform that countries and implementers use to create a customized EMR system in response to actual needs on the ground. The communities behind OpenMRS count more than 3000 individuals online and several public and private partnerships. From the very beginning, the platform has had a public sector linkage to a healthcare clinic in Kenya and Rwanda.

European Commission launches an education themed hackathon (15/04/2021)

'Winning over the classroom with Jitsi' is an online hackathon funded by the ISA2 Sharing and Reuse Action together with Jitsi. It builds upon earlier open source hackathons organised by the European Commission to enable the rapid creation of innovative solutions. The hackathon is scheduled for the week of 26 April to 03 May 2021.

DigitALL Public conference (20/04/2021)

The DigitALL Public conference is the closing event of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital and the Interoperability solutions for public administrations, businesses and citizens (ISA²) programmes. Between the 20 and 22 April, participants will be able to engage in discussions on Innovation and GovTech, Interoperability, Open Source, Smart Cities, Trust and Security, among others. OSOR will be presenting its work on supporting public administrations in adopting open source on 21 April, between 11:30AM and 12:30PM in a dedicated webinar. That same day, there will also be a panel discussion on the role of open source in the public sector between 10.45AM and 11.30AM and an open source networking session between 3:30PM and 4:00PM.

Online event: EOLE – Open Source Programme Offices (OSPO) (21/04/2021)

The EOLE aims to promote the sharing and dissemination of legal knowledge related to free and open source software (FOSS) licences, as well as the development and promotion of good practices in the field. This upcoming session is focussed on open source programme offices (OSPOs). Although OSPOs cover a wide range of knowledge and activities, this event focusses on legal aspects. Online registration is compulsory and free of charge.

Online event: Open Education Day (24/04/2021)

On 24 April 2021, CH Open is hosting their annual Open Education Day. The event, delivered in German and French, will feature lectures, workshops, and presentations on the use of open source and open content in education. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the event will take place online.

Online event: International Conference on Open Source Systems (12/05/2021)

On 12 May 2021, the 17th International Conference on Open Source Systems (OSS), also known as OSS 2021, will take place. The event provides an international forum where diverse professionals from academia, industry and public administrations can come together and discuss FLOSS initiatives. The event will address the use of FLOSS in large organizations, including private for-profit corporations, major non-profit organizations and large public administrations.

Online event: OpenTechSummit Europe (17/05/2021)

Between 17 May and 21 May 2021, the OpenTechSummit Europe will be held online. The event brings together participants in the open source ecosystem, including students, developers, companies and FOSS communities. The aim is to showcase the latest technologies, share best practices and knowledge, and work collaboratively on open source projects.

CEF eTranslation - now integrated into Joinup! (16/04/2021)

The CEF eTranslation Building Block is an open source machine translation tool that helps public administrations and businesses exchange information and documents across all official EU languages, Icelandic and Norwegian. Thanks to a recent update, the eTranslation Building Block has been added to Joinup, meaning that users can automatically translate the content on OSOR and other Joinup collections into more than 24 languages.

ONEedge - Next Generation Edge Cloud Platform (16/04/2021)

ONEedge is Europe's first open source edge computing platform. The project, developed by OpenNebula, has received funding support from the EU since its inception as a research project. The platform aggregates on-demand cloud resources across multiple edge locations to enable innovative services and is used by a significant number of public organizations and universities.

CityVizor (15/04/2021)

CityVizor is an online visualisation platform that enables municipalities to show how they spend their money. The solution was developed using open source software by the Open Cities Association and the Czech Government. CityVizor does not try to hide the expenses behind bureaucratic categories defined in budget laws, like other similar solutions, but instead focuses on concrete investments like the repair of a local street, the building of a new bridge, a grant to the city's public school etc.

Departments and Notaries (15/04/2021)

Developed by the Rhône Department in partnership with the Rhône Chamber of Notaries, this open source solution allows government departments to provide a real-time response to notarial queries and has led to significant reductions in response times.

Helsinki Region Infoshare (15/04/2021)

Helsinki Region Infoshare is a joint open data service that was developed by four Finnish public administrations, namely Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen. The data service was built using open source software and all supporting documentation and training material is freely available.

Openness builds skills (17/03/2021)

eEducation in Germany (15/03/2021)

The open source software system UCS@School is being widely applied in response to the need of German schools to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. UCS@School provides educational institutions with a large array of services and applications, as well as a centralised and standardised user management and identification system. Launched in 2014 in Bremen, the system is being used in three other federal states, namely Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg.

The Swedish Network for Open Source and Data (15/03/2021)

Knowledge-sharing and collaboration is in the essence of the open source culture. In Sweden, public entities have adopted this mindset in order to improve in the way they use and collaborate on open source software and data. In the newly formed Network for Open Source and Data (NOSAD), public entities gather to share best practices and lessons learned through monthly workshops, but also collaborate on community initiatives such as a catalogue of open source software used within public services.

OpenUK's open source camp for kids (15/03/2021)

For the second year in a row, OpenUK will hold its Kids Camp in July 2021. This year’s camp includes a 10-lesson course and accompanying digital magazines on the key principles of open source. An ongoing focus of the course will be sustainability, which will also be the theme of the accompanying Kids Competition, which will take place in September. The organisers hope that this initiative will allow kids to "dig deep into open".

The City of Paris’s Lutece platform expands in the United States (15/03/2021)

Lutece is a free and modular open source platform developed and championed by the City of Paris. It was built to help city governments share, re-use and adapt digital services created by other cities. The membership of the community is growing, and now includes participants from the St. Francis Neighbourhood Center in Baltimore, USA, with support from Johns Hopkins University. The Center is using Lutece to provide innovative digital services to residents of the city of Baltimore.

Education and open source in Greece (15/03/2021)

The Panhellenic Competition of Open Technologies in Education is now running for its third year. Students and teachers across Greece are asked to build innovative open source solutions for education and share their project on GitHub repositories in order to encourage further reuse and development. This year's theme is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Organised by the Greek Open Technologies Alliance (GFOSS), the competition receives support from the Ministry of Education and the Onassis Foundation, thus helping to support the promotion of the principles of open source software and hardware in the Hellenic education system.

Open source edTech without Internet (15/03/2021)

Research has found that countries with the least Internet access are the same countries with the least access to quality education in general, including fewer qualified teachers per student and fewer educational materials. To remedy this, Learning Equality, a U.S. NGO, developed the open source edTech project Kolibri. Kolibri is an open source learning platform that, after the initial download, can be used entirely offline. The teaching material includes coding, mathematics and English among other subjects. Learning Equality also provides hardware grants to equip young people and teachers with vital digital skills.

Open source in French research and higher education (03/03/2021)

The latest report on the state of open source software in higher education and research was published at the end of January. The research is based on a survey of over twenty institutions and other studies on the subject. It aims to provide an overview of open source practices in higher education and research institutions and analyse related challenges and opportunities. The report also took a look at internal open source policies in the analysed organisations in relation to other perspectives on digital development, such as digital sovereignty, open data and open access.

Open source in Italian schools (03/03/2021)

In 2005, the organisation FUSS (Free Upgrade in South Tyrol’s Schools) was created in schools in the autonomous Italian province of Bolzano in South Tyrol. The organisation received initial funding from the European Social Fund, with the aim of increasing access to digital technologies in schools. The software supplied by FUSS is open source and based on GNU/Linux. During the local lockdown in the first wave of the COVID-pandemic, FUSS projects helped reduce the digital divide in the area.

Open source and space (03/03/2021)

The drone helicopter Ingenuity's landing on Mars on February 18 represents a success for the open source community. The helicopter runs on a Linux operating system and is based on an open source software framework called F Prime. The fact that NASA invested approximately $85 million of public funds to build and operate Ingenuity shows the increasing interest that government agencies nurture for open source software and hardware in the United States.

Library management system with a global open source community (03/03/2021)

Koha, meaning 'gift' in Maori, is an open source library management system that was founded in New Zealand in 1999. The system is available under a GPL 3 licence and can be used in libraries all over the world. The use of an open source licence allows for an open and active community, nationally and internationally, where everyone can participate in discussions and develop the software further. Decisions about technical issues and developments on Koha are taken on a day-to-day basis by the members of the community. These might be individual developers, members of the release team, or libraries that directly or indirectly has contributed or sponsored new features.

Finnish pedagogical technology for remote education (03/03/2021)

The Koulu.me initiative in Finland compiles education tools for schools, including the open source solution Mehackit Atelier. The initiative was launched by a group of pedagogical technology developers and has since caught the attention of teachers in Azerbaijan, Mongolia and South Africa, among other countries. The tools aim to help teachers who are struggling to find the right resources for facilitating remote education in the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Open source and data protection in French education (03/03/2021)

More than 200 school computers in the city of Fontaine in France run on Elementary OS, an open source, GNU/Linux-based operative system. The system is user-friendly and ensures a high level of data security. Pupils using the system have the opportunity to gain knowledge about digital technologies without transferring large amounts of data to proprietary technology companies and third-party applications.

X-Road lands in Mexico (03/03/2021)

Following the widespread success of the open-source software and ecosystem solution X-Road®, the Mexican state of Quintana Roo kicked off “Xacbé”, a new project which will be built on top of the software-based solution. As a first milestone, the project aims to harmonise all the systems used by the police. However, the state’s commitment goes beyond this, striving to digitalise most of its services by expanding the project to the whole public administration in the near future.

The role of digital education in Hungary (15/03/2021)

Digital education is becoming increasingly important in Hungary. When the government established the Digitális Jólét Program (Digital Success Programme (DSP)) in 2015, the Digital Education Strategy represented one of its pillars, together with Digital Child Protection, Digital Export Development and Digital Startup. The Digital Education Strategy was formally launched in 2016 and takes into account the education system at all levels, from public education, to higher education, lifelong learning and vocational training.

Share your feedback on OSOR’s Guidelines for Sustainable OSS Communities in the Public Sector (03/03/2021)

In November 2020, OSOR published its Guidelines for Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector. Now, we want to hear from you! We are seeking feedback on the Guidelines and would also love to hear about your experience with implementing them. Share the changes you would like to see, useful tools, and good practices that make your OSS community sustainable.

Open Source Software Country Intelligence Report - Liechtenstein (03/03/2021)

Want to know more about the use of open source software in Liechtenstein's public administration? OSOR's report and accompanying factsheet will help you to gain an overview of existing policies and legal frameworks throughout the country as well as various open source software initiatives in the public sector.

Online event: Open Source 101 (30/03/2021)

On 30 March 2021, the 2021 edition of Open Source 101 will be held virtually. The event is a one-day conference covering the basics of open source software, open technologies and the open web. It is targeted at developers, technologists, students and decision makers. The event includes TED-style keynote presentations and track sessions from industry experts. The presentations will cover topics like open source licencing, governance and community engagement. Online registration is compulsory and free of charge.

Online event: Open Education Day (24/04/2021)

On 24 April 2021, CH Open is hosting their annual Open Education Day. The event, delivered in German and French, will feature lectures, workshops, and presentations on the use of open source and open content in education. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the event will take place online.

Design Scuole Italia (04/03/2021)

Design Scuole Italia is a WordPress theme for the websites of Italian schools. The site helps users understand the organisation of the school, the study paths, the teaching support services available for the school community, and the schools identity. It aims to communicate the identity of a school in a clear and simple way, reducing bureaucracy, giving space for relevant content and people, and trying to reconstruct the atmosphere that characterizes the life of a school.

My Studies and Teaching (04/03/2021)

My Studies is an open source solution for students that provides them with a clear and easy-to-use view of their courses, links to course pages, learning materials, online learning environments and a checklist to manage their workload. My Teaching is similar, but targeted at teachers. It allows them to manage their planned coursework, share instructions with students, and upload learning materials, among other features. Both solutions were developed by the University of Helsinki.

RosarioSIS School Management Application (04/03/2021)

RosarioSIS is a school management web-based application built with PHP and PostgreSQL. Students can use it to manage their schedule, grades and absences while teachers can upload of homework and notes. Reports can be generated from the data included in the application. Additional modules allow, among other things, the advanced management of internal communication, HR, discipline and invoicing. RosarioSIS is fully translated into French, English and Spanish.

Using OSPOs to scale up open source in Europe (15/02/2021)

OSPO Series: How governments want to use OSPOs to transform themselves (09/02/2021)

OSPOs (Open Source Programme Offices) are becoming the norm in private sector companies working with software and the public sector is catching up. Indeed, a central unit in charge of open source software is not new in government. Yet, if one would try to find an OSPO in a given government, one would find only a few, more recent creations. The term 'OSPO' is relatively new in the context of governments. In the past, an organisation with a similar, yet not identical, purpose would be referred to as an open source competence centre.

OSPO Series: What can governmental OSPOs learn from the private sector ones? (09/02/2021)

The construct of an Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) was born in the private sector. There, it has been used to support organisations in achieving their goals for years by streamlining their software strategies around open development. This articles showcases the similarities and differences between private and public sector OSPOs.

OSPO Series: Government OSPOs for Europe (11/02/2021)

The final results of the European Commission Study on the Impact of Open Source Software and Hardware were presented on 5 February at the European Open Source Policy Summit, opened by Commissioner Breton. A part of this presentation was the recommendation to leverage the European Commission Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) to scale up open source across Europe.

OSPO Series: A new strategic centre in the United Kingdom will step into an OSPO role (11/02/2021)

Until February 2021, the British government had one central and shared entity with responsibility for digital technologies and data called the Government Digital Service (GDS). The GDS, located within the Cabinet Office, was established to challenge conventional thinking on digitalisation and break down silos. Now, the GDS will be placed under a new public entity, namely the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO). The Cabinet Office has mandated the CDDO to be the leading office for the digitalisation, data and technology agenda, similar to an OSPO.

Call for contributions to build a pan-European open source software inventory (11/02/2021)

Part of the Sharing and Reuse Action (2016.31) of the ISA² Programme will create the very first inventory of open source software, with the aim of identifying the most critical open source software and tools used by public organisations across Europe. To ensure a comprehensive inventory, the project team invites representatives of public organisations to participate in the data collection exercise by sharing their data on the open source software used in their organisations.

New partnership for the European Open Source Business Association (09/02/2021)

The Association of Portuguese Open Source Software Companies (ESOP) joins its Finnish, French and German counterparts as a new member of the European Open Source Business Association (APELL). The full voting members are COSS (the Finnish Centre for Open Systems and Solutions), CNLL (France’s Free Software and Open Digital Enterprise Union), the German OSBA (Open Source Business Alliance) and Open Forum Europe (OFE).

40 million new users choose Signal over WhatsApp (09/02/2021)

Signal is an open source encryption and messaging software where only the users have access to their shared content. An update in WhatsApp’s privacy policy sent a flood of users to Signal. This app has been used by staff of the European Commission since early 2020.

Hungary and open source: the Digital Success Programme 2030 (09/02/2021)

In the wake of the Digital Success Programme 2030 implementation, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology has supported several Hungarian SMEs to develop new open source operating systems. The resulting Digital Success Software Package consists of several operating systems related to productivity tools, entertainment and eGovernment solutions.

Increasing awareness of vendor lock-in in public sector organisations (09/02/2021)

In a recent study, researchers at the University of Skövde in Sweden ask the question: “How do, and by which strategies should, public sector organisations address lock-in effects before use of commercial SaaS solutions?”. This analysis plays into one of the most relevant debates related to open source in the public sector. This research follows earlier academic findings showing how lock-in effects can impose many different types of technical, legal, economic and societal challenges for public sector organisations. This latest paper analyses the awareness of these risks in the processes of public sector procurement of cloud services.

Integreat: Information about local society – and the pandemic (09/02/2021)

Integreat is an open source digital integration platform designed to reduce information poverty for new arrivals in and within Germany. With the aid of an interactive website, smartphone application and PDF brochure in their native language, Integreat helps refugees integrate into their new communities by increasing their social inclusion and keeping them informed about the support services that are available to them. The app now contains information about COVID-19, including the latest restrictions, links to government resources, and details about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

ISA² launches new open source bug bounties (09/02/2021)

A new set of bug bounties were launched on 11 January 2021 using the Intigriti bug bounty platform. The bounties are funded by the Commission’s ISA² programme and focus on open source software widely used by European public services. Awards of up to EUR 5000 are available for finding security vulnerabilities in Element, Moodle and Zimbra. There is a 20% bonus for providing a code fix for the bugs they discover.

A green AI-revolution for Smart Cities (09/02/2021)

Green areas in cities have an enormous impact on citizens’ quality of life. However, even Smart Cities can have difficulties incorporating green areas as part of their policies for urban development. This is where Green City Watch's open source GeoAI technology can help. The technology maps green areas and their quality with the aim of revolutionising the way that nature is valued, increasing transparency for local governments and revitalising cities.

Open Source and Open Science within Public Administrations (17/02/2021)

The European Open Source & Free Software Law Event (EOLE) aims to promote the sharing and dissemination of legal knowledge related to free software, as well as the development and promotion of good practices. The third session of the series takes place on 17 February at 11.30 - 13.00 CET. The aim of this webinar is to examine the role of open source within higher education and research and discuss the dynamics of open science. Four speakers will highlight the opportunities of open source in research, the current challenges concerning its implementation and the role that the law can play.

Online Event: The story of the COVID Tracker Ireland App and how open source collaborations can help change the world (26/02/2021)

COVID Tracker Ireland is an open source digital contact tracing app that was released by the Irish Government and the Health Service Executive (HSE). Using an Exposure Notification System (ENS) and Bluetooth technology, the app informs users when they have been a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19. OpenUK has invited Danese Cooper of Nearform, the company that helped develop the software for COVID Tracker Ireland, to speak about the collaborative development of the app on 26 February, 13.00 - 14.00 CET.

The Digital Society's Winter Congress (26/02/2021)

Between 26-27 February, the Digital Society (Digitalen Gesellschaft) will be hosting their fourth annual Winter Congress, an event targeted at activists, programmers, hackers and other people interested in IT technologies and their impact on society. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the event will take place online. Some of the topics that will be addressed include open source activism, success/failure cases on the use of open source in public administrations and online participatory democracy platforms built on open source.

Open Source Software Country Intelligence Report - Norway (09/02/2021)

Want to know more about the use of open source software in Norway's public administration? OSOR's report and accompanying factsheet will help you to gain an overview of existing policies and legal frameworks throughout the country as well as various open source software initiatives in the public sector.

Tchap (11/02/2021)

Tchap is an open source encrypted messaging service that was developed by the French government's interministerial digital service. The software allows public servants to exchange confidential information in a secure environment. The app also ensures user ID control and administrators can suppress accounts.

Signal (11/02/2021)

Signal is an open source web-based encrypted messaging service that allows people to send messages and make calls. All communications are secured with end-to-end encryption and users can independently verify the identity of their contacts and the integrity of their data. The server code is published under the AGPLv3 licence.

Integreat (11/02/2021)

Integreat is an open source digital integration platform used by German municipalities to reduce information poverty for new arrivals in and within Germany. It helps cities, counties and federal states to centralise their information, increase their digital visibility and accessibility, reduce language barriers and create information transparency. Integreat also helps local integration officers to carry out their work efficiently and municipalities to carry out their digital integration work in a cost-effective manner.

Open Source for Smart Cities (18/01/2021)

French report calls for the creation of a governmental Open Source Programme Office (20/01/2021)

A new report on Open Data and Open Source Software has been published by the French parliament. The report was led by MP Eric Botherel and it proposes the creation of an Open Source Program Office in the French government. Furthermore, the report has been backed by several national FOSS players.

Public and private sector collaboration for creating new mobility standards (20/01/2021)

Under the pressure of increased population, greening initiatives and technological progress, mobility in cities is fast evolving. The Open Mobility Foundation (OMF) was founded to help shape this process between cities and mobility operators.

Democratic transparency in the Smart City (18/01/2021)

In creating a Smart City, it is necessary to create transparency in the public debate. Multiple digital solutions address this need for increased transparency, including the open source platforms Consul and Decidim. Both aim to stimulate the democratic process and transparency between public administration, politicians, and citizens.

European Commission provides data aggregation solution for Smart Cities to public administrations (18/01/2021)

The city is a vast and complex ecosystem. Digital transformation lifts this ecosystem into the virtual domain. Yet, without structure, this vast amount of data is useless. The European Commission’s Context Broker, developed under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), helps turn raw data into analysable information.

‘The Things Network’ has welcomed two new European communities (18/01/2021)

On 8 December 2020, The Things Network (TTN) added two new communities to its portfolio. With the three new gateways that the two communities hold together, TTN now has 15.840 open source gateways in its network, covering 150 countries globally. The new cities are Pamplona in Spain and Oradea in Romania. Both are still missing a number of percentage points to become full members. The score depends on the number of gateways in the community, the existence of internal communication channels, exposure, and registered members.

Open source and digital platforms (12/01/2021)

A white paper from the Internet Society identifies open source as a way of increasing competition in the internet platform market through interoperability. That open source plays an important role in enabling interoperability between systems and services is an established aspect in digital policy discussions. It is, for example, present in almost all digital government strategies of the last few years. Now, in their white paper, ‘Considerations for Mandating Open Interfaces’, the Internet Society makes a link between interoperability through open source and the much-discussed concerns around competition in the digital platforms market.

The latest survey of over 1200 contributors provides recommendations for more secure open source software (12/01/2021)

A new report on a survey of over 1,200 open source contributors has been published as a part of a bigger research on improving security and sustainability of open source software. What are the most urgent issues related to open source security and maintenance? How to improve reliability of the most important open source projects that are cornerstones of the modern digital infrastructure? These are some of the questions that the researchers from The Linux Foundation’s Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) and the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) were trying to answer.

Scholarly infrastructures for research software (12/01/2021)

A report from the Architecture Working Group of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) recommends that all research software should be made available under an open source license by default. The Task Force arrives at a clear and distinct policy recommendation: “all research software should be made available under an open source license by default, and all deviations from this default practice should be properly motivated”. In terms of specific actions, the task force recommends including this clause in all future research funding programs.

Digitransit (18/01/2021)

Digitransit is journey planner developed by the Finnish Traffic Management Group. The software solution uses geolocation tools to locate users on a map and inform them of their nearest lines, stops and transport routes in real- time, filtering out unnecessary information.

iA.Urban (18/01/2021)

iA.Urban is a solution for optimising and facilitating the management of requests that are made to the urban planning and environmental authorities of public administrations. The software gives users a clear oversight of ongoing procedures and relevant deadlines, provides document templates, access cartographic data, generate personalised reports, and much more.

FixMyStreet (18/01/2021)

FixMyStreet is a U.K. application based on Open Street Map that allows users to report environmental problems in their area to their local public administration. Whether it is a case of broken street lights, illegal dumping, or graffiti...users simply have to locate the problem on a map of the area, fill out an online form detailing the issue and then it is sent to the local public administration.

EOLE 2020- Open Source Governance within Public Administrations (27/01/2021)

The EOLE aims to promote the sharing and dissemination of legal knowledge related to free and open source software (FOSS) licences, as well as the development and promotion of good practices in the field. This event session is focussed on open source governance within public administrations and will feature a variety of speakers. OSOR will be presenting its work on the Country Intelligence Reports, with a particular focus on the findings in relation to the governance of open source software across Europe.

Univention Summit 2021 (28/01/2021)

On 28 January, Univention will host their annual summit online. This year’s focus is on digital sovereignty for the education sector, governments and companies, and will place emphasis on a variety of open source projects that are encouraging digital sovereignty in these domains. Presentations on the day will address a variety of topics, including digital collaboration, open source in schools, digital sovereignty in public administration, and more. The presentations will take place in a mixture of English and German.

Latvian Open Technologies Association Annual Conference (04/02/2021)

On 4 February 2021, the Latvian Open Technologies Association (LATA) will be hosting their 14th Annual Conference titled “How to Stay Open in the New Era”. The event will feature a broad variety of speakers presenting diverse topics from the open technologies’ world and the presentation of the annual LATA awards.

FOSS Backstage 2021 (10/02/2021)

Between 10-12 February, FOSS Backstage will be taking place in a fully online, interactive environment. The conference is dedicated to free and open source software governance and open collaboration and aims to foster discussions on a variety of topics. The event is targeted at developers, architects, system administrators, community leaders, students and anyone else interested in open source software.

2020 - a year to remember (16/12/2020)

The Berlin Declaration (16/12/2020)

The ministers responsible for the digital transformation of public administrations in all EU Member States pointed to the relationship between interoperable open source solutions for the public sector and digital sovereignty in the Berlin Declaration, signed on 8 December 2020.

Detection and analysis of cancer improved by collaboration through an open source project (17/12/2020)

Researchers around the public German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have used the collaborative power of open source to build a decentralised tool analysing medical imagery while respecting strict data protection laws.

Public sector institutions recognised for their involvement in open source in Portugal (16/12/2020)

The Portuguese Prémio Abertura Award 2020 was presented at the Open Source Lisbon conference on 11 November by the Portuguese Open Source Businesses Association, ESOP. While the winner is a private sector entity, the runner up prize has been awarded to the public sector players: the Portuguese Central Bank and the Informatics Institute of Social Security for their implementations of open source solutions for their citizen-facing needs.

Digital Public Good - a global standard for governmental open source (10/12/2020)

The United Nations has endorsed a new multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in low- and middle-income countries. European governments and organisations are invited to endorse the standard and contribute to this global effort. The cornerstone of the initiative is the concept of digital public goods, defined as: “open source software, open data, open AI models, open standards and open content that adhere to privacy and other applicable laws and best practices, do no harm, and help attain the SDGs.”

Germany trials X-Road to provide interoperable digital prescriptions (10/12/2020)

In times of COVID-19, trustworthy, interoperable public sector solutions are of special importance. Germany is trialing further digitisation of its healthcare and is relying on NIIS’ X-Road® data exchange layer solution to connect medical providers.

A Danish story of user management across all organisations (10/12/2020)

The 2-factor authentication solution OS2faktor was developed in 2019 from a collaboration between the software house Digital Identity and a number of municipalities. At first the solution was meant to be a security component for several systems. The fast development of the solution was motivated by the national implementation of a communication platform for employees, parents and students in primary schools and daycare.

German universities call on government to support open source (10/12/2020)

Over the course of 20 years, alliances of German public universities developed open source learning software that now power 90% of German universities. They now call on politicians to support the creation of the next generation learning software.

Datatidy: an open source data processing platform (04/12/2020)

Datatidy is an open source data processing motor for public administrations. It was released in September as a result of collaboration between national and municipal public administrations. The solution aims to make the work with data easier for public administrations by providing them with an overview of their data.

The implementation of a system used by close to 80% of Danish municipalities (04/12/2020)

77 of the 98 Danish municipalities use OS2kitos. It is the most popular IT-solution in the OS2 network and it is also a very comprehensive system. OS2kitos provides enormous value when the system is implemented, however, it does require some work by the municipalities in the implementation process.

FiksGataMi in 2020: Open source based on FixMyStreet (04/12/2020)

Soon FiksGataMi will start its 10th year of operation in Norway. On average the service has had 3.500 unique users per year since 2011. With this solution, the Norwegian people have the possibility to report what is missing, faulty or trashed in the public outdoor environment. When the case has been sent, it is directed to the right department in the right municipality.

ELISE action solutions recognised in new EIF toolbox (04/12/2020)

On 12 November, DIGIT launched the live version of the EIF toolbox in the NIFO collection in Joinup. The EIF Toolbox provides guidance for European public administrations to equip them with the tools necessary to align their National interoperability Frameworks (NIFs) with the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) in order to promote interoperability at national and European level.

Status of Open Source Software Policies in Europe (04/12/2020)

The OSOR team is pleased to announce that the report on the Status of Open Source Software Policies in Europe has been published. Using the data gathered for the individual Open Source Software Country Intelligence Reports, we examine the status of open source in the public sector, with a focus on policy and legal frameworks, open source actors and other initiatives throughout Europe.

ISA² interoperability test bed software v1.11.0 (04/12/2020)

A new version of the ISA² interoperability test bed software is now available. This release brings a range of improvements for all test bed users. Community administrators benefit from further customisation options through additional trigger events to react to test results, as well as fine-grained permissions to prevent modifications once testing has started. In addition, all users benefit from extended search capabilities on test sessions and conformance statements based on custom properties, session IDs and specification actors; and a redesigned test session display that clarifies output and extends presented information.

Joinup Compatibility Checker (04/12/2020)

On 19 November, a new Compatibility Checker for the Joinup Licensing Assistant was published. The objective of this functionality is to determine how far and on which licences a body of work using or combining data or software components licensed under two different licences can be distributed and (if it can be distributed) under which licence(s).

PortableSigner 2.0 (10/12/2020)

PortableSigner is an open source programme to electronically sign PDF files. Developed by the City Administration of Vienna, PortableSigner is available under the EUPL licence. With this tool, users can sign PDF files created using Open Office.

FOSDEM 2021 Online (06/02/2021)

FOSDEM offers open source and free software developers a place to meet, share ideas and collaborate. Renowned for being highly developer-oriented, the event brings together some 8000+ people from all over the world. The twenty-first edition of FOSDEM will take place Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th February 2021, online. A call for participation and volunteers has been launched.

Think Open (11/11/2020)

OSOR Guidelines for Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector (18/11/2020)

The OSOR team is thrilled to announce that the Guidelines for Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector have been published! The Guidelines offer practical tips for civil servants at all administrative levels, project managers, IT developers, and open source software (OSS) enthusiasts looking to engage with OSS or for anyone who is simply curious about what such an endeavour might entail.

The EC OSPO heralds a new-ish way of managing open source (13/11/2020)

On October 21, the European Commission approved its newest iteration of its Open Source Software Strategy for 2020-2023. The first concrete action by the European Commission was to set up an Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) as “as facilitator for all activities outlined in the strategy and the action plan”.

First results of the study on the impact of Open Source (13/11/2020)

The first results of the study on the impact of Open Source Software and Open Source Hardware conducted for the European Commission were presented. It found that increasing the number of commits to Open Source projects would translate to a boost of over €95 billion per year to the EU’s GDP.

Belgium forked its COVID-19 app (12/11/2020)

By basing Coronalert on the German Corona Warn App, Belgium achieved reduced costs, development time and gained transparency. Earlier this week, an article on OSOR reported on COVID-19 tracing apps and reusable source code. The article shines a light on the potential of Open Source software licenses, as it gives governments the ability to start with an already existing COVID-19 tracing app by making a fork (a separate copy).

European COVID-19 tracing apps and reusable source code (11/11/2020)

18 of 44 European countries have an open source COVID-19 tracing app, but not with much reuse of code. This complicates the communication between national backends, however, a gateway solution has been made.

Key takeaways from the webinar on OSS and public procurement (11/11/2020)

The purpose of the webinar was to discuss and exchange best practices and practical solutions regarding the inclusion of open source software (OSS) in public procurement processes. Webinar participants had the chance to hear from Jani Kylmäaho, Director of Development and Digitalization at National Land Survey (NLS) of Finland, and Lucian Balea, R&D Program Director & Open Source Manager at Réseau de Transport de l’Electricité (RTE) in France, about their organisations’ approach and lessons learned regarding OSS and public procurement.

European open source SMEs welcome Commission’s renewed Open Source Strategy (06/11/2020)

European open source industry associations have welcomed the newly updated Open Source Software Strategy of the European Commission. Closely matched statements were published by the Association Professionnelle Européenne du Logiciel Libre (APELL), a newly formed umbrella organisation, and its three founding members in Finland, France and Germany.

Greek gov.gr and apps now mostly based on open source (06/11/2020)

The Greek government’s main website (gov.gr) is run using mainly open source software frameworks, say IT project managers involved in the overhaul of the central gov.gr web portal in March this year.

Impact of OSS and OSH – a stakeholder survey (05/11/2020)

Fraunhofer ISI and OpenForum Europe are conducting a study for the European Commission which shall investigate in detail the economic impact of Open Source Software (OSS) and Open Source Hardware (OSH) on the European economy. The study should identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of open source in relevant ICT policies. A stakeholder survey has been launched - please feel free to share your views!

International team in Linz completes prototype open source pandemic ventilator (05/11/2020)

PolyVent, a prototype open source pandemic ventilator that can be used to treat patients with severe Covid-19-related pneumonia or lung damage, was presented in Linz (Austria) last week. The machine was assembled by an international team of volunteer engineers and is one of the projects co-funded by the EU “EUvsVirus” Covid-19 challenge.

Researchers in Ireland start open source programme offices (05/11/2020)

The Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software (Lero), headquartered in Limerick, and Trinity College Dublin have both started open source programme offices this month, to increase their involvement with open source.

Dutch government to evaluate software development process following success of Corona app (05/11/2020)

The success of the open source software development process for the Dutch Covid-19 track and trace app is prompting the government to consider the same procedure for other projects, State Secretary for the Interior Raymond Knops has told the parliament.

Oskari: Case Studies on Sustainability of Public Sector Open Source Communities (19/10/2020)

As part of its work to create Guidelines for Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector, OSOR developed five case studies to better understand what success factors influence the sustainability of public sector open source communities. This case study focusses on Oskari, an open source software designed as a framework that can be used to easily build web mapping applications, showcase geospatial data, and further analyse such data.

Analysis of the key success factors of sustainable open source communities (16/11/2020)

Prior to developing the Guidelines for Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector, OSOR conducted a study to analyse the factors that determine the sustainability of public sector open source communities. The study identifies the key success and failure factors behind the establishment of sustainable open source communities in the public sector through the analysis of five case studies.

DirectMairie (11/11/2020)

DirectMairie is a citizen information feedback system for small and medium public administrations, allowing citizens to make geolocated reports about environmental problems. Users can report illegal dumping, faulty streetlights, potholes, and graffiti from their smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Not only does it improve communication between citizens and public administrations, but it also to contribute to the environmental upkeep of towns and regions.

CSI Atlante WI (11/11/2020)

CSI Atlante WI is Geographic Information System (GIS) solution designed for public administrations seeking organised access to data and geoservices. Developed by the Piemonte region in Italy, the software allows users to search for geographic data through a structured catalogue and access data relevant to their user profile.

Java Open Street Map (11/11/2020)

Java Open Street Map is an extensible editor for OpenStreetMap for Java 8+, providing users with access to map data for thousands of web sites, mobile apps, and hardware devices. This JAVA edition supports loading GPX tracks, background imagery, and OSM data from local sources as well as from online sources and allows users to edit the OpenStreetMap data and metadata tag for accuracy. The software is licensed under GPL.

GHCon2020 - V International GNU Health Conference (20/11/2020)

GHCon is an annual conference that brings together enthusiasts and developers of the Libre Health & Hospital Information System. During the two-day conference, you’ll have the opportunity to attend different thematic sessions and free workshops, share experiences, learn about and discuss implementation cases and, of course, network with GNU Health community members from around the world!

Blue Hats Clinic on opening source code (23/11/2020)

As part of the Public Innovation Month organised by the French Interministerial Directorate of Public Transformation, a Blue Hats clinic will be held on the topic of opening source codes. Public officials will have the opportunity to present their IT project and ask questions concerning the publication of the source code of the project. The event is scheduled for 23 November between 1:30pm and 5:30pm CET and will take place online. Please note that the event will be held in French.

European Open Source & Free Software Law Event (EOLE) 2020 - Webinar 1 (25/11/2020)

The European Open Source & Free Software Law Event (EOLE) aims to promote the sharing and dissemination of legal knowledge related to free software, as well as the development and promotion of good practices. The first of the five webinars will be held on 25 November 2020 with a focus on 'Free software acquisition by public administrations'.

Online presentation of CERN's Open Hardware Licence (01/12/2020)

On Tuesday 1st December 2020, CH Open and why! Computing are hosting an online presentation about CERN’s newly updated Open Hardware Licence. This new version maintains the original goal of providing a sound legal basis for the sharing of hardware designs, while bringing in numerous improvements.

Stakeholder Kick-off Workshop – How interoperability can achieve seamless data flows and services for the EU’s public sector (03/12/2020)

CEPS is launching a project to analyse interoperability as a key enabler of the public sector’s digital transformation in the EU. The project, carried out for DG DIGIT of the European Commission, will support the impact assessment of a future interoperability policy, as well as the evaluations of the ISA2 programme (Interoperability solutions for European public administrations, businesses and citizens) and the European Interoperability Framework. The stakeholder kick-off workshop for the project will be held on 3 December 10:00-12:00 CET.

A public infrastructure (20/10/2020)

Spain shares its Covid-19 app as open source following appeal from scientists (12/10/2020)

Earlier this month, Spain published as open source the code for its Covid-19 track and trace application. Publication of the source code came just a few days after an online manifesto gathered more than one hundred signatures from academics and researchers at universities across the country. The manifesto calls on the government to “implement open processes to allow society to participate.”

Open hardware lets Lleida students finish work during Covid-19 lockdown (12/10/2020)

For computer engineering students at the University of Lleida in Spain, having access to open source hardware lets them work at home, reducing the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on their studies, says Albert Saiz Vela, Assistant Professor at the Electrical Engineering faculty.

France’s open data lab launches study into open source and education (12/10/2020)

Etalab, the French governmental open data lab, has begun a study on the importance of open source software in higher education and research. The study will identify open source use in education, and compare institutional strategies on open data and open access and the sovereignty of education.

AS4 standard for secure exchanges of data and documents (12/10/2020)

Launched in 2014, eDelivery is an open and reusable set of specifications and standards providing a framework for the secure machine-to-machine (M2M) exchange of documents and data via a backend system. The European Commission developed Domibus: an open source software that implements the AS4 technical specifications for exchange of data.

Sweden considers open source software for its digital currency proof of concept (12/10/2020)

Researchers at Sweden’s central bank (Riksbank) working on a proof of concept for a digital currency (e-Krona) recommend the use of open source software, according to a working paper by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published in August.

EC’s NGI funds decentralised open source, cloud-based customer relations management alternative (12/10/2020)

The development of Corteza, an open source and federated cloud solution to manage customer relationships, exchange messages, and manage identies, is being co-funded by the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) - a research and development grant programme. Corteza Federation will be made available in December 2020.

Thüringen invites nominations for its 2020 open source award (12/10/2020)

The second edition of the open source awards organised by the Free State of Thuringia in Germany has just been announced. Digital solutions can be nominated up to the end of October. Open source is one of the key topics in the state’s digital society strategy, which aims to encourage local entrepreneurship, education and research.

Nearly one-third of EU governmental IT security organisations contribute to open source software (12/10/2020)

Government IT security specialists in at least eight European Member States contribute to open source software, a quick Internet search shows. Poland, France, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg seem to be the most active, contributing to 58, 49, 24 and 19 projects respectively.

Czech top-level domain manager sells firewall made from open source software and hardware (12/10/2020)

CZ.NIC, the association managing the internet country code top-level domain for the Czech Republic, is now selling a plug-and-play firewall device built using open source software and hardware. The association, founded in 1998, works with the country’s interior ministry to coordinate Czech efforts on internet and computer security.

CERN, an international organisation paving the way for the use of open source software in research (12/10/2020)

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is a prestigious research institution and intergovernmental organisation in the area of particle physics and an early open source actor. OSOR investigated the key success factors of the development and use of open source software by CERN.

European Open Source & Free Software Law Event (EOLE) 2020 (15/10/2020)

The European Open Source & Free Software Law Event (EOLE) aims to promote the sharing and dissemination of legal knowledge related to free and open source software (FOSS) licences, as well as the development and promotion of good practices in the field. This year’s edition will focus on the legal aspects to be considered with regard to the use of free and open source software in public administrations and is foreseen to take place in mid-October.

Europe’s Digital Decade: Empowered by Open Source (05/11/2020)

'Europe's Digital Decade: Empowered by Open Source' is an online event hosted by OFE that is taking place on 5 November 2020. This event is organised in the context of the European Commission study on the impact of Open Source Software and Hardware in Europe, conducted by OpenForum Europe and Fraunhofer ISI. Speakers and a detailed agenda will be announced soon.

South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFScon) (13/11/2020)

The South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFScon) is an annual conference dedicated to Free Software in South Tyrol that is aimed at the general public, but in particular at decision-makers in the public administration and business worlds. This years' event will take placed on 13-14 November 2020 in a blended format. This year's edition focusses on open source software and data analytics; community management; society and culture; open source hardware; legal aspects; DevOps; and business models;

Communication and Information Resource Centre for Administrations, Businesses and Citizens (CIRCABC) (13/10/2020)

CIRCABC (Communication and Information Resource Centre for Administrations, Businesses and Citizens) is an open-source, web-based application which enables geographically spread collaborative groups to share information and resources in private workspaces. It is a freely downloadable, multilingual Open Source Software (OSS) for administrations, businesses and citizens that provides them with a trustworthy and secure collaborative platform.

Entando 4.0 Web Platform (13/10/2020)

Entando 4.0 is an Open Source, lean Web platform that combines enterprise portals, content management and framework capabilities. Entando helps businesses and government agencies with organizational effectiveness by facilitating information sharing, participation and collaboration in the Web 2.0 era.

PDOK (Public Services on the Map) (13/10/2020)

PDOK is a central distribution platform used for deploying geographical datasets (geo datasets) and making them available as web services and geographical information files. These geo datasets are supplied by government and public administrations.

Opportunities for companies (14/09/2020)

German ICT service providers call for central open source code repository (16/09/2020)

Germany's Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) and Vitako, a industry association for local government ICT providers in the country, are calling on the government to start a national repository for the source code of open source software built by and for the country’s public services. The groups say the repository will make it much easier to share and reuse software, pool resources, and improve IT security.

Major support boost for Swiss parliament’s digital sustainability group (07/09/2020)

Digitalswitzerland, the country’s largest industry association encouraging ICT and innovation, has joined Parldigi, the Swiss parliamentarian group on digital sustainability. The parliamentarians say the expanded network will increase the reach of Parldigi, connecting key players on digitalisation.

Open source mapping and planning tool for heating and cooling (03/09/2020)

Hotmaps is an open source project supporting local, regional and national administrations in their heating and cooling planning processes. The project started in October 2016 and has been funded through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Technological sovereignty heads new roadmap for France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine open source cluster (03/09/2020)

The 2020-2022 roadmap for France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine Open Source (NAOS) business cluster emphasises resilience, agility and subsidiarity. The cluster encourages companies to cooperate within a federal structure, helping them to pool development resources and respond more effectively to calls for tenders.

Other countries reuse Danish open source tool to scan for GDPR compliance (03/09/2020)

Public services in Greenland, Sweden and soon maybe even Germany are reusing OS2datascanner, Denmark’s GDPR compliance scanner. The software generates reports on compliance with Europe’s data protection and privacy rules, and enables users - public servants - to take action.

Finland’s Covid-19 trace app published as open source (03/09/2020)

On Tuesday, Finland’s Koronavilkku Covid-19 track and trace application was published as an open source solution under the European Union Public Licence (EUPL). The Koronavilkku software is being developed by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, or THL), together with a handful of the country’s software development firms.

Open source at Hungary’s public service university (03/09/2020)

Open source is commonly used on the servers at Hungary’s National University of Public Service (Nemzeti Közszolgálati Egyetem, or NKE). The university is looking for IT support services for the Debian and Ubuntu open source software it uses, and for its Suse and Red Hat Linux distributions.

Poland’s Podlaskie province seeks open source support for its eHealth system (03/09/2020)

The Podlaskie province in Poland is looking for support services for its eHealth system, which is built on top of open source components including Java application servers Jboss (renamed Wildfly) and Apache Tomcat.

Study of open source tools for unified communication and collaboration targets Finnish municipalities (03/09/2020)

Finland’s Centre for Open Source Solutions (COSS) is about to start a study into the use of open source software solutions for unified communication and collaboration. The centre says that smaller municipalities have expressed a need for a comprehensive ‘cost-effective and IT vendor-neutral’ software solution.

Developers Italia: Case Studies on Sustainability of Public Sector Open Source Communities (07/09/2020)

As part of its work to create Guidelines for Sustainable Open Source Communities in the Public Sector, OSOR developed five case studies to better understand what success factors influence the sustainability of public sector open source communities. This case study focuses on Developers Italia, both a community of Italian software developers and the central open source software platform designed for the delivery of public services in Italy.

Bootstrap Italia (07/09/2020)

Developed by the Developers Italia team, Bootstrap Italia is a front-end theme based on Bootstrap 4 that implements the Italian Design Guidelines for public websites. It features an extended set of components and utilities, developed following the directives of the Italian Design UI Kit to allow building mobile-first, responsive and modern web-oriented services.

CloudEvents validation service (07/09/2020)

The European Commission's Interoperability Test Bed offers a CloudEvents validation service that can be used to validate JSON events against the JSON representation of the CloudEvents specification. The CloudEvents specification offers a common structure and metadata for events that are published in event-driven systems (primarily cloud-native). The validation service allows validation against the specification's versions and additional checks against user-provided JSON schemas to check business rules specific to a given project's events.

Ubuntu-based Linux workstation (07/09/2020)

The repository offers an Ubuntu-based development environment - Ansible playbook under a BSD-3-Clause License. This Ansible playbook installs a development environment on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Webinar on OSS in Public Procurement (12/10/2020)

The OSOR team is happy to announce our first autumn event - a webinar on open source software and public procurement. This event will focus on practical solutions to overcome common challenges and good practices for success. Two guest speakers - Jani Kylmäaho (NLS, Finland) and Lucian Balea (RTE, France) - will share their experience with us. Then, the floor is yours to share your experiences and good practices!

esLibre 2020 (18/09/2020)

In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, the organisers of the 2020 edition of the esLibre conference have decided to organise an online event! On 18-19 September, the King Juan Carlos University is organising the 2020 edition of the esLibre conference. The esLibre event is a unique meeting of open source enthusiasts in Spain which hosts plenary sessions, specialised presentations, roundtables and dedicated workshops on various open source-related topics and projects.

DINAcon 2020 (23/10/2020)

The DINAcon event is an annual event organized by the Research Centre Digital Sustainability of the University of Bern. This year’s edition is exceptionally held online due to current travel restrictions. The online event will offer a series of online presentations and lightening talks, as well as the DINAcon Awards and a virtual Hacknight.