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A rentrée like no other
I have always agreed with Capote’s view that autumn, not spring, is the season of beginning. This year, of course, nothing is as usual. Will September in Brussels ever be as it was with in-person (catered!) events and networking over coffee? I hope so.
What is clear is that there is work to do. With record investments in digital solutions to help economies recover and make our future societies more resilient, we insist on openness being built in from the start. Digital sovereignty was already high on the agenda in the now seemingly distant pre-COVID times and the global pandemic has highlighted its geopolitical importance. Having this term defined in terms of open and user empowerment rather than national or regional protectionism seems more relevant than ever. Other examples range from considering open hardware solutions in healthcare materials to the need for interoperable solutions and open data in tracking and analysing epidemics.
This newsletter highlights some of what’s been keeping us at work throughout the summer and what we are looking forward to over the next few months. On a personal level I wish for a future – not too far away – that’s a bit less digital and with more canapés.
Sachiko Muto, CEO
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• The Open Source Impact Study •
As many of you know, we have been working intensively on the study on the impact of Open Source Software and Hardware. After dozens of interviews, expert consultations, and hours of research, we are reaching the point where we need your involvement. We will launch a stakeholder survey aiming at assessing the features and needs of Open Source companies, developers and organisations very soon. Stay tuned for more information and let us know if you would like to get involved in sharing or filling the survey - the more, the merrier. To get to know more about our first findings, join us at the workshop in November.
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SAVE THE DATE: 5 November
Mark your calendars for the workshop during which we will present preliminary results of the study and discuss issues such as Open Source as digital infrastructure, its economic impact and policies in Europe and globally. More information will follow soon.
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• The European Blockchain Observatory and Forum •
Recently, we have joined another big project that will keep us busy for a while - the renewed European Blockchain Observatory and Forum, first created in 2018. We are a part of a great consortium led by Intrasoft, where our role focuses on engaging experts from Europe and beyond who will contribute to the works of the Observatory. We will launch an official open call for experts soon, but if you are interested in joining as an expert, please drop us a message (you can simply respond to this email).
Moreover, we hope to see you on 24 of September at 12.00 CET at the first workshop of the renewed Observatory on "Blockchain and Healthcare applications". Take a look at the agenda and register here.
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• Events and conferences •
Nowadays many organisers move their conferences and meetings online, which despite its obvious drawbacks (networking and cocktails!) brings some benefits. It is much easier and more accessible to just tune in to an online conference than travel to the other side of the globe, so take a look at our speaking engagements this fall:
• We have already participated in the OSI’s global State of the Source Summit on 9 September where we discussed Open Source policies in Europe,
• Our Research Director Sivan Pätsch will speak at the CEN/CENELEC event on standardisation and Open Source on 23 September,
• You can join the whole OFE team at the Open Source Summit & Embedded Linux Conference Europe in late October: Sachiko with a keynote, Paula and Sivan on the Open Source impact study, and Astor on OSPOs for governments.
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