[ALUG] Fwd: Happy holidays from FSFE - thank you for your support!

[Andreas Tauscher]

This are the new year greetings I got from the Free Software Foundation Europe.
Please read the annual report. You find the link in the forwarded email.

Late merry christmas and a happy new year to all supportes of free software in Tanzania!

Andi


-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Von: Fellowship of FSFE <fellowship at fsfeurope.org>
Gesendet: Fri Dec 21 14:50:59 GMT+03:00 2012
An: Andreas Tauscher <tauscher at fsfe.org>
Betreff: Happy holidays from FSFE - thank you for your support!

Dear Fellow,

Free Software is everywhere, but software freedom isn't. That, in
a nutshell, is the situation in which the year 2012 has left us.
We do much of our computing not on our own machines, but on
someone else's server. We have phones that run mostly Free
Software, but still limit what we can do with them.  Facebook and
many others have used Free Software to build infrastructures of
control.  

These are the challenges we've dealt with this year. From Estonia
to Spain, from Norway to Kosovo, we carried the Free Software
message to people everywhere. Your role in this, as someone who
makes Free Software a part of your life, is crucial here. If more
and more people are starting to demand control  over the computers
they use and the programs that run on them, that's because you and
many others like you have taught them to raise their expectations
and take their digital affairs into their own hands.

With the Free Your Android campaign, we are empowering people to
take charge of their mobile devices.We have pushed hard for your
freedom to install Free Software on the hardware that you have
bought and paid for. We helped persuade governments in the UK,
Italy, Spain and France to change buying rules for the public
sector in favour of Free Software and Open Standards.

It is your support as a Fellow has made all this possible. We
couldn't have so much impact without your contributions in terms
of effort, time and money.  Thank you! I invite you to have a look
at FSFE's annual report for 2012. You will see what we did with
your help, and what we're planning for the coming year:

        http://fsfe.org/news/2012/report-2012.en.html

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Erik
Albers, the latest addition to our staff. Erik's focus is on
supporting Fellowship activities at the local level. He is there
to help you if you want to organise a Free Your Android workshop
in your city. If you have an idea for promoting Free Software
where you live, he can help you develop it, connect you with
like-minded people nearby, and support you as you put your plan
into practice.  Erik will also help you to set up a local
Fellowship group and make it grow.  Whatever your idea is to make
Free Software grow, please get in touch with him at "Erik Albers"
<eal at fsfe.org>.

This year we're sending you this overview of our work by email
rather than in a printed  letter. It was always hard to fit a full
year's work on just a couple of  pages. In 2012 we have been more
active and visible than ever before,  so we figured it was time to
change the format.  

In 2013, we want to do even more. We will continue to fight the
lockdown of general purpose computers. We need to protect Free
Software from the impact of software patents. We want the public
sector to make more use of Free Software.  And we want to make
sure that when something is called "Free Software" it actually
gives you the freedom to use, study, share and improve it.

2013 will be challenging and exciting. Thank you for your
continued support as we tackle these challenges, and do what we
need to in order to defend and promote software freedom. 

I wish you happy holidays, and all the best for the coming year.

With kind regards, 
Karsten Gerloff
President, Free Software Foundation Europe e.V.

-- 
Karsten Gerloff                      [ ]   <gerloff at fsfeurope.org>
Free Software Foundation Europe   [ ][ ][ ]      [http://fsfe.org]
President                            | |         +49 176 9690 4298
Your donation powers our work!           [http://fsfe.org/donate/]

Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030). 
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