OpenForum Europe joins the Digital Public Goods Alliance

The Digital Public Goods Alliance is thrilled to welcome OpenForum Europe (OFE) as the newest member! OFE is an independent think tank which promotes the merits of openness in computing to policy makers and communities across Europe. Originally launched in 2002 to accelerate and broaden the use of open source software among businesses, consumers and governments, OFE’s focus has since evolved to include open standards, cybersecurity, digital government, public procurement, intellectual property, cloud computing and internet policy.

“OFE over the last years has been increasingly working to bring disparate voices together around common values and shared beliefs around open source, amplifying their voices to influence policy formulation and support strategic decision-making,” said Astor Nummelin Carlberg, executive director of OFE. “As an organization, we believe that mission has made a natural ally of the digital public goods movement, both in Europe and beyond. We are excited to join the DPGA and bring a distinctly European perspective to the alliance, as well as join the global community of organizations championing the virtues of sustainable and reusable digital public goods. We will do our very best as part of the alliance to champion European values and connect European experiences with policy innovation happening globally.”

Echoing this exciting news, Liv Marte Nordhaug, CEO of the DPGA Secretariat, shared “Welcoming Open Forum Europe is a milestone for the Digital Public Goods Alliance in its engagement with the European open source ecosystem. OFE’s unique convening role in Europe and its reputation in Brussels policy circles make it an organisation at the forefront of the open source movement in Europe. This can help amplify lessons learned in Europe and enable knowledge sharing that advances digital public goods. We are excited to work with OFE and their partners to advance conversations around approaches for funding and governing digital public goods to support human-centered digital transformation worldwide.”

As part of their membership, OFE will champion the following Roadmap activities:

1. Promoting DPGs in European Open Source Ecosystem: OFE brings the European open source communities and public administrations together to promote dialogue around reusable software and its value in achieving the SDGs. OFE will use their expertise and presence in European communities focused on open technologies to centre and promote DPGs, as well as advocate for more European projects to register as DPGs.
2. OSPOs-Related Advocacy: OFE reaffirms the roles OSPOs are having in promoting open source development, adoption and use in Europe, and shares those lessons from our networks globally. OFE aims to do this by doing new policy and research in Europe focused on OSPOs, as well as participating in more OSPO-related events globally alongside the DPGA to help share lessons on OSPOs from Europe.
3. DPGs and Digital Commons: OFE will involve itself more in global policy discussions around DPGs and discuss the complementarity of ideas around digital commons. We will do this by promoting dialogue and sharing lessons learned around the funding and governance of open source software being used at scale as part of the critical digital infrastructure our societies depend on.

To learn more about OFE and their membership, visit their website.