Europe's digital future spells open source – Now pioneers are awarded

On January 30th, the European Open Source Academy was launched, and the very first European Open Source Awards were presented. Over 150 top names from across Europe, including the European Commission, the UN, and several authorities, were there to witness the start of the Academy. This is not just a celebration for the open source community – it is a significant step towards a more competitive, digitally sovereign, and innovative Europe.

The initiative is backed by the EU-funded project OSAwards.eu, led by RISE. The project highlights the crucial role that open source software and hardware play for the EU's future. And the European Commission is clear: they want to see more of this! They want to emphasize the importance of open source software and hardware in strengthening the EU's position in the digital world.

A study from the European Commission was highlighted, showing that each 10% increase in contributions to open source software and hardware boosts GDP by 0.4-0.6% and helps generate 600 new tech startups. The study also shows how open source can reduce costs and the risk of expensive lock-ins, and provides guidance on how authorities and governments can work to strengthen these effects.

The European Open Source Academy is a central piece at the European level to promote this work. Inspired by venerable European institutions, the Academy aims to become a knowledge engine, a place for debate and inspiration in the field. The Academy will promote the use and contribution of open source software and hardware, particularly its maintenance and sustainability.

During the Inaugural European Open Source Awards, four prizes were awarded:

• European Open Source Achievement Award: Daniel Stenberg, the founder of cURL – an open source project that provides tools and libraries for transferring data using URL syntax. The software is used daily by billions of people and devices worldwide (and on Mars), making it a fundamental component for internet communication and data transfer. Daniel works daily to maintain the project through the company WolfSSL and leads the community around cURL, something he has written a book about and is a recognized role model for in the Open Source world.

• Business & Impact Award: Amandine Le Pape, COO and co-founder of Element – an open source-based messaging app that uses the Matrix protocol for secure and decentralized communication. It enables encrypted and self-hosted message management, giving users control over their data and ensuring privacy. Amandine demonstrates how a successful company can be created while at the same time maintaining and sustaining open communities, values, and collaboration.

• Skills & Education Award: David Cuartielles, co-founder of the open hardware platform Arduino. The platform is used worldwide and enables the creation of interactive projects, utilized by both hobbyists and professionals to develop everything from simple prototypes to complex scientific instruments. On a daily basis, David teaches the subject as a Senior Lecturer in Interaction Design at Malmö University, but also globally through organizations such as the UN.

• Advocacy & Awareness Award: Lydia Pintscher, Portfolio Lead for Wikidata at Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. It serves as central storage for structured data from Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia and also supports many other websites and services. Lydia also has a long-standing involvement in the KDE community, which develops, among other things, the Plasma desktop environment and a variety of applications.