Open Source Initiative (OSI)

More than delighted to leave Open Source Initiative (OSI) in Duane O'Brien's hands. Gratitude to the board for taking the time and care needed to put a great new ED in place and for Duane's willingness to jump into a non-profit mission so aligned with the #OSS community values we've seen him demonstrate for years now. All the best to you and the team!

I am so stoked to work with and learn from Duane O'Brien as we tackle this next chapter together! This is a pivotal moment for the next phase of Open Source Initiative (OSI) and for the broader Open Source ecosystem. The challenges ahead require steady stewardship, thoughtful collaboration with careful listening, transparent processes that bring together a wide range of perspectives, and a shared commitment to the principles that have sustained Open Source for decades. I’m endlessly grateful to Deborah Bryant for her leadership during this transition(she's a joy to work alongside, if you were ever so lucky, you know), and to the community for its continued engagement and support.

I am thrilled to announce my new role as the Executive Director of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). I'm grateful to the board for their trust, and I look forward to serving the community and our partners as I lead one of the fundamental institutions of the open source ecosystem. I have so much more to say, but this week I'm heads down with Deborah Bryant doing knowledge transfer and on-boarding. If you've pinged me, my responses may be delayed for a couple days.

As Open Source continues to shape global technology, policy, and digital infrastructure, the need for clear stewardship and strong leadership has only grown. On behalf of the Board, I’m thrilled to welcome Duane O'Brien as OSI’s new Executive Director -- Tracy Hinds, OSI Board Chair

Duane O'Brien appointed as the new Executive Director of the Open Source Initiative. Veteran Open Source leader brings decades of experience advancing sustainability, collaboration and responsible participation across the Open Source ecosystem.

I recently had an opportunity, for certain reasons, to organize my thoughts on the benefits of Open Source AI for a global political audience. Based on the notes I wrote for that purpose, I reworked them into an article titled "Why the World Needs Open Source AI." https://lnkd.in/grC_H_VN As I write in the article, I originally became involved in the work on the Open Source AI Definition mainly to help ensure that it would not drift into something that departed from Open Source itself. But over time, I have come to believe that OSAID carries a much broader significance as well. I think this article captures at least part of that shift in my thinking. Because it was written with a political audience in mind, the tone is quite formal. Still, one of the central ideas I emphasize is "AI sovereignty." I expect several AI vendors to go public this year, and as that approaches, we are likely to see even more hype and increasingly alarmist narratives around AI. In that environment, I believe it is important that all countries, and all people, retain AI sovereignty.

One week from today, we're bringing together policymakers, practitioners, and technologists in Brussels for a timely conversation on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and European digital sovereignty. 📍 Digital Public Infrastructure and Europe: Digital Sovereignty, Global Interconnections, and Pathways for Collaborative Action — 21–22 April 2026, University Foundation Brussels. The workshop will bridge two conversations that have largely developed in isolation: the EU's internal digital policy agenda and opportunities for DPI capabilities and thinking, looking at what European DPI might look like and use cases spanning identity, payments, data exchange, and emerging capabilities. The workshop will also consider the EU's role as a global norm-setter and development cooperation actor influencing DPI globally. In short, we’ll be exploring what DPI actually might mean in a European context, where the EU has genuine strategic leverage, and what pathways exist for coherent, collaborative action that move beyond regulation We're delighted to be co-hosting this event with Co-Develop, and grateful for their partnership in bringing together such a strong and diverse group of participants. The workshop features keynote speakers from the European Commission (DG CNECT, DG INTPA), Member States, and development agencies, including perspectives from Brazil, Norway, and India. Specifically, the keynotes will also include actors from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure - CDPI , Presidência da República, Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, DigitalHub.SH, and Mastercard. The event will also feature contributions from speakers at Project Liberty, Sovereign Tech Agency, Decidim, Mastodon, CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies), GovConsult Foundation, ECDPM 🌍, United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, Datasphere Initiative, Govstack®, CARIBOU DIGITAL LIMITED, Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS), Digital Public Goods Alliance, and many more. This is a curated event, but we do have a few spots remaining. If you work at the intersection of digital policy, DPI, and European digital sovereignty and are interested in joining, please reach out to Nicholas Gates at nicholas@openforumeurope.org. We look forward to a a day and a half of rich dialogue and conversations 🇪🇺 View the event page: https://lnkd.in/eu6RAyXD #DigitalPublicInfrastructure #DigitalSovereignty #DigitalInfrastructure #OpenSource #OpenTechnology #EUPolicy #DPI #DigitalPolicy

Next week, I’ll host a workshop with Nadia Aimé and Ixchel Ruiz at Open Community Experience focused on a question that many open source communities are asking: who will contribute to and maintain our projects in the future? At the Eclipse Foundation, we spend a lot of time thinking about the long-term sustainability of open source communities. Next week, we’ll exchange ideas and practical strategies for building a more sustainable, diverse and inclusive contributor ecosystem. If you're planning to attend OCX26, you can use the code workshop20 when registering to receive 20% off your ticket. 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gdQQk3wd More details about the workshop: https://lnkd.in/ghRiAic6 #opensource #opensourcesustainability #OCX26

This October... KDE is turning 30 🎂! Join us for six months of celebrations, fun and activities🎉! Contribute to our gallery of historic photos, tell us a story about that time KDE got you out of a pickle, or share a little-known KDE-related fact. Become a supporting member and help guarantee the next 30 years of top-notch free software. Or, most important of all, organize a KDE-themed event/party and we'll include it on our map! https://lnkd.in/e6pC3S-j #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #Celebration #Anniversary

This year Creative Commons turns 25! Since its founding, CC has created the legal and social infrastructure that makes open knowledge possible. CC licenses now power access to tens of billions of works online and have been used to make over half of all scientific research open and accessible. We could not have gotten here without the support of our community, and we want all of you to be a part of the celebrations! Here's how to get involved: 🙏 Make a donation - the first 250 donors who give $125 or more will receive a signed copy of Cory Doctorow’s exclusive art book, Canny Valley! https://buff.ly/Ef0ktmU 🪩 Attend an event - all year long CC will be hosting virtual events to mark our anniversary (and there's one happening today 👀 ) https://buff.ly/zMunJmm 💌 Join our newsletter list to stay up to date on CC stories and news. https://buff.ly/LpaGk5u 🎨 Submit to our Zine - we’re collecting stories from 25 years of CC to create a special zine to commemorate our community’s contributions, achievements, and memories exploring the theme “Remix is Resistance”. https://buff.ly/Ld7xiyl 📝 And don't miss our newest blog post reflecting on the past quarter of a century and why the commons is more important now than ever. https://buff.ly/4QybJTa