Hi all SFD enthusiasts,<br><br>Below is a press release from the organisers of Document Freedom Day, which is happening on 26 March. DFD is organised by a different organisation from SFD, but we're happy to support their message and encourage people to get out on the streets in support of open information exchange!<br>
<br>Robert.<br><br>-------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>[ <a href="http://documentfreedom.org/News/20080220" target="_blank">http://documentfreedom.org/News/20080220</a> ]<br>
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Introducing <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day<br>
26 March: A global day for <span class="nfakPe">document</span> liberation<br>
Sign up your DFD team today!<br>
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The <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day (DFD) is a global day for <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> Liberation with grassroots action for promotion of Free <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> Formats and Open Standards in general. The DFD was initiated and is supported by a group of organisations and companies, including, but not limited to, the Free Software Foundation Europe, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, IBM, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems, Inc.<br>
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On 26 March 2008, the <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day will provide a global rallying point for <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> Liberation and Open Standards. It will literally give teams around the world the chance to "hoist the flag": A "DFD Starter Pack" containing a flag, t-shirt, leaflets and stickers is in preparation and is planned to be sent out in the first weeks of March to the first 100 teams that sign up. Sixteen teams already signed up during the preparation phase of the DFD prior to this release. Sign your team up now!<br>
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"We're proud to support this global effort to encourage open and inclusive information exchange," said Marino Marcich, Managing Director, Open Document Format Alliance. "<span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">freedom</span> means creating,<br>
exchanging, and preserving your electronic documents without having to buy software from a particular vendor."<br>
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"Data lock-in and subsequent vendor lock-in are some of the most severe issues users are facing today," says FSFE president Georg Greve. "Yet most people only realise this connection when it is too late and they have effectively lost control over their own data. We are supporting the <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day to help raise awareness for this issue by starting with something that affects pretty much all users of computers: text documents, spreadsheets and presentations."<br>
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"Free <span class="nfakPe">document</span> formats and open standards are important elements in the continued expansion of the global open source community," said Tom Rabon, executive vice president, Corporate Affairs at Red Hat. "Red Hat strongly supports <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day and encourages participation by all who look forward to the day when documents are controlled by those who own them, not necessarily by those who create the technology to access those documents."<br>
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Simon Phipps, Chief Open Source Officer, Sun Microsystems stated, "As I explained in my paper "<a href="http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dhb29vwq_3dzb2cs"><span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> to Leave</a>", it's fundamental in the emerging market for people to be free to use any software they desire tohandle their data. I fully support the goals of <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> ."<br>
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Alexandre Oliva of the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA) comments: "When you save your documents using a Free Open Standard format such as ODF, you're also saving your own future, ensuring your continued ability to access, decode and convert their contents."<br>
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Graham Taylor Director of OpenForum Europe: "OpenForum Europe applauds the announcement of <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day. The whole essence of 'openness' is captured by the right of users, citizens, governments... to be able to freely access and exchange documents todayand in the future. Nothing gives greater meaning to the prevalent danger of lock-in to proprietary solutions, and for the need for Government to act now."<br>
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About <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day:<br>
<br>The <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> <span class="nfakPe">Freedom</span> Day (DFD) is a global day for <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> Liberation. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free <span class="nfakPe">Document</span> Formats in particular and Open Standards in general. The DFD is supported by a large group of organisations and individuals, including, but not limited to Ars Aperta, COSS, Esoma, Free Software Foundations Europe and Latin America, IBM, NLnet, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, OSL, iMatix, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Inc., The Open Learning Centre, Opentia, Estandares Abiertos.<br>
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The list of DFD supporting groups can be found at<br>
<a href="http://documentfreedom.org/Who" target="_blank">http://documentfreedom.org/Who</a><br>
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The list of DFD teams is available at<br>
<a href="http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams" target="_blank">http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams</a><br>
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Further information:<br>
<a href="http://documentfreedom.org/" target="_blank">http://documentfreedom.org</a><br>
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Contact:<br>
<a href="mailto:contact@documentfreedom.org">contact@documentfreedom.org</a><br>
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Graham Taylor <a href="mailto:graham@openforumeurope.org">graham@openforumeurope.org</a><br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"> Ivan Jelic <a href="mailto:jelic@fsfeurope.org">jelic@fsfeurope.org</a><br>
</div> Kerri Catallozzi <a href="mailto:kcatallo@redhat.com">kcatallo@redhat.com</a><br>
Marino Marcich <a href="mailto:mmarcich@odfalliance.org">mmarcich@odfalliance.org</a><br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"> Marko Milenovic <a href="mailto:milenovic@fsfeurope.org">milenovic@fsfeurope.org</a><br>
</div> Terri Molini <a href="mailto:terri.molini@sun.com">terri.molini@sun.com</a><br>
FSFLA <a href="mailto:info@fsfla.org">info@fsfla.org</a>