Hi all,
I know that everyone is still catching up after Easter, but tomorrow is 26 March and that means it is Document Freedom Day - and we should make sure not to miss that opportunity to spread the word.
Below you will find a first draft of a simple media release template that we're also making available to the teams with a reminder that they should announce this to the media themselves and not forget to take pictures.
I hope that everyone here will also ensure to put out the message, as this is a very good positive media opportunity and a chance for us to bring some more awareness to the debate.
And please try to make sure to remind everying to take good pictures or small video testimonials. I believe that documentation of the Document Freedom Day will be crucial for the coming editions and to get the word out.
My apologies for the short notice at which this is circulated, but if you can contribute quotes for the DFD main release, please do.
Best regards, Georg
P.S. Ivan: Once you know the URL for the DFD leaflet printable versions in PDF and PS, please let everyone know so we can replace the XXXX in the media release draft.
26 March 2008: The world's first Document Freedom Day
Today is Document Freedom Day: Roughly 200 teams from more than 60 countries worldwide are organising local activities to raise awareness for Document Freedom and Open Standards. To support the organisation of the annual circuit of initiatives for this first day to celebrate document liberation, DFD starter packs containing a DFD flag, t-shirts and leaflets have been sent to the first 100 teams over the past weeks.
In a world where records are increasingly kept in electronic form, Open Standards are crucial for valuable information to outlive the application in which it was initially generated. The question of Document Freedom has severe repercussions for freedom of choice, competition, markets and the sovereignty of countries and their governments.
"We are very excited about all the activities that teams around the world have scheduled," says Ivan Jelic, DFD Coordinator. "Activities we have heard about range from local speeches and information events through to prizes being given to governmental bodies that adopted good policies in the field of Document Freedom and Open Standards. It will be a challenge to document everything that is taking place today."
<LOCAL INFORMATION / QUOTE HERE>
How you can get active
The Document Freedom Day is a collaborative effort.
You can make a difference by linking to http://documentfreedom.org, generate your own artworks or use the ones available at
http://documentfreedom.org/Artwork or generate your own.
You could also print out some of the DFD leaflets at
http://documentfreedom.org/XXXX
and give them to your co-workers, family or friends. And if you feel creative, consider taking pictures or small video testimonials that show the world what Document Freedom means to you!
About the Document Freedom Day
The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation with roughly 200 active teams worldwide. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in general.
Document Freedom Day 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.
The list of DFD supporting groups can be found http://documentfreedom.org/Who
The list of DFD Teams is available at http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams
<LOCAL TEAM INFO & CONTACT DETAILS HERE>
FYI.
Here is the updated version with the correct URL.
26 March 2008: The world's first Document Freedom Day
Today is Document Freedom Day: Roughly 200 teams from more than 60 countries worldwide are organising local activities to raise awareness for Document Freedom and Open Standards. To support the organisation of the annual circuit of initiatives for this first day to celebrate document liberation, DFD starter packs containing a DFD flag, t-shirts and leaflets have been sent to the first 100 teams over the past weeks.
In a world where records are increasingly kept in electronic form, Open Standards are crucial for valuable information to outlive the application in which it was initially generated. The question of Document Freedom has severe repercussions for freedom of choice, competition, markets and the sovereignty of countries and their governments.
"We are very happy about the response and activities that teams around the world have scheduled," says Ivan Jelic, DFD Coordinator. "Activities we have heard about range from local speeches and information events through to prizes being given to governmental bodies that adopted good policies in the field of Document Freedom and Open Standards. It will be a challenge to document everything that is taking place today."
<LOCAL INFORMATION / QUOTE HERE>
How you can get active
The Document Freedom Day is a collaborative effort.
You can make a difference by linking to http://documentfreedom.org, generate your own artworks or use the ones available at
http://documentfreedom.org/Artwork or generate your own.
You could also print out some of the DFD leaflets at
http://www.documentfreedom.org/2008/DFD_Starter_Pack#Leaflet
and give them to your co-workers, family or friends. And if you feel creative, consider taking pictures or small video testimonials that show the world what Document Freedom means to you!
About the Document Freedom Day
The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation with roughly 200 active teams worldwide. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in general.
Document Freedom Day 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.
The list of DFD supporting groups can be found http://documentfreedom.org/Who
The list of DFD Teams is available at http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams
<LOCAL TEAM INFO & CONTACT DETAILS HERE>
df-media-coordination@lists.fsfe.org