[for immediate release]
London/Hamburg, May 22nd 2002
"Association For Free Software (AFFS) becomes associate of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe)"
The FSF Europe proudly announces that the UK based "Association For Free Software" (AFFS) is now an associate organisation of the "Free Software Foundation Europe" (FSF Europe).
AFFS has joined with the FSF Europe to actively support its activities, to work for Free Software in Europe and to facilitate cooperation with organisations in other countries.
The AFFS currently focuses on the preparation of PR material to inform the public and to lobby politicians in the UK. Part of this effort is drafting an introduction to Free Software for non-specialists and to prepare demo versions of the Debian GNU/Linux operating system for live demonstrations.
Through various liaisons the AFFS is actively involved in bringing the benefits of Free Software especially to schools, other educational institutions, politicians and - of course - the public in the UK, to help create a critical mass of people using Free Software.
Members of the AFFS also engage themselves in attending fairs, exhibitions and relevant public and non-public meetings of UK governmental institutions. The aim is to provide a recognised point of contact in the UK for information about Free Software. This is achieved by simultaneously establishing links with the press, MEPs, MPs and local politicians throughout the UK.
"Although the AFFS is based in the UK, it fully recognises and appreciates that Free Software is a world wide effort to bring the benefits of the information age to everyone on this planet. This requires international cooperation and coordination. The association with the FSF Europe is probably the most important step yet for the AFFS to achieve this goal." said Dr. Marc Eberhard, a committee member and one of the founders of the AFFS.
"Experience indicates that it is crucial for the adoption and understanding of Free Software within a country to have the community of that country organise itself in competent local organisations." said Georg Greve, President of the FSF Europe. "Therefore we were very happy to see the UK community taking the big step forward with the creation of the AFFS and we gladly welcomed them in our network of associate organisations. This brings UK people, press and politics the chance to interface with Free Software and the FSF in a more immediate way than ever before."
About the Association for Free Software:
The Association for Free Software is a non-profit association with the primary goal of promoting the adoption of Free Software in the UK.
More information: http://www.affs.org.uk
Contact: AFFS c/o Luminas Ltd 7 Webster Close Norwich NR5 9DF UK
Phone: 0709 2312239
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe) is a charitable non-governmental organisation dedicated to all aspects of Free Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate in a digital society. Therefore the freedoms to use, copy, modify and redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition - allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSF Europe, which was founded in 2001 as the European sister organisation of the Free Software Foundation in the United States.
More information: http://fsfeurope.org/
Contact: Georg C. F. Greve greve@gnu.org Tel: +49-40-23809080 Fax: +49-40-23809081
Further press contact information is available at http://fsfeurope.org/press/.