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Open Source is a Relay Race: Reflections from our Outgoing Interim General Manager

Submitted by Deb Nicholson on Thu, 2021-09-30 09:50

I've been an individual member and occasional volunteer of the OSI for a long time, but signing on in August 2020 as Interim General Manager was a jump into the deep end. Much of OSI's past work was informed by the connections and conversations held with members and stakeholders in person, so we had to chart a different path while still grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

My challenge was to look for ways to continue our work during lockdown, keep the organization moving forward through a transitional year and support the board on its journey towards a visioning body that works with a staff-driven organization. Now it’s time to hand things over to our new Executive Director, Stefano Maffulli but first I’d like to recap my time spent in navigating these waters.

Thank You for a Fantastic First POSI!

Submitted by Deb Nicholson on Tue, 2021-09-21 11:10

We’d like to take a moment to thank our community for making our event on Practical Open Source Information a resounding success -- with more than 300 attendees, 30 speakers, a brilliant keynote address from Heather Leson of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies about the role open source plays in humanitarian efforts, and three tracks, our half-day event proved to be a valuable space for many members of our community to come together and discuss a wide range of pressing issues affecting open source practitioners everywhere. (Recordings of all event talks and panels will be made available shortly!)

Schedule Finalized for Practical Open Source Information

Submitted by administrator on Fri, 2021-09-10 09:14

Our new half-day event on Practical Open Source Information is coming up soon on September 16th. With a unique focus on discussions related to everyday open source issues in all types of organizational contexts, POSI is a can’t-miss event for anyone seeking to learn ways to deepen their participation in open source from experienced practitioners.

Though our schedule has been published for about a month, we are now proud to announce that our schedule has been finalized, with a big addition: our event will start off with a few words from our New Executive Director, Stefano Maffulli! Make sure to attend his opening remarks at 10:45 AM EDT, just prior to our Keynote.

 

Open Source Initiative names first Executive Director

Submitted by administrator on Wed, 2021-09-08 08:00

SAN FRANCISCO, September 8, 2021 -- The Open Source Initiative ® (OSI), stewards of the Open Source Definition that sets the foundation for the open source ecosystem, is excited to announce Stefano Maffulli as its first Executive Director.  The appointment is a key step for the transformation of OSI into a professionally managed organization, a process that the Board of Directors started in 2020.

Practical Open Source Information -- Event Schedule Now Available!

Submitted by vbejdo on Thu, 2021-08-12 13:48

On September 16th, 2021, the Open Source Initiative will be hosting a free, virtual half-day event on Practical Open Source Information. Geared towards open source developers, scholars, lawyers and managers interested in learning about open source in practice, this unique event will feature speakers with extensive experience in the field -- with a focus towards new adopters and those looking to deepen their open source participation.

 

We’d like to thank everyone in the community for their support of this new event -- especially those in the community who contributed by submitting one of the many, high-quality submissions we reviewed in putting together our line-up! We are also pleased to share the schedule today -- it includes many sessions we think you can’t miss!

OSI’s 2021 Board Election is Concluded

Submitted by Deb Nicholson on Wed, 2021-08-11 11:30

Our Individual seat winners are Aeva Black and Catharina Maracke -- both new to the OSI Board. We are also welcoming Hong Phuc Dang back and are excited to have Thierry Carrez join us as a new Affiliate Board Member. Thank you to all our members and affiliates for your discussions, your participation and your votes. 

Welcoming Betsy to OSI's Team

Submitted by Deb Nicholson on Tue, 2021-08-10 08:20

We recently brought on Betsy Waliszewski to serve as our Director of Sustainability. She’s in charge of our fundraising efforts and sharpening up our communications with all the many stakeholders in the open source community and we couldn’t be more excited.

 

Betsy comes to us after many years of involvement with several different parts of the open source community. Some of you may have met her during her sixteen years with O’Reilly Media, the longtime organizational host of the recently, (sadly) discontinued OSCON. Others of you may have met Betsy during her recent six year stint at the Python Software Foundation where she served as their very successful Sponsorship Coordinator and Administrator. 

What does Copilot Mean for Open Source?

Submitted by administrator on Tue, 2021-07-20 07:15

Everyone’s been talking about GitHub’s recently announced Copilot tool, a new AI-powered code assistant. So, we started by asking ourselves, “Is this tool a net positive for the open source community?”

 

The answer is “Maybe” but with some caveats. In addition to their significant community of pragmatic collaborators (many of whom fail to specify any license let alone an open source one), GitHub has become in many ways the default place where open source communities work together. That unique position comes with some inherent responsibility. 

 

Practical Open Source Needs You!

Submitted by administrator on Fri, 2021-07-09 11:43

Our CFP for Practical Open Source Information (POSI) has been open for about a month, and we’re planning a unique, half-day event targeting organizations and individuals often left out in community programming that are looking for ‘nuts-and-bolts’ information about what using open source means in practice, from talks from speakers with extensive experience in the field.

 

This is the first such event we’ve planned, so to get the word out, we’ve been reaching out directly to a wide array of open source community members of all stripes -- strategists, activists, lawyers, developers -- to spread the word about our Call for Speakers, which closed on July 15th, 8:00 EDT.  We want this event to be a place where folks can find an accessible entry point into open source practices, learning from community members about best practices, common mistakes, and answers to topics as deceptively simple as choosing the right license for a project, so if that’s something you know about, we want to hear from you!

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