Open Source Initiative joins the Digital Public Goods Alliance

OSI to contribute to Digital Public Goods Alliance’s mission to address world’s most pressing economic challenges by furthering adoption of Open Source software

BRUSSELS – February 4, 2023–Today, the Open Source Initiative (OSI) announced it has joined the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) as a new member. The DPGA is part of the response to the United Nation’s call to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.  The announcement was made as part of the opening keynote at the Free and Open Source Developers Meeting (FOSDEM) and celebration of OSI’s 25 year anniversary.

The DPGA is a multi-stakeholder initiative with a mission to accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in low- and middle-income countries by facilitating the discovery, development, use of and investment in digital public goods. Digital public goods are Open Source software, open data, open AI models, open standards and open content that adhere to privacy and other applicable laws and best practices, do no harm by design and help attain SDGs.

“OSI is the leading voice advancing the policies and principles of Open Source globally,” said Stefano Maffulli, executive director of the OSI. “The OSI helps build a world where the freedoms and opportunities of Open Source software can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of income and resources. The OSI supports institutions and individuals—from governments and corporations to local economies and individuals—working together to create communities of practice in which healthy Open Source ecosystems thrive. OSI’s work in championing software freedom goes hand in hand with DPGA’s mission.”

Lucy Harris, DPGA co-lead stated, “Welcoming the Open Source Initiative is a milestone for the Digital Public Goods Alliance. OSI’s role as steward of the Open Source Definition, and promoter of Open Source community-building, education and advocacy is of vital importance to digital public goods. The Open Source requirement is a cornerstone of the Digital Public Goods Standard, and OSI’s membership is a manifestation of that importance.”

“The DPGA is already making significant progress on aligning, coordinating and advancing the contributions of its many members and stakeholders, and OSI is eager to lend our advocacy and educational efforts to the cause as well,” said Deborah Bryant, US policy director for OSI. “Our licensing clinics for the public sector, our Deep Dive AI education series, and our State of the Source event—all designed as open content—are three initiatives that are perfectly aligned with the DPGA mission and will be included in the 2023 roadmap. We’re grateful for the opportunity to lend OSI’s expertise to DPGA members and leaders as Open Source software remains a critical strategy to the roadmap’s impact in the future.”

OSI’s work aligns with that of the DPGA in many ways, including these three OSI initiatives that will be included as part of the DPGA’s Annual Roadmap for 2023:

1. Open Source License Clinics (Public Sector): OSI will conduct license clinics in 2023 modeled after a successful clinic in 2012 to educate and prototype a replicable program for additional geographies. This will include emerging topics such as the use of data in AI models.
2. “Deep Dive AI” Education Series: AI training models are predominantly licensed as Open Source software; however, the training data is not necessarily open. It is imperative to foster a deeper understanding of how these elements work together, who may benefit and who may not. Last year OSI initiated its Deep Dive AI podcast series and online panel discussions to illuminate these issues. In 2023 OSI will host additional online conversations to drive awareness and understanding of AI, machine learning and deep learning.
3. State of the Source Summit: OSI produces an annual State of the Source Summit, a broad international platform to mark progress in the advancement of the use of Open Source and open collaboration.

To learn more about DPGA, visit https://digitalpublicgoods.net/ or email hello@digitalpublicgoods.net.

To learn more about the news and opinions of the OSI and its stakeholders, visit the OSI blog and sign up to receive the newsletter.