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Members Newsletter – December 2024

Our work thrives because of a passionate community dedicated to Open Source values. From advancing initiatives like the Open Source AI Definition to addressing challenges in licensing and policy, collaboration has always been our driving force.

While 2024 brought significant progress, the challenges ahead demand even greater collective action. As we look to 2025, your support will be pivotal in scaling our efforts.

We’ll continue serving as the steward of the Open Source Definition, protecting the Open Source principles and maintaining a list of OSI Approved Licenses.

We’ll continue monitoring policy and standards setting organizations, supporting legislators and policy makers, educating them about the Open Source ecosystem, its role in innovation and its value for an open future.

We’ll continue leading the conversation on Open Source AI, as we’ll need to keep on driving the discussion around data and write position papers to educate legislators in the US, in the EU, and around the world.

And finally, we’ll continue supporting Open Source business practice, helping developers and entrepreneurs to unlock the permissionless innovation enabled by Open Source software.

Join us as a supporting member or, if your organization benefits from Open Source, consider becoming a sponsor. Together, we can protect and expand the freedoms that make Open Source possible—for everyone.

Stefano Maffulli

Executive Director, OSI 

I hold weekly office hours on Fridays with OSI members: book time if you want to chat about OSI’s activities, if you want to volunteer or have suggestions.

News from the OSI

Celebrating 5 years at the Open Source Initiative: a journey of growth, challenges, and community engagement

Nick Vidal, community manager at the OSI, shares his story about working at the organization. This isn’t just a story about his career—it’s about the evolution of Open Source, the incredible people he worked with, and the values they’ve championed.

Other highlights:

• Improving Open Source security with the new GitHub Secure Open Source Fund
• Highlights from the Digital Public Goods Alliance Annual Members Meeting 2024
• Open Data and Open Source AI: Charting a course to get more of both
• The Open Source Initiative and the Eclipse Foundation to Collaborate on Shaping Open Source AI (OSAI) Public Policy
• ClearlyDefined v2.0 adds support for LicenseRefs

OSI in the news

The Gap Between Open and Closed AI Models Might Be Shrinking. Here’s Why That Matters

Article from Time Magazine

The distinction between ‘open’ and ‘closed’ AI models is not as simple as it might appear. While Meta describes its Llama models as open-source, it doesn’t meet the new definition published last month by the Open Source Initiative, which has historically set the industry standard for what constitutes open source.

Other highlights:

• Ai2 releases new language models competitive with Meta’s Llama (TechCrunch)
• AI2 closes the gap between closed-source and open-source post-training (VentureBeat)
• Women leading the charge in open source AI (Capacity Media)
• A battle is raging over the definition of open-source AI (The Economist)
• The best open-source AI models: All your free-to-use options explained (ZDNet)
• Read all press mentions from this past month

Other news

News from OSI affiliates:

• Eclipse Foundation: The Open Source Initiative and the Eclipse Foundation to Collaborate on Shaping Open Source AI (OSAI) Public Policy
• DPGA, ITU: Advancing Open Source AI: Definitions, Standards, and Global Implementation for a Sustainable Future
• Apache Software Foundation: The Apache Software Foundation Welcomes a New President
• Linux Foundation: Jim Zemlin, ‘head janitor of open source,’ marks 20 years at Linux Foundation
• Mozilla Foundation: Firefox 1.0 Released 20 Years Ago
• DPGA: Open source key to exchanging best practices in digital government

Surveys

The State of Open Source Survey

In collaboration with the Eclipse Foundation and Open Source Initiative (OSI).

Jobs

OSI US Policy Manager

Lead OSI’s public policy agenda and education.

Events

Upcoming events:

• Open Source Experience (December 4-5 – Paris)
• KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India (December 11-12, 2024 – Delhi)
• Deep Dive into the Open Source AI Definition v1.0  (December 12, 2024 – online)
• EU Open Source Policy Summit (January 31, 2025 – Brussels)
• FOSDEM (February 1-2, 2025 – Brussels)

CFPs:

• PyCon US 2025: the Python Software Foundation kicks off Website, CfP, and Sponsorship!

Thanks to our sponsors

New sponsors and renewals

• Automattic
• Sentry
• Google
• Cisco
• GitHub

Interested in sponsoring, or partnering with, the OSI? Please see our Sponsorship Prospectus and our Annual Report. We also have a dedicated prospectus for the Deep Dive: Defining Open Source AI. Please contact the OSI to find out more about how your company can promote open source development, communities and software.

Get to vote for the OSI Board by becoming a member

Let’s build a world where knowledge is freely shared, ideas are nurtured, and innovation knows no bounds! 

Join the Open Source Initiative!

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