Linux Foundation Europe Newsletter - March 2024

Welcome to the March 2024 LF Europe newsletter! 

This month, we're thrilled to share some exciting updates and highlights with you.

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe brought forth a wave of inspiration and innovation. LF Europe made its mark at the event, hosting an engaging booth and participating in thought-provoking discussions during a BoF session. Meanwhile, the Sylva project celebrated a successful Sylva Dev Day, gathering telecom operators, NF vendors, integrators, and more to chart a course for future development.

Standardisation and Open Source took centre stage in a recent webinar hosted by the StandICT.eu Academy, where Linux Foundation Europe representatives shared insights into the complex relationship between these realms. Speakers explored the challenges and opportunities arising from the convergence of standardisation and open source, providing valuable perspectives on the impact of EU regulations on software initiatives.

Additionally, Mirko Boehm delivered a compelling talk on EU cybersecurity regulation and Open Source governance at FOSS Backstage in Berlin.

NGI Commons officially launched, marking a new chapter in digital commons in Europe. 

And don't miss out on our Easter discounts! Hatch a new career with our courses and certifications, and enjoy a cracking 30% off sitewide with promo code APRIL24EU until April 12, 2024.

These are just a few of the exciting updates featured in this month's newsletter. For all the news, read on!

Table of Contents

• News & announcements
• Updates from Linux Foundation Europe projects
• Top picks for reading/watching
• New publications and surveys from LF Research
• Training & certification deals
• Upcoming events
• Partner with Linux Foundation Europe for your next open source event
• Say “Hi!” to the LF Europe Team 👋

News & announcements 🗞️

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe: Merci, Paris!

Image from the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2024

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2024 concluded with a keynote from Chris Anisczcyk, CTO of the Linux Foundation (CNCF), who reflected on the remarkable journey of Kubernetes. From its humble beginnings with just a few enthusiasts a decade ago to a community of over 12,000 contributors today, Kubernetes stands as one of GitHub's largest projects and boasts an extensive presence on Slack. Anisczcyk also announced exciting initiatives, including plans for a Kubernetes celebration party, the launch of contribcard.dev where individuals can track their first contributions, and the introduction of the Kubestronaut Program for education ambassadors. 

Looking ahead, the Kubernetes community anticipates gatherings in Salt Lake City this fall, followed by London in spring 2025, Atlanta in fall 2025, Amsterdam in spring 2026, and Los Angeles in fall 2026.

Registration is now open, with early rates available through April 22. Reduced rates are available for individuals and academics. View all pass types here.

Additionally, the Call for Proposals is open through June 9. View full details here.

Linux Foundation Europe booth at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2024

Meanwhile, at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon in Paris, LF Europe played a pivotal role, contributing to thought-provoking discussions and hosting a booth that attracted a diverse range of visitors worldwide. 

LF Europe also hosted a Birds of a Feather session at KubeCon, Paris, where Mirko Boehm and Dana Wang led discussions on "Stewarding Open Collaboration and Governance for a Trusted Digital World."Alongside Dana Wang from OpenSSF, Mirko facilitated discussions on fortifying the security and sustainability of the open source ecosystem. Against the backdrop of impending global cybersecurity regulations, the panel emphasized the significance of collaborative frameworks in ensuring trust, security, and compliance across various jurisdictions.

A glimpse from the Birds of a Feather session at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2024

Highlighting LF Europe's achievements, the Sylva project celebrated a successful Sylva Dev Day during KubeCon, providing a platform for participants to delve into the project's intricacies and chart a course for future development. With 70 participants from 20+ companies, including telecom operators, NF vendors, integrators, and more, this event celebrated achievements while outlining a roadmap for future growth, exemplifying LF Europe's dedication to nurturing vibrant open source communities in the telco industry.

Thank you to all the visionaries, innovators, and enthusiasts who joined us at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe. Your passion for open source and commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology are truly inspiring.

Standardisation and Open Source - Webinar

The StandICT.eu Academy recently hosted a compelling webinar on the interaction between standardisation and open source. Held on 18th March 2024, the event provided a deep dive into the complex relationship between these two realms.

Speakers delved into the challenges and opportunities arising from the convergence of standardisation and open source, particularly in light of the significant presence of open source software across Europe. Discussions also centred around the impact of EU regulations on software, including the AI Act, Cyber Resilience Act, and Data Act, on open source initiatives. 

Knut Blind from Fraunhofer ISI & TU Berlin provided perspectives on integrating standardisation and open source, highlighting both opportunities and challenges. Jory Burson (Vice President of Standards, The Linux Foundation) and Mirko Böhm (Linux Foundation Europe) engaged in a dialogue about the philosophical and procedural disparities between standard development organisations (SDOs) and open source communities. Silona Bonewald, President of Leadingbit Solutions and previously Executive Director of IEEE SA OPEN, discussed the culture clash between open standards and open source, drawing from her experience at IEEE SA OPEN. Daniel Haack shared DIN's approach and perspective on integrating open source into formal standardisation processes. Additionally, Jochen Friedrich from IBM explored the necessity for new dynamics in standardisation and open source to foster a successful ecosystem of open collaboration. As EU regulations continue to shape the landscape, understanding and bridging these gaps become increasingly crucial. Missed the webinar? Watch the recording now.

Talk: EU cybersecurity regulation and Open Source governance

At the FOSS Backstage event in Berlin, Mirko Boehm delivered a compelling talk titled "EU Cybersecurity Regulation and Open Source Governance." The session dissected the implications of the EU Cyber Resilience Act on both commercial and non-commercial open source software development. He highlighted the increasing regulatory interest in software within the European Union (EU) and its impact on the open source community. The talk focused on key legislative initiatives such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act, which mandates standards for incorporated FOSS communities and open source businesses while excluding non-commercial FOSS and individual volunteer developers. 

Mirko Boehm at FOSS Backstage, Berlin

Mirko explored the blurred boundary between these entities and outlined the regulatory obligations, including maintenance processes, vulnerability reporting, certification requirements, and long-term product support. Additionally, the presentation emphasized collaboration between manufacturers and open source projects for compliance and long-term viability. Through actionable strategies, Mirko addressed how communities can adapt FOSS governance structures to align with regulatory roles, providing valuable insights into the evolving relationship between regulation, commercial interests, and open source development. Watch the recording now.

Register now for the webinar: The EU Cyber Resilience Act: A New Era for Business Engagement in Open Source Software

Join us for a complimentary live webinar sponsored by Linux Foundation Europe. The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) establishes essential cybersecurity requirements that all businesses and open source communities operating in the EU will have to implement. As the first EU-wide cybersecurity regulation that explicitly defines the separate roles of manufacturers and open source software stewards, it changes the playing field for the collaborative development of open source software and reshapes the relationship between open source foundations and their member companies. Key topics covered by this presentation include who is responsible for being CRA compliant, what the essential requirements and obligations are, and what support the Linux Foundation will provide in the redefined open source software steward role. Register now.

NGI Commons officially launched

The NGI Commons project is now well underway. Launched in January with five fellow consortium partners–Martel Innovate BV (the Netherlands), OpenForum Europe (Belgium), CNRS (France), Open Future (the Netherlands), Martel GmbH (Switzerland) - we will be working together to develop a long-term strategy for digital commons in Europe as well as a more coherent European funding landscape across both public and private sectors.

To this end, the consortium will conduct a series of initiatives, from policy mappings to stakeholder engagements. We at the LF Europe team will be leading a research study that seeks to measure the leverage effect that funding from the NGI Initiative has had on the evolution and growth of the digital commons in Europe. We look forward to sharing updates on our research and findings in the future.

Updates from Linux Foundation Europe projects 🚀

Sylva:

👩‍💻In March, Sylva engaged in face-to-face interactions, facilitating the exchange of innovative ideas and visions. Here's a roundup of recent developments:

👨‍🏫 Sylva Dev Day in Paris: Hosted by Orange, this event attracted over 70 participants from 20+ companies, including telecom operators, NF vendors, and integrators.

Sylva at Kubecon: Sylva showcased its cutting-edge initiatives at the Linux Foundation Europe booth during Kubecon, highlighting its role in shaping the future of telecom tech.

Sylva project team at the LF Europe booth at the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon

📢 Sylva leverages an MPN use case: Orange labs successfully deployed the Sylva project, demonstrating its agility and scalability. Watch the short video here.

Join the Sylva community - We're setting the stage for a smarter, more connected world. 🌐

OpenWallet Foundation:

The OpenWallet Foundation conducted two significant webinars in March.

The initial webinar celebrated the foundation's inaugural anniversary and unveiled its strategic vision for the OpenWallet Stack(s). This initiative is devised to streamline the creation process of user-friendly wallets through a comprehensive suite of open source tools and frameworks. The aim is to bolster interoperability and simplify development processes. Drawing inspiration from successful paradigms in the browser and Linux realms, the OpenWallet Stack aims to facilitate a broad spectrum of wallet offerings across various devices. It emphasizes user autonomy and endeavors to mitigate vendor lock-in.
In the subsequent webinar, the foundation welcomed representatives from the European Commission to unveil the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet Reference code to a global audience.

RISE:

RISE remains steadfast in its commitment to engineering endeavours, with a flurry of activities across its nine working groups, the recent release of the software optimization guide, and the ongoing Request for Proposal (RFP) process, which currently oversees six projects. These initiatives are made possible through funding from RISE membership dues, prompting continuous efforts to welcome new members who can contribute both engineering expertise and financial resources to bolster the RISC-V software ecosystem.

RISE is also busy attending or supporting various events in the next few months. Larry Wikelius will be speaking at the RISC-V Summit Europe in June in Munich, where RISE is a Bronze sponsor. Many RISE members are also sponsors of this big event for RISC-V in Europe. It's a great opportunity to meet RISE members and get the latest news.

Besides that, RISE is supporting Andes Corporation’s RISC-V Con in San Jose on June 11, RISC-V Day in Tokyo (dates to be announced), and RISC-V Summit China (dates to be announced) this summer. And don't forget about RISC-V Summit North America in the fall.

The RISE team hopes to see you at these events and to work together on the various projects they undertake with the community.

Servo:

March has witnessed significant strides in Servo's layout engine, marked by notable advancements.

Enhancements in Table Support: The month saw the integration of numerous pull requests (PRs) aimed at improving CSS table support within Servo. These enhancements are now enabled by default, leading to successful passage of over 50% of related tests. This collective effort, coupled with other layout refinements, has propelled the overall Web Platform Tests (WPT) pass rate to an impressive 56.8%, matching that of the legacy layout.

Welcoming New Contributors: Huge shoutout to all the awesome folks who sent PRs to the Servo team during the Outreachy contribution period.Their contributions played a pivotal role in addressing numerous Clippy warnings and enriching Rustdocs for Servo.

Android Updates: Significant progress was made on the Android front, including the addition of support for x86_64 images and resolution of rendering issues in emulators.

Opportunities to Support Servo: Interested parties now have the opportunity to sponsor the Servo project via platforms such as Github and Open Collective. Details regarding the utilisation of these funds can be found on the project's blog.

Conference talks: Rakhi Sharma, a member of the Servo team, is scheduled to deliver a presentation on Servo's achievements at the Open Source Summit North America on April 16, 2024, at 14:15 local time (21:15 UTC).

Top picks for reading/watching 📚

✨ Model Openness Framework: A week following the European Parliament’s vote to approve the AI Act on Wednesday, 13 March, participants in the LF AI & Data Foundation’s Generative AI Commons initiative were pleased to announce the launch of the Model Openness Framework (MOF). [Download paper: here]

This white paper presents a systematic approach to evaluating “open” machine learning models based on their completeness and openness. The MOF champions the principles of open science, open source, open data, and open access, insisting on the inclusion and open licensing of vital components throughout the model development lifecycle.

This marks just the beginning, as we anticipate the framework will garner additional feedback and undergo continuous evolution over time. Here is the link to the public version of the paper, available for the community to provide feedback: https://genaicommons.org/resources/publications/

✨Catch up on the insightful discussions and key insights from the EU Open Source Policy Summit 2024! Hosted by OpenForum Europe on February 2nd, this milestone event celebrated its 10th anniversary by bringing together policymakers, business and government leaders, developers, and experts. Dive into the keynote address by LF Europe GM Gabriele Columbro, where he underscores the crucial need to advance beyond simple adoption and cultivate markets and ecosystems that nurture open source projects for the long haul. Watch the recording now.

✨Delve into the intricacies of the Cyber Resilience Act and its impact on the landscape of Open Source Software (OSS) governance. Discover the emergence of a new entity in EU law: the Open Source Software Steward, tasked with sustaining the development of OSS products crucial for cybersecurity in commercial sectors. But what does this mean for Foundations potentially classified as OSS Stewards? Watch the recording now.

Explore the dynamic world of transatlantic open source collaboration with Mirko Boehm from Linux Foundation Europe, as he inspires NGI Sargasso's first open call innovators. Learn how Linux Foundation Europe serves as a neutral host for community-based projects, fostering global collaboration and empowering European voices in the open source landscape. Dive into the future of open source and its pivotal role in diverse industry sectors. Read now.

LF Research: New agenda, and a very important survey 

LF Research announces its 2024 agenda. Support our efforts by becoming a sponsor! 

LF Research is excited to announce a suite of new research studies on open source trends and opportunities across various industries, geographies, and technology domains. To aid this effort, we are seeking support from organizations to help fund our activities, generate a statistically significant survey sample, and maximize the impact of this research. Research provides organizations with valuable data and is a great opportunity to engage with, and hear from, the open source community at large. Influence outcomes, receive brand recognition, and a host of other benefits for your organization by sponsoring research.

Influence the evolution of software security education by taking an important survey.

LF Research and OpenSSF are partnering on a study to identify where organizations and IT professionals want to improve their security posture across the design and development of software development, and what educational tools are needed to get to that point. Your experience and perspective is invaluable to this project! As a thank you for completing the survey, you will receive a 30% discount on any Linux Foundation e-learning training course or certification exam.

LF AI + Data Outreach Survey

Gen AI Commons launched the LF AI & Data Outreach Survey which is designed to help better understand the community’s insights and perspectives on open-source and generative AI. The landscape of generative AI is rapidly evolving, and with it, the opportunities and challenges in the open-source realm grow. 

Training & certification🐧

Hatch a New Career with Our Courses & Certifications

🐣 Get ready to hatch a new career with our wide array of courses and certifications! 🌱 Enjoy a cracking 30% off sitewide with promo code APRIL24EU. But don't delay, this egg-citing offer ends April 12, 2024! Learn more.

Upcoming events 🗓️

• Webinar: The EU Cyber Resilience Act: A New Era for Business Engagement in Open Source Software
  Date & time: April 10, 2024 | 09:00 AM PDT (UTC-7)
  Learn more & register now.

• Automotive Grade Linux at Embedded World, Nuremberg, Germany 🇩🇪Apr 9–11, 2024
• RISC-V at embedded world, Nuremberg, Germany, 🇩🇪Apr 9–11, 2024
• Zephyr at embedded world, Nuremberg, Germany, 🇩🇪Apr 9–11, 2024  
• SOSS Policy Summit Europe, Brussels, Belgium 🇧🇪May 14, 2024  
• Open Source in Finance Forum, London 🇬🇧(OSFF) - June 26th - ways to get involved:
  • Sponsor the Diversity, Student, and Needs-Based Scholarships. Find more information here;
  • Sponsor OSFF 2024;
  • Register to attend;
  • Sign up for the latest OSFF updates

To register for in-person attendance or virtual LF events, please view our full calendar of events here, and be sure to subscribe to our events newsletter. Check out our Flickr stream for photos of past events!

Partner with Linux Foundation Europe for your next open source event

Planning an open source event in Europe? Let Linux Foundation Europe amplify your event's reach! To our members, we offer promotion on our social channels and newsletters, connecting you with a broad audience of open source enthusiasts. 

Reach out if you'd like a Linux Foundation Europe team member to speak at your local open source event. 

As an independent, trusted supporter, and vendor-neutral hub for open source projects in Europe, we accelerate collaborative efforts, connecting public and private sectors and individual contributors. 

Say “Hi!” to the LF Europe Team 👋

If you’d like to stay updated with what we’re up to at LF Europe, subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn & Discord.

We are excited to invite you to join the newly launched Bluesky channel of the Linux Foundation Europe for open source initiatives. We aim to create a platform where open source enthusiasts and experts can come together to discuss, collaborate, and work towards advancing the open source movement. Please check this link to follow. 

If you have ideas for new projects, please feel free to contact us at info@linuxfoundation.eu. We would be glad to explore how we can support your efforts. 

Finally, please also consider supporting LF Europe by participating (it’s free for existing Linux Foundation members, not for profit and public sector entities). 

On behalf of the LF Europe team, we look forward to hearing from you!