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Opening New Paths for Open Source

The Open Source Initiative

Dear OSI community,

The past few weeks took me from New York to Halifax to Prague, and I came home with a full notebook and a long list of follow-ups.

At UN Digital Cooperation Day (part of the 81st UN General Assembly), I joined a panel on Open Source AI to reinforce the importance of shared language and common definitions when crafting policy. Later that day I joined Creative Commons and the NYU Engelberg Center for a conversation about openness and digital sovereignty. My key message there was simple: open by itself does very little, but enables a lot. You can read more about these talks, plus the inaugural 50-in-5 Awards, in Nick Vidal’s blog post Open Enables a Lot: The OSI at UNGA81.

My next stop was Stakeholder Day as part of Open Source Congress in Halifax. It was great to connect with leaders from more than 40 foundations as they formed working groups on global collaboration, sustainability, security, regulatory policy, AI, and governance. These are big problems, and it was encouraging to see so many organizations sign up to work on them together.

While we were in Halifax, the OSI staff and board spent time together in person. We don’t get to do that very often, and it was great to take some time to review our work, look ahead, and take meals together. I came away from Halifax excited about our plans for 2027, and gratitude for outgoing Board Chair Tracy Hinds. Tracy, thank you for your steady, thoughtful leadership, and your counsel throughout my first months in this role.

At Open Source Summit Europe in Prague, I spent my time connecting with leaders and advocates on the ground. The European open source community is vibrant as sovereignty, security, Open Source AI, and sustainability drive important conversations to which the OSI will continue to contribute.

As we head into Q4, your organizations may be planning 2027 budgets or looking at accruals or unspent marketing budget. Now is the time to advocate for the OSI with your leaders and partners in Finance. We have an exciting slate of new sponsor benefits planned for 2027, and great momentum as we head into a transformational year. We want you to be part of that journey. Let’s talk. Email our team at [email protected] or grab a slot in my office hours. Or come find me in the State of the Source track at All Things Open this week!

Warm regards,
Duane O'Brien
Executive Director, OSI

News from the OSI

At UNGA81, OSI joined conversations on Open Source AI, digital sovereignty, and digital public infrastructure. Open by itself does very little but enables a lot.

Over the years, OSI’s work has expanded beyond the Open Source Definition and licensing to encompass policy and standards, research and education, and Open Source AI. The new website brings these areas into clearer focus, making it easier for the community and our partners to discover what we do and find ways to get involved.

The OSI has teamed up again with Perforce Zend and OpenLogic, as well as the Eclipse Foundation, for the 2027 State of Open Source Survey.

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This targeted consultation aims at gathering stakeholders’ views on specific issues and challenges related to the use of copyright-protected content in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI), research, the fight against online piracy, and the use in the EU of the sound recordings of third country nationals.

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