The Free State of Thuringia in Germany wants to increase the visibility of free and open source software. It is calling on the state’s companies, organisations and citizens to nominate projects involving open source, open data, open hardware or open access solutions for the Thüringer Open Source Preis (Thuringian open source award). Deadline for applications is 28 February.
The winner will be awarded EUR 7,500. Second and third prize are EUR 5,000 and EUR 2,500 respectively.
The open source award was launched by Thüringen’s Ministry of Economics, Science and Digital Society. The ministry aims to increase the visibility of open source solutions and promote public discussion, it explains on the award website. The award ceremony will take place during the IT-Leistungsschau 2019 IT trade fair on 28 March 2019 in the city of Erfurt.
Open source enables new forms of cooperative value creation, minister Wolfgang Tiefensee is quoted as saying in a press release by the ministry. “Especially for small businesses, open source offers access to innovation and new business models,” the minister said.
The state is itself setting an example. In its eGovernment law (Thüringer Gesetz zur Förderung der elektronischen Verwaltung) in May 2018, Thüringen emphasises the use of open source applications. The law also says that new software developed for or by the state’s public administrations will be shared under a free software licence.
More information:
Thuringia Open Source Award
Announcement of the open source award by the Ministry of Economics, Science and Digital Society (in German)