A recent paper titled: “Open Source and Free Software: Perspectives and Visions of Open Source Actors” (in French) has been published by the OpenStudio group. Compiling 15 interviews, and providing an analysis of them, this white paper gives an overview of various actors of the French open source community. OpenStudio, a digital services company engaged in open source and a member of OW2 since 2023, has sought to contribute in its own way by publishing a white paper. The arguments and numerous testimonials in this white paper, complementary to other high-quality works on the subject, aim to shed light on the reasons for the potential significant development of open source in the coming decades. It also highlights the obstacles that still need to be overcome for this model to be more widely embraced by economic, private, public, or associative actors.
We particularly recommend the public sector representatives interview like the one from Nicolas Vivant who we had the pleasure to hear during our last OSOR webinars and who explained his work in english. Also don’t miss the interview of Jean-Luc Dorel, Program Officer at the European Commission, who explains his role on the Next Generation Internet Program and how they finance open source projects.
Emmanuel Nurit, co-founder and president of OpenStudio, shared with us:
"Our involvement in the open-source ecosystem extends to our membership in the OW2 association. It's essential for us not just to be users of open source, but to actively contribute to the promotion of this model. Our motivation to produce original content on the prospects of open source arose from our interactions with the community, especially at events like the Open Source Experience and OW2’con. The richness of discussions provides a fertile ground for shaping the future of open source in Europe, and we found it relevant to gather insights from open source stakeholders to offer guidance to decision-makers."
Céline Patissier, editorial manager at OpenStudio, added, “Before writing this white paper, we reflected on not creating a resource that duplicates existing content. Other companies or associations have published highly informative white papers on the history, definition, models, licences, and philosophy of open source. We took a journalistic inquiry approach to identify the current challenges of open source. The goal was also to gather perspectives from open source actors coming from various backgrounds, allowing them ample space to express their ideas. We chose to include in-depth interviews at the end of the document to ensure everyone has a broad platform for expression.”