OSI Board Blog

The new OSI Board met in Washington DC last week. We held an effective face-to-face meeting where we discussed the progress of our plans to transform OSI into a member-based organisation. We held officer elections, once again electing Martin Michlmayr as Secretary, filling the vacancy for CFO left by Alolita Sharma by electing Karl Fogel and replacing him as Assistant Treasurer by electing Mike Milinkovich. I was re-elected as President and thank the Board for that vote of confidence in this time of change.

One of the ways we're turning OSI into a member organisation is to gradually replace the Board with member-selected directors. This process started last year when OSI's Affiliate members -- non-profit organizations themselves -- selected candidates for the Board.

Software Freedom Conservancy have announced a fundraising campaign for an Open Source non-profit accounting system.

Pleased to share the news that OSI will host a three hour open source license clinic as part of its non-profit educational mission, in collaboration with federal agency participants and the Washington D.C. technology community. The event will take place May 9 from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Library of Congress and is free, pre-registration required. The clinic is designed as a cross-industry, cross-community workshop for legal, contract, acquisition and program professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of open source software licenses, and raise their proficiency to better serve their organizations objectives as well as identify problems which may be unique to government. More details available at the event registration site.

Since it has been roughly one year since the newest board members were chosen, I'd like to put on my new hat as chair of the License Committee and recap some license committee highlights from this past year.

Some things that got done:

The OSI board, which meets in person at least twice per annum, has selected Washington D.C. as the location for the Spring 2013 Board of Directors Meeting. The city serves as a central location for gathering the OSI's geographically diverse board membership. It is also considered a location of open source policy dialog and debate as well as high-profile implementations within US federal government operations.

Former OSI Board member Danese Cooper writes:

One of the pillars of the Indian FOSS Community passed away this week. Known for his humor, his uncompromising honesty and his generosity in sharing FOSS knowledge with like-minded individuals. His sudden passing after a massive heart attack has shocked and saddened his friends across the FOSS World.

Following discussions about the Open Source and Open Source Hardware logos, OSI and the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) have worked together to compose a co-existence agreement on behalf of their representative communities. We are pleased to announce that this document (PDF) has been approved and signed by both parties!

The OSI Board has approved Affiliate membership for the following organisations: