April is central to the development of Free Software in France

Free software has become a fundamental tool for ensuring the security of computer systems, data independence, network interoperability and user training. This major success is attracting more and more public administrations, businesses and all citizens concerned in avoiding the control of their privacy and their collective activities around information and knowledge. This worldwide success is due to the perseverance of a few players since the establishment of the Free Software Foundation in 1984 by Richard M. Stallman. The thousands of programmers within the Free community are involved in the formation of the full range of software and applications. But associations play a different and more fundamental role: they coalesce these programmers into active communities. By initiating discussions between members of the different Free communities, by providing information to public authorities, teachers and companies, April is central to the development of Free Software in France. Thanks to the example it sets of a community building, defending and constantly improving open and cooperative common goods, the Free Software movement is a source of inspiration for many other sectors of society who want to build a world of sharing and exchange, here and now, with their collective intelligence. April helps to put meaning in all these projects towards an inclusive and supportive information society. And April bears the message of these grass-root communities to all established powers. That is a major and crucial role.