10th July 2020 – London, UK – OpenUK, the advocacy and industry organisation for Open Technology in the UK, today announced that it has joined the Open Source Initiative (OSI), Linux Foundation, the Eclipse Foundation and the Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation as well as entering into a partnership with the Open Hardware Group and a Friends arrangement with the Open Data Institute. The organisation will participate in these bodies to support their goals around open source software, open hardware and open data development across the world.
In addition, Amanda Brock of OpenUK has joined the KDE Advisory Board, bringing her skills and experience around open source, governance and community development to the organisation.
Alongside this, OpenUK has been developing its community links through partnerships with a number of Friend organisations that will support OpenUK in its approach. Friend organisations for OpenUK include the BCS, the Free and Open Source Silicon Foundation (FOSSi) and KDE.
OpenUK is building on its mission to represent the open technology community in the UK and develop more opportunities for UK individuals, projects and companies to be successful around the world. This is based on a mix of community engagement, education reform and campaigning on issues that are dependent on the role of open technology for their future success.
“It goes without saying that open source and open culture are global phenomena, and while there are shared issues we can collaborate on, there’s so much variation around the world that we really need strong homegrown advocates like OpenUK. As such, the Open Source Initiative is pleased to formalise our partnership with OpenUK and are eager to support their mission,” commented Josh Simmons, President, at OSI.
“We are excited to have OpenUK join the Eclipse Foundation and support our mission around open source software. Our approach is based on maintaining a community environment for open source that is mature, business-friendly and scalable over time, and these goals mesh well with the ambitions that OpenUK has for open source and open data companies in the United Kingdom and around the world. We are looking forward to our future collaboration around open technology,” said Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director at the Eclipse Foundation.
“It’s such a unique opportunity to partner with an organisation like OpenUK that is at the forefront of driving open infrastructure conversations across the UK. Amanda and the entire team at OpenUK truly understand the importance of open hardware and its role in creating a holistic open ecosystem. Additionally, it’s great to see the breadth of their efforts across the UK including private and public sector engagements and most notably, educating the UK’s next generation of IT students on open source,” said Steve Helvie, Vice President of Channel, OCP.
“Open source development benefits all organisations and individuals that get involved, delivering faster collaboration and providing a platform for open hardware innovation. At OpenHW Group, our aims around open hardware development and the community we’re building fit well with the objectives that OpenUK has in place, so we are pleased to be collaborating with each other,” commented Rick O’Connor, President and CEO, OpenHW Group.
Amanda Brock, CEO at OpenUK stated: “We are expanding our partnerships across the open technology ecosystem to develop how we represent the needs of individuals, projects and businesses involved in open technology. By working together in this way, we can provide a voice for companies in the UK internationally around why the UK is a great location for open business, why UK talent is developing around open themes, and will ensure that we continue to have a seat at the table around decisions that will affect the development of the industry for years to come.”
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About OpenUK
OpenUK is the industry association representing Open Technology being open source software, open source hardware and open data organisations across the UK. As an industry association, OpenUK gives its participants greater influence than they could ever achieve alone. OpenUK is committed to supporting collaboration between businesses, public sector organisations, government and communities to expand the opportunities available to all around open technology. It is building a visible community, ensuring the UK’s laws and policies work for Open and promoting learning in Open Technology. OpenUK is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, company number 11209475.
Contact:
Mark Kember
onebite for OpenUK
+44 (0)1635 887707
