mchauvet's Quotes

The implication for over a decade of April in the promotion and defense of Free Software, on ethical, philosophical, political and economic grounds, make it a mature player. As such, April better understands the intrinsic nature of software, its implications for the building of an "information society" and the dangers to the free development of the latter.

There is no need to present April: that's the privilege of those who are well-known and recognized. Regarding Free Software, April has started so many initiatives over the last 12 years that we can't count them: from the battle against software patents to the Free-related economic models, as well as the GPL and its involvement in numerous Free-related events. The activity of the association is going crescendo, and therefore, as an organization, April is gaining momentum. April intervenes in many areas of society, especially education.

Free software is a thriving intellectual heritage, which humanity has a real need for, and thanks to April's action it is particularly strong in France; businesses that are part of the Free Software market should never forget that this heritage is threatened and the daily struggle of April is vital for Free Software.

As a European service company, Steria has always been willing to fully engage as an actor of the Free Software community. In addition to our references, our partnerships reflect this commitment. It is this same desire that led us to join April as early as 2006, because it plays in our view a fundamental role in promoting Free-related topics amongst industrialists and the general public.

InLibroVeritas is a book publisher founded in 2005 with an editorial guideline of publishing in physical or digital format only works under Free/Open licenses. The work done by April is therefore essential for the sustainability of InLibroVeritas when facing the dangers of DRM or laws such as DADVSI. Running thanks to Free Software and having borrowed from it its legal approach, its philosophy and its economics, it is essential for InLibroVeritas to support April's actions for a fairer and forward-looking ecosystem.

April is now recognized for its work in the Free-related world and more widely for its effectiveness in key areas for citizens such as software patents and the evolution of public policy. April has been deserving such an award for some time, so bravo. The many volunteers and members of the association should take this award as an encouragement to continue this excellent work!

April is an amazing combination, bringing together the most varied members of Free Software and thus faces a multiplicity of perspectives. The strengths of April are certainly to know how to synthesize these views always in an appropriate way and to successfully push forward often complex topics, which we hold dear, using its positioning and the recognition it has with the government, administrative services and various political parties.

I am very pleased that April be awarded today because it is fully justified. It perfectly reflects the commitment and voluntarism that its members have demonstrated at events whose impact is unknown to most of us. I had the opportunity to see the commitment of April during the debate on OOXML, especially through their action to alert politicians regarding the potential consequences of changing the users' ability to choose. This is a recurring problem, fervently and regularly defended by April.

April plays an essential role in the development of Free Software in France, and thus indirectly to the economic future of our country. Thanks to the passion of its members, this organization has become indispensable representative for officials. The rapid increase in April's memberships will strengthen the voice of economic players as well as of individuals, in a country where the Free Software adoption rate of 24% places us at the top of the charts.

Since its inception, April has always been there to keep our minds alert when it comes to protect, improve and learn about the Free Software ecosystem. It would be interesting to think about what would be the position of Free Software in France if April had not been there and done all this work on the political and technological grounds... Our country's lead and recognition in this area owes much to April and its ability to mobilize the energy of other actors at all critical moments of the short and intense history of Free Software.