We are looking for a Program Manager to lead the #SovereignTechFellowship and #SovereignTechStandards network, two cohort-based programs that engage directly with open source maintainers and contributors.
You will drive the continued development of the cohorts and coordinate a range of mentoring opportunities. Your focus will be on aligning both programs with the Sovereign Tech Agency’s strategic objectives and ensuring that they create lasting impact across the open source ecosystem.
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We launched the Sovereign Tech Challenge (“Contribute Back”) in my first month, took the #SovereignTechFellowship from concept to pilot, to now 14 new fellows, and just last month brought the #SovereignTechStandards into the world.
Last year I came up with and developed a talk called “Open Source is a Sewer,” previewing it at #FOSSBackstage before giving it at #MonkiGras (thanks @redmonk!) and @lfeurope's #OpenSourceSummit Europe. The premise: open digital infrastructure deserves the same treatment as physical infrastructure, like water and sewage systems, something governments are expected to build and maintain quietly in the background. It's not just a provocative title!
Somewhere along the way, this stopped feeling only like a job and also like being part of a community. A global group of people who care, often invisibly, about the infrastructure holding up the digital world. We see each other at events like #FOSDEM, and I'm looking forward to #UNOpenSourceWeek in a few days. 2/3
Wir haben ein Memorandum of Understanding mit DIN, dem Deutschen Institut für Normung e. V. unterzeichnet. Ziel ist es, die Beteiligung von Open Source in der internationalen Standardisierungsarbeit zu stärken.
Diese Partnerschaft ist ein konkreter Schritt zur Weiterentwicklung des #SovereignTechStandards Netzwerks. Das Pilotprogramm unterstützt eine Gruppe von Open-Source-Maintainer*innen dabei, sich aktiv an der Standardisierungsarbeit in Organisationen wie @ietf, @w3c und #ISO zu beteiligen.
A bread recipe written without bakers may list the right ingredients but still fail in practice. The same is true for technical standards: when the people who create, test, and maintain #OpenSource software are absent from standards development, the results can become impractical or misaligned with the public interest.
The #SovereignTechStandards network supports open source maintainers to participate in standards development at IETF, W3C, & ISO with financial support, training, & mentoring. 2/
Final reminder: The deadline for applications to join the #SovereignTechStandards network is Tuesday, 19 May 2026, at 23:59 CEST.
Open standards shape the digital infrastructure we all rely on. But standards are only as good as the expertise behind them.
https://www.sovereign.tech/programs/standards
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#SovereignTechAgency #DigitalInfrastructure #OpenStandards #FOSS #Maintainers
Open standards shape critical digital infrastructure. But the people implementing those standards are often missing from the processes that define them.
In a survey of over 150 #OpenSource #Maintainers, we found strong interest in standards participation and specific structural barriers to sustained engagement.
Learn more about what maintainers told us, and how the new #SovereignTechStandards network aims to close that gap. Applications are open until 19 May 2026!
(more Linux and FOSS news in previous posts of thread)
Vulkan 1.4.350 Released With Three New Extensions:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Vulkan-1.4.350
VideoLAN publishes dav2d, an early CPU decoder for AV2 video codec:
https://videocardz.com/newz/videolan-publishes-dav2d-an-early-cpu-decoder-for-av2-video-codec
GnuPG introduces support for post-quantum crypto encryption & 64-bit Windows improvements:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/4/gnupg-introduces-support-for-post-quantum-crypto-encryption-and-64-bit-windows-improvements/
Germany's Sovereign Tech Agency launches Sovereign Tech Standards to support open standards:
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/04/germanys-sovereign-tech-agency-launches-sovereign-tech-standards-to-support-open-standards/
Star Labs Releases Coreboot Firmware 26.05 with New Features for Its Linux PCs:
https://9to5linux.com/star-labs-releases-firmware-26-05-with-new-features-for-its-linux-pcs
More retro goodies - Microsoft open sources 86-DOS and PC-DOS:
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/04/more-retro-goodies-microsoft-open-sources-86-dos-and-pc-dos/
stremio v5 adds media key support, subtitle options, and HDR improvements:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/4/stremio-v5-adds-media-key-support-subtitle-options-and-hdr-improvements/
FreeBSD 15.1 Beta Released For Early Testing:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/FreeBSD-15.1-Beta-1
#WeeklyNews #OpenSource #FOSSNews #FOSS #OpenSourceNews #News #Vulkan #dav2d #AV2 #GnuPG #SovereignTechStandards #Coreboot #86dos #PCDOS #stremio #FreeBSD #BSD #Encryption #Privacy #Multimedia #RetroOS #OS #Firmware #FosseryTech
Sovereign Tech Agency
Powen Shiah
Fossery Tech 
