Held during the Linux Foundation OSSummit Japan in Tokyo, this panel highlighted the role of open source software in advancing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through public-private partnerships. The discussion covered Japan’s evolving OSS landscape, global efforts for digital public goods, and government-led OSS strategies in Europe. People can watch the panel discussion here.
Key Discussion Points
Japan’s OSS Evolution & Digital Transformation
Kusunori-san, Director-General (Digital Agency of the Japanese Government) outlined Japan’s journey in OSS, emphasizing the role of the Digital Agency and collaborative OSS projects like abr-geocoder. However, Japan still faces challenges in OSS maintenance and coordination, especially in emerging areas like LLMs. Kusunoki underscored the need for a centralized OSPO in Japan to foster greater interoperability and international collaboration.
We believe that coordinating OSS efforts through an OSPO, rather than having individual departments work on them separately, would be effective in improving interoperability and deepening international collaboration
Kusunori-san, Director-General (Digital Agency of the Japanese Government)
OSS Impact on UN SDGs
Omar Moshine stressed OSS’s role in sustainable development, especially through UN initiatives such as Mind the OS Gap, Reboot the Earth, and OSS4SDG. These programs aim to leverage OSS to address challenges like food security and climate change by fostering inclusivity and community-driven solutions. Omar announced upcoming UN Open Source Principles to guide agency-level adoption of OSS.
Looking ahead, OSPOs for Good 2025 promises to be even larger, featuring a three-day conference with side events to enhance networking. Through these efforts, we aim to align our work with the UN’s milestones for sustainable development, leveraging open source to drive meaningful change.
Omar Moshine, Open Source Coordinator (United Nations’ Open Source Program Office)
Industry-Government Collaboration: Lessons Learned
Sujata Tibrewala shared examples of successful public-private partnerships, such as France’s use of FledgePOWER to modernize power systems. Sujata highlighted the Aadhar project in India as a transformative OSS-based initiative, helping provide secure digital identities. She emphasized the synergy between corporate efficiency and government inclusivity for creating impactful, scalable OSS solutions.
Open source is typically underfunded and pretty often I see players use it without ever giving back. If you are developing any kind of software, do an inventory management audit of your software like you would for any bill of material, chances are you are more dependent on Open source than you realize.
Sujata Tibrewala, Open Source Community & Ecosystems Manager (LF Edge Board)
EU’s OSPO Movement and Economic Impact
Ana Jiménez, Senior Open Source Project Manager (Linux Foundation), introduced recent findings from a European Commission study, predicting OSS contributions could boost EU GDP by 0.4-0.6% annually. OSPOs in Germany and other EU countries are helping drive economic growth and digital transformation. Through these offices, governments support and manage OSS as part of broader digital strategies.
Bastien Guerry introduced, the digital transformation in France and EU collaborations through OSPO. Shared a few of the current France’s OSS initiatives, including BlueHats and La Suite, designed to promote digital sovereignty. France’s “experimental” OSPO focuses on publishing code and collaborating across public sectors, with key initiatives like the Public Tender for Free Software and efforts to ensure accessibility across government platforms.
Governments should have a role in encouraging diversity to aid minority participation in open source and aid them and helping minority representation
Bastien Guerry, Free Software Officer (France’s Interministerial Digital Directorate)
Closing Thoughts
The panelists’ insights reinforced that expanding OSPOs and fostering public-private partnerships worldwide will be crucial for achieving not only, technology problems, but also socio-economic challenges. Kere are a few takeaways shared:
Expanding OSPOs Worldwide Public OSPOs play a critical role in unifying OSS efforts across sectors, promoting economic resilience, and fostering innovation.
Supporting the Global South Omar and Sujata stressed the importance of involving the Global South in OSS. Sujata highlighted the importance of diversity and the need to professionalize open work to support broader participation.
Encouraging Accessibility & Inclusivity Governments in Japan, France, and elsewhere are setting standards for accessibility in OSS projects. Policies that mandate accessible public services can help drive OSS adoption and ensure software solutions are available to all citizens.
Scaling OSS for Sustainability OSS offers an adaptable framework that can scale sustainably if managed well. OSPOs provide a structure for building processes, culture, and incentives for OSS-driven productivity gains.