Inkscape supports German petition to recognize Open Source volunteers

May 13, 2026, 2:33 p.m.

Inkscape is driven by volunteers who gift us (all of us, that includes you!) their most valuable resource: their time. If there's something that we can give back to them, it's our appreciation and our support to see them recognized for all their efforts.

This is why the Inkscape project has joined the group of supporting organizations for the German petition to recognize open source work as volunteering for the common good ("Ehrenamt"). Despite the petition being local to Germany, we believe that strengthening the position of open source contributors there will be beneficial to the open source community as a whole.

Today it's Germany, tomorrow other countries might follow. We are all part of the open source community - every little step forward helps!

What is a petition in Germany?

Petitions in Germany are the first step in a democratic process, which can be initiated by anybody and where everybody, regardless of their location can participate. Someone puts an issue into writing and starts collecting signatures. If a certain number of signatures is reached, representatives of the petition can present their issue to politicians in a public hearing (German). 

Why does Inkscape support this petition in Germany?

Because of the bigger picture. Strengthening the public recognition of open source volunteer contributors – the heart and soul of projects like ours – is something we need to rally behind. We're hoping for a ripple effect: today it's Germany, tomorrow it might be the country you are contributing from. The open source community as a whole does benefit from such improvements, even if they start out small and locally.

What would happen in Germany if this petition succeeds?

It would turn "that hobby that your nerd friends are pursuing" into "volunteering for the common good" over night. That would be huge! For the volunteers, the official recognition may also come with small financial benefits, e.g. reduced entry fees for museums, depending upon their location and tax benefits under certain conditions.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves: in order to even have a chance of succeeding, this matter needs to be put on the agenda of Germany's government first. And that's why supporting this early step is so important.

Draw Freely.