P2P Foundation

The P2P Foundation (officially, The Foundation for P2P Alternatives) is a non-profit organization and global network dedicated to advocacy and research of commons oriented peer to peer (P2P) dynamics in society. P2P can be characterized by the presence of open, participatory processes of production and governance for the creation of common goods, whose universal access is guaranteed by licenses such as Creative Commons or the GPL (GNU General Public License). P2P dynamics are most visible today in the many communities and movements self-organising around the co-creation of culture and knowledge. Some of the most well known examples are: Free/Open Source Software, Free Culture, Open Hardware, and Open Access in education and science. Our wider network consists of independent researchers and academics active in grassroots social movements and in public and private sector institutions, working for the transition to a P2P future. P2P Foundation members are active all over the world, with representatives in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, South America, and North America.