As the headline suggests, there is a petition on openpetition.de (English version) that I believe is worthy of support. Here is the text of the petition:
“Open-Source-Software builds the foundations of digital infrastructure in big parts - in administration, economy, science and daily life. Even the current coalition agreement of the Federal Government mentions Open-Source-Software as a fundamental building block for the achievement of digital sovereignty.
However, the work done by thousands of volunteers for this goal is not recognised as volunteering, neither fiscally nor in terms of funding. This imbalance between societal importance and legal status has to be corrected.
Therefore, as an active contributor to Open-Source-Projects, I call for work on Open-Source to be recognised as volunteering for the common good – of equal rank as volunteer work for associations, youth work or ambulance service.”
German version is availabe here
Please sign!
[Edit: Corrected petition link]