[Forge platforms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forge_(software)) are
collaborative development platforms that today hold an essential place in the
contemporary digital ecosystem. For this simple and unique reason, they
represent a significant issue for free software. The creation of the
interministerial working group "Forgeons !" ("Let's Forge!") in November 2024, reflects this reality through the diversity of its protagonists: Education, Culture, Research, Information and Environmental Sciences, Citizenship.
With Microsoft's acquisition of Github in 2018, and more recently with [the
increased pressure from digital giants](https://archive.is/Hcwvk) on the
European ecosystem, the need for a free and independent development platform is
even more pronounced. It thus becomes crucial to counterbalance the hegemony of
the [Big Tech](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Tech) by strengthening the
role of free and alternative forges such as
[Gitlab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitLab) and
[SourceHut](https://sourcehut.org/). It is in this context that the work group pays particular attention to the [Forgejo](https://forgejo.org) project as a fully free platform, supported by a dynamic community, and moreover, [anchored in Europe](https://docs.codeberg.org/getting-started/what-is-codeberg/#what-is-codeberg-e.v.%3F).
A first open workday for all audiences will be held on March 13, 2025, at the
