Twenty years ago this summer, Linus Torvalds made a bold decision to share his operating system with the world. Not long after that, he chose to license it under the General Public License. Nothing in computing has been the same since.

In fact, today Linux is the largest collaborative development project in the history of computing, which means that the 20th Anniversary of Linux is an opportunity for the community to come together in celebration of this great success story and in collaboration on how it will define the next 20 years of Linux.

Today Linux is literally everywhere: in your phone, at your ATM, in your TV, on your desktop, at the movies, in your car, and in more places than I can write in one blog. It is everywhere because of everyone. We’re announcing today our plans for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Linux and hope we can provide a variety of forums, online and in-person, where everyone can contribute to this important milestones.

We’re kicking things off with an exclusive video produced by The Linux Foundation that is one way to tell the Story of Linux:

We hope this video will inspire submissions for the annual Linux Foundation Video Contest, which is being announced today and for which Linux creator Linus Torvalds will choose the best. This year’s submissions should show and celebrate the impact of Linux on computing, business or culture over the last 20 years. The winner will be revealed at LinuxCon in Vancouver August 17-19, 2011. Submit your video here: http://video.linux.com/20th-anniversary-video-contest

We’re also inviting you to record a 20th anniversary message to Linus and the whole community in our Video Booth onsite today at the Collaboration Summit and at upcoming events, such as LinuxCon Japan and LinuxCon in Vancouver, B.C.

We’re all a part of the story of Linux. Please contribute to its celebration with us. For more information on all of this year’s celebrations, please visit: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/20th