NGI Commons Workshop 2024: Co-Creating Digital Commons Priorities for Europe's Digital Decade
2024-06-05 09:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Amsterdam) | Tolhuistuin, IJpromenade 2,, Amsterdam, 1031 KT, Netherlands
Have you ever thought in detail about what a more open Internet might look like? Have you wondered how governments might work more in the open alongside the rest of society? Or perhaps you’ve considered what it might look like to more intentionally co-create Europe’s digital future by developing shared, public interest digital resources and infrastructures?
If so, the NGI Commons project would like to invite you to join a unique one-day workshop in Amsterdam, in the lead up to the PublicSpaces Conference 2024. This exploratory workshop will inform participants about what digital commons are and their increasing relevance in the European digital policy landscape, as well as work with attendees to co-create priorities for digital commons policymaking during the rest of Europe’s digital decade. The event will also raise awareness around opportunities for funding for digital commons projects in the Next Generation Internet (NGI) ecosystem.
The workshop is an input into the research and policy work of the NGI Commons Initiative, with the outputs being summarized in a detailed policy report that will inform future activities of the initiative. In the morning, we will catch participants up to speed on digital commons policies, the Next Generation Internet (NGI) Initiative, and the state of the digital commons ecosystem through interactive presentations and seminars. In the afternoon, we will engage participants to brainstorm priorities, topics, and technologies that could be of relevance to future digital commons policymaking in the EU.
Throughout the day, we will consider questions like:

Which ongoing initiatives are underway in Europe that seek to impact the policy landscape for digital commons?
Which European values and principles are key to uphold through new policies around digital commons?
What should the future of the digital commons landscape look like in Europe and how might that differ according to the needs of different groups (e.g., national governments, civil society, private sector, development partners, etc)?

This workshop will take place in-person at Tolhuistuin on 5 June from 09:00-17:00 in Amsterdam. If you wish to attend, please register at the link on the NGI Commons website. We hope that participants will also take the opportunity to join us in Amsterdam at the PublicSpaces Conference 2024, which is happening in the two days after the workshop.

OSPOs for Good 2024: Open Source Networks as Enablers of Global Digital Cooperation
2024-07-09 - 2024-07-10 | Headquarters of the United Nations, 405 E 45th St, New York City, NY, 10017, United States
OpenForum Europe (OFE) is thrilled to be co-organizing the OSPOs for Good 2024 Conference at the United Nations!
This second edition of the OSPOs for Good symposium will be a multi-day conference held on 9th and 10th July 2024 at the UN headquarters in New York City, with a richer global presence of diverse open source thinkers, and with bigger ambitions and strides for championing OSPOs as a global network for good. This is a fully UN-hosted conference which has been co-organized by OFE, alongside the UN Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (UNOICT), and OSPO++, and in conjunction with the German Federal Chancellery and the Government of Kenya.
While the 2024 conference will of course focus on the role of Open Source Programme Offices (OSPOs) like last year’s event, this conference will expand the scope to focus on how the conversation around OSPOs are enabling new forms of global cooperation around open source for good in countries. In delivering on this ambition, the 2024 conference is set to be ‘bigger and better’ in every way, serving as a high-level coming out party for open source in the UN system. It will deliver high-level thematic tracks that address key areas of open source policy, as well as highlight emerging examples of ‘open source for good’ from across the globe.
For more information and to register, head on over to the UN website.

Open Tech Afterwork @ OSPOs for Good
2024-07-09 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Bierhaus NYC, 712 3rd Ave, At 45th Street, New York City, NY, United States
Join us for our Open Tech Afterwork in New York, a social event on Tuesday 9 July for all attendees of the UN’s OSPOs for Good 2024 conference. The Governments of Kenya and Germany, along with the UN’s Tech Envoy and the UN Office of ICT, have brought the open source communities to the UN’s headquarters. Now let’s bring the UN to an open source social!
Date: 9 July 2024
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Venue: Bierhaus NYC, 712 3rd Ave, At 45th Street, New York City, NY (subject to change)
In this spirit, several open source organisations have collaborated to crowdfund and co-organise this occasion. We extend extra gratitude to Mozilla for their significant contribution!
Sponsors

OpenForum Academy Symposium 2024
2024-11-13 - 2024-11-14 | Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard
Visit the dedicated
Symposium website

EU Open Source Policy Summit
2025-01-31
The EU Open Source Policy Summit is Europe’s premier event for high-level open source policy discussions. This Summit provides a platform for the new EU administration to engage in meaningful dialogue with the European open source community. As authorities on the innovation model powering the digital domain, our speakers will explore ways to harness open source and global collaborative innovation to establish a competitive and sovereign digital environment. The event will feature insights from leading policymakers, OSS business leaders, software stewards, advocates, and academics. Together, they will share their perspectives and propose strategies for shaping the digital policy framework over the next five years.

Does the EU need a New European Standardisation Organisation?
2025-05-21 16:30 - 19:15 (Europe/Brussels) | Avenue des Arts 56, 1000 Brussels, Avenue des Arts 56, Brussels, 1000, Belgium
Europe’s legislative landscape is shifting through regulations like the Cyber Resilience Act, the AI Act, and the Data Act, which increasingly impact software. As software development increasingly relies on open source and agile methodologies, existing standardisation bodies face difficulties adapting their processes to meet these needs. This event will explore whether the European Standardisation System can adapt or if a new entity is required to address the specific needs of IT standardisation.
Is there a need to establish a new European Standards Organisation (ESO) to handle the increasingly software-driven nature of IT standardisation and legal requirements from EU software legislation? While historically successful, current structures and processes of the existing ESOs are seen by many in the IT and open source communities as ill-suited for the fast-evolving demands of software. This roundtable will bring together a broad range of participants from industry, policy, and the open technology community to openly discuss challenges in IT standardisation and the need for a new ESO and the potential requirements for such an organisation.

Where? Avenue des Arts 56, DaVinci room
When? 16:30 – 19:15

Open Source and the European Union | Poland | OFE Capital Series
2025-06-11 12:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Belvedere Restaurant, Agrykola 1, Warsaw, 00-460, Poland
Sign up now to join OpenForum Europe and partners for the next edition of the Capital Series events, taking place in Warsaw on 11 June 2025 under the auspices of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Marking the sixth instalment of our cyclical events, Capital Series Poland will bring Brussels-level discussions of open source policy directly to Warsaw under the title “Open Source and the European Union”. This will provide a unique opportunity for the local open source community to directly engage with EU and national policymakers to better understand policies that impact the Polish market, and how Poland leverages open source to solve its political challenges. The discussions will cover digitalisation, cybersecurity, AI, skills, and digital sovereignty in the context of the Polish Presidency of the Council.
Capital Series events are single-day, high-level policy gatherings dedicated to advancing open source policy priorities in alignment with the objectives of the member states holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Series builds on the OFE’s annual EU Open Source Policy Summit in Brussels to further connect the dots between the EU and national policy cycles.

Where?
Restaurant Belvedere Nowa Oranżeria, Agrykola 1, 00-460 Warszawa, Poland
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Also, don’t miss the European Open Source Business Association APELL’s Ideas Conference the day before, also in Warsaw.

Solving the Standardisation Dilemma
2025-10-22 16:30 - 18:30 (Europe/Brussels)
Europe’s digital policy agenda is expanding rapidly, with legislative initiatives such as the Cyber Resilience Act and the AI Act placing new and urgent demands on the production of harmonised standards. A central dilemma is emerging: how can the European Standardisation System (ESS) move fast enough to meet policy and market needs, while ensuring inclusive processes that reflect diverse expertise and interests?
A structural driver of the demand for reform is the shift to a software-defined world. The ESS was built around the needs of hardware development, but today’s standards increasingly concern software systems that evolve through agile and iterative processes. Standardisation bodies are struggling to keep pace, raising questions about whether the system can adapt—or whether a new approach is needed.
This roundtable will explore how openness, as practised in collaborative innovation models such as open source development, can offer a pathway through this dilemma. By embracing openness in governance and process—transparency, inclusiveness, and modular iteration—the ESS can become more responsive without sacrificing legitimacy. This is not only a matter of technical process but of strategic significance: Europe’s ability to shape global technology standards, maintain digital sovereignty, and remain competitive depends on it.
The event will bring together policymakers, industry experts, and the broader technology community to examine how openness can help align the ESS with the demands of a software-driven economy and a rapidly evolving political landscape. The event is held under Chatham House Rule.
Where? Maison de la Poste, Rue Picard 7, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
When? 22 October 2025, 16:30 – 18:30, followed by networking drinks with the Code & Compliance participants.

Open Source and the European Union | Denmark | OFE Capital Series
2025-10-23 12:45 - 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Danish Parliament (Christiansborg) – Landstingssal, Folketinget Christiansborg, Copenhagen, 1218, Denmark
Sign up now to join OpenForum Europe and partners for the next edition of the Capital Series events, taking place in Copenhagen on 23 October 2025.
Marking the seventh instalment of our cyclical events, Capital Series Denmark will bring Brussels-level discussions of open source policy directly to Copenhagen. This event will provide a unique opportunity for the local open source community to directly engage with EU and national policymakers to better understand policies that impact the Danish market.
Capital Series events are single-day, high-level policy gatherings dedicated to advancing open source policy priorities in alignment with the objectives of the member states holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Series builds on the OFE’s annual EU Open Source Policy Summit in Brussels to further connect the dots between the EU and national policy cycles.
Where?
Folketinget Christiansborg, Landstingssal, 1218, Copenhagen, Denmark
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View the event photos
Due to limited venue capacity, we encourage you to register at your earliest convenience.

OpenForum Academy Symposium 2025
2025-11-18 - 2025-11-19
The OpenForum Academy (OFA) Symposium is the only academic conference covering questions relating to the social, political and economic impact of Open Source and Open Technologies. Each year, the OFA Symposium brings together an interdisciplinary set of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to explore the transformative power and societal value of different ‘fields of open’ for society writ large, enabling the linkage of research agendas and growth of the research community in this space.
The OFA Symposium 2025 will take place on 18-19 November in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will expand the scope of the OFA Symposium to focus not just on Open Source more narrowly, but to more fully embrace and highlight the diverse range of open technologies contributing to and impacting society, politics, and the economy. Save the date in your calendars and stay tuned for more information in the coming months. We look forward to another year of researching and showcasing the impact of Open Source and Open Technologies with the OFA community!

EU Open Source Policy Summit
2026-01-30
Europe is confronting fundamental questions about its digital sovereignty — a concept that now encapsulates the full range of its strategic challenges: competitiveness, market concentration and dependency, and systemic resilience. The 2026 edition of the EU Open Source Policy Summit will bring together leaders from the public and private sectors to focus on one clear proposition: open source delivers digital sovereignty.
