Sign up now to join OpenForum Europe and partners for the next edition of the Capital Series events, taking place in Dublin, Ireland on 13 October 2026.
The 9th instalment of our cyclical events, Capital Series Ireland, will bring Brussels-level discussions of open source policy directly to Dublin. This event is a unique opportunity for the local open source community to directly engage with EU and national policymakers to better understand policies that impact the Irish market.
The event will explore different aspects of open source technologies, and their potential to improve competitiveness across smaller European territories. The discussions will build on the Irish implementation of the AI Act and assess its opportunities to unlock cross-border growth. The event will also create space for dialogue between EU institutions and local actors working with open technologies.
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? Banquet Hall of the Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar, Dublin 8
Speakers
Dimitri Lorenzani
Head of Unit – Strategy and Funding Coordination for Research and Deployment Investments” Unit, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT)
Dimitri Lorenzani is a Professor in the European Political and Governance Studies Department of the College of Europe since September 2023 and has 15 years of professional experience at the European Commission, where he is the Head of the “Strategy and Funding Coordination for Research and Deployment Investments” Unit in the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT). Previously, between January 2024 and January 2026, he was member of the Competitiveness Task Force, where he first cooperated with Professor Mario Draghi, former ECB President and special advisor to the Commission President, on the drafting of the Draghi Report and then worked on the implementation of the Report’s recommendations. Between 2021 and 2024, he was Cabinet member of Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Inter-institutional relations and Foresight, responsible for strategic foresight and industrial policy. Between 2020 and 2021, he was Team Leader for strategic foresight at the General Secretariat. Between 2011 and 2020, he worked at the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), where he led the team of economists dealing with Italy’s macroeconomic and fiscal surveillance under the Stability and Growth Pact. He holds postgraduate (Master) degrees in economics and finance (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa) and in EU affairs (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Louise McKeever
Government Chief Information Officer at Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
Louise McKeever is Government Chief Information Officer at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. With extensive experience in helping implement large-scale transformational change and having cultivated over 25 years of experience working across ICT, Louise has an in-dept understanding of business leadership and change management.
Louise has responsibility at Deputy Secretary General level for the overall management of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. As Government CIO, Louise provides strategic leadership and stewardship of the Governments digital agenda with a specific focus on the digital transformation of public services. Louise is the strategic advisor to Government on the digital government agenda and plays a leadership role in digital service delivery and innovation initiatives working in collaboration with and providing advice to Departments and agencies across the Irish Civil and Public Service.
In addition to leading on the development and implementation of a number of key strategies such as the national digital and AI strategy, Connecting Government 2030, the Public Service data strategy and the Digital Public Services Plan 2025-2030, as well as Better Public Services as Government CIO, Louise also provides input and support in relation to the digital agenda to Ministers as well as other areas of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and other Departments.
Louise has a degree in Business Administration and a master’s in business administration, Information Technology, from University College Dublin (UCD) and a Professional Diploma in Executive Coaching in the Irish Management Institute, awarded, and accredited by University College Cork (UCC).
Dr. Sachiko Muto
Chair, Member of the Management Board
Sachiko Muto is the Chair of OpenForum Europe and a senior researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. She originally joined OFE in 2007 and served for several years as Director with responsibility for government relations and then as CEO. Sachiko has degrees in Political Science from the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics; she received her doctorate in standardisation policy from TU Delft.
Clara Thébert
Policy Advisor
Clara Thébert is a Policy Advisor at OFE. Prior to joining OFE, she worked for three years in the European and International Affairs department of the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich, Germany. She holds a B.Sc. in Political Science and an M.Sc. in Politics and Policy Analysis from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Clara is a native French speaker and fluent in English, Italian and Spanish.
Aoife Tierney
Knowledge Transfer Manager, Trinity College Dublin
Olivia Waters
Head of Impact and Growth Strategy, ADAPT Centre
Olivia Waters is Head of Impact and Growth Strategy at the Research Ireland ADAPT Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology at Trinity College Dublin. With more than 20 years’ experience, she specialises in research communications, stakeholder engagement, ecosystem development, and cross-sectoral partnerships. Her work focuses on connecting research with policy, industry and wider society, particularly in the areas of AI, emerging technologies, and digital literacy.
Preliminary Agenda
12:00- 13:20
Networking Lunch
13:20 – 13:30
Introductory remarks: Laszlo Igneczi
Laszlo Igneczi Executive Director, Chair of the Management Board
13:30 – 13:45
Keynote: Dimitri Lorenzani, Head of Unit – Strategy and Funding Coordination for Research and Deployment Investments” Unit, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT)
13:45 – 14:30
Panel 1: Open Source technologies and European Digital Sovereignty: building competitiveness across smaller territories
Digital Sovereignty recently moved to the centre of the EU’s industrial and
geopolitical agenda with the publication of the Tech Sovereignty Package,
published on 3 June 2026. The Open Source Strategy, a communication
included in the broader Package, is effective immediately, and presents open
source as a foundation for digital sovereignty, not simply an alternative.As the conversation around open technologies takes a renewed dimension
thanks to the political momentum around digital sovereignty, it however seems
a large share of public attention is concentrated on the biggest EU players. This
panel therefore sets a different perspective for it: the smaller European
territories and their own undertaking of open source technologies.The conversation will dive into regional open source software and artificial
intelligence initiatives in smaller regions and territories of Ireland and other EU
regions. We will be bringing in perspectives from the Baltics and Nordics.14:30 – 15:15
Panel 2: From Brussels to Dublin on the Tech Sovereignty Package
The main objective of the OFE Capital Series is to bring EU-level conversationsto the country of the Presidency holding the Presidency of the Council of theEU. This conversation will be an occasion to showcase existing initiativesaround the promotion of Tech Sovereignty in the Irish ecosystem.This panel will also explore how to maintain momentum around the OpenSource Strategy and engagement with the local and European open sourcecommunities.15:15 – 15:45
Coffee Break
15:45 – 16:00
Keynote: Louise McKeever, Government Chief Information Officer at Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
16:15 – 17:00
Panel 3: Open Source technologies and AI for Irish SMEs: Unlocking Cross-Border Growth
According to the OECD, SMEs accounted for over 99% of all enterprises active
in Ireland in 2023, keeping close to 70% of the active Irish population
employed.The country’s competitive tax policy attracts large foreign direct investments
(FDI), placing it 10th in spite of its small size within the EU in terms of FDI
attractiveness, according to a 2026 EY study. This places Ireland as a leading
economy with a strong capacity to attract innovation-driven investment, as it
was also rated highly for the development in artificial intelligence.This panel will therefore bring to the table Irish Academics and startup
representatives who will showcase the potential of open source technologies
and open source AI to spur local economic growth and unlock cross-border
opportunities.17:00 – 17:45
Panel 4: The Future of AI Governance: bridging policy and practice for trusted AI adoption
With the setup of the new Irish AI Office in August 2026, just a few months
before the event, this panel will be the occasion to share expectations around
the implementation of the AI Act and requirements for building trusted AI use at
national and European level.This conversation will be looking into future outlooks and the potential for
Ireland to leverage national digital research and the political momentum around
the creation of the national AI office to impact growth and influence European
Strategy.The panel will also serve as a bridge to the conversations of the next edition of
the OFE Capital Series in Lithuania, forecast for 2027.17:45 – 18:00
Closing remarks
18:00 – 19:30
Networking drinks
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