Workshop: Democratizing Technology in Your Organisation

What if your organisation had more control over its digital tools, data, and infrastructure? What if technology didn’t just serve efficiency—but actively supported your mission, values, and community?

Today’s digital landscape is largely shaped by a small number of powerful tech companies, creating dependencies that affect autonomy, privacy, and long-term resilience. In this interactive workshop, you’ll explore how democratic technology provides an alternative and what it means in practice. Democratic technology focuses on:

• Collective ownership and governance instead of centralized control
• Technology that serves the public good over profit
• Building towards digital sovereignty and autonomy

Inspired by the work of Commons Network, you’ll translate these ideas into practical tools and first steps for your own organisation. This workshop is funded by the European Union via the European project DIGISET - helping social economy actors along their digitalization journey. It is a collaboration with the Public Spaces Conference.

🧩 What to expect

• A clear understanding of democratic technology in a broader European and global context
• Inspiration from real-world alternatives and digital commons
• Practical tools to assess and rethink your current tech stack
• Concrete steps to strengthen your organisation’s digital autonomy

🎁 Bonus

Tickets include free access to the PublicSpaces Conference in the morning and afternoon on the same day—an inspiring start to the day with leading voices in public digital infrastructure.
For social SMEs which are established at least 20 km away from the main location, additional financial grant of 948 EUR will be provided as lump sum to cover travel and accommodation costs.

🎯 Who should attend?

• Social SMEs (Non-profits, cooperatives, and impact-driven startups with fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover ≤ €50 million or total assets ≤ €43 million)

📍 Location

The public spaces conference takes place at Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam, a leading platform for dialogue, creativity, and innovation in the heart of the city.

📅 Program

• 10:00 – 17:00 PublicSpaces Conference @ Pakhuis de Zwijger(Includes lunch and drinks during the conference)
• 11:00 – 12:00 Workshop democratic tech as part of conference
• 17:00 – 19:00 Drinks @ Pakhuis de Zwijger

🎟️ Tickets

1. Social SMEs established at least 20km away from location (10 spots)
   These tickets require a mandatory financial grant application. The grant of 948 EUR will be provided as lump sum to cover travel and accommodation costs. 👉 Apply for the grant here: Application form_SMEs - DIGISET
   Only after approval will your participation in the hackathon be confirmed.
2. Social SMEs established less than 20km from location (10 spots)
   These tickets do not require a financial grant application.

⚡ Why join?

• Move from abstract ideas to hands-on implementation
• Strengthen your organisation’s independence from big tech
• Connect with others building a fairer digital ecosystem
• Leave with actionable insights you can apply immediately

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Host or Publisher COSME DIGISET