# Digital Commons as Pillars of Digital Sovereignty > [! note]- > The content of this page is generated by audio/video transcription and text transformation from the content and links of this source. Source: [https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6132-digital-commons-as-pillars-of-digital-sovereignty-in-europe/](https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6132-digital-commons-as-pillars-of-digital-sovereignty-in-europe/) <video src="https://video.fosdem.org/2025/aw1120/fosdem-2025-6132-digital-commons-as-pillars-of-digital-sovereignty-in-europe.av1.webm" controls></video> ## Summary & Highlights: The session 'Digital Commons as Pillars of Digital Sovereignty in Europe' at FOSDEM 2025 explores how Digital Commons can serve as a foundational element for digital sovereignty in Europe. The concept revolves around open and community-governed digital resources that provide public digital infrastructures, aligning with European values and supporting sovereignty. **Introduction to Digital Commons** Digital Commons are defined as digital resources maintained and governed by communities, including open source software, open data, and open designs. These resources are crucial for building a more equitable digital ecosystem, offering alternatives to traditional corporate and state-controlled digital infrastructures. **Next Generation Internet (NGI) Commons** Supported by the European Commission, the NGI Commons project aims to create a coherent policy framework for Digital Commons. This involves strategic alignment and integration of efforts to support public digital infrastructures, enhancing European digital sovereignty. **Policy and Economic Implications** The session highlights the economic and social value of Digital Commons, noting their role in maintaining digital infrastructure. Projects like OpenDesk, Matrix, and Blender exemplify how Digital Commons support digital sovereignty and innovation. **Challenges and Future Directions** While Digital Commons offer significant potential, challenges remain in policy coherence and investment. The session calls for continued research and collaboration to fully realize the benefits of Digital Commons for European digital sovereignty. ## Importance for an eco-social transformation Digital Commons are pivotal for eco-social transformation as they promote sustainable, community-driven digital infrastructures. They align with values of openness, equity, and self-determination, offering alternatives to proprietary systems. For eco-social designers, platforms like Matrix and Blender provide tools for creating and managing open digital resources collaboratively. Challenges include ensuring policy coherence and securing investment to support the growth of Digital Commons. Political and social hurdles also exist in shifting traditional perspectives towards more community-oriented governance models. ## Slides: | | | | --- | --- | | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_001.jpg\|300]] | The first slide introduces the NGI Commons project, emphasizing its role in promoting Digital Commons as a foundation for digital sovereignty in Europe. The project aims to align efforts across Europe to support public digital infrastructures governed by communities. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_002.jpg\|300]] | This slide explains the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, a European Commission project focused on fostering an Internet that aligns with European values. NGI Commons is a part of this initiative, emphasizing the importance of Digital Commons in achieving these goals. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_003.jpg\|300]] | The slide provides information about the NGI Commons project, highlighting its open-source nature and the collaborative platform it offers for sharing solutions and innovations within the European digital landscape. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_004.jpg\|300]] | This slide lists the partners involved in the NGI Commons project, showcasing the collaborative efforts across various organizations to support and promote Digital Commons. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_005.jpg\|300]] | The slide outlines the NGI's mission to create an Internet of Trust, focusing on privacy, security, and inclusion. It highlights the challenges of protecting personal data, combating disinformation, and ensuring ethical and sustainable design. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_006.jpg\|300]] | The slide discusses the ecosystem approach of NGI, which supports Internet innovation by funding individual projects and ensuring synergies across stakeholders. It emphasizes community building, policy programming, and international collaboration. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_007.jpg\|300]] | This slide details the ambition of NGI Commons to integrate Digital Commons into European governance, addressing digital sovereignty and self-determination. It aims to bridge the gap between grassroots initiatives and top-down policies. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_008.jpg\|300]] | The slide provides a definition of Digital Commons, emphasizing their role as community-governed digital resources that include open source software, data, and designs. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_009.jpg\|300]] | The slide elaborates on the components of Digital Commons, highlighting the importance of governance systems and community coordination in maintaining these resources. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_010.jpg\|300]] | This slide discusses the global impact of Digital Commons, noting their integration into essential infrastructures and their significant economic value. It highlights the role of open source software in digital systems. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_011.jpg\|300]] | The slide explores the potential of Digital Commons as providers of public digital infrastructure, enhancing sovereignty and accessibility. It mentions EU initiatives to design a consortium for digital infrastructure. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_012.jpg\|300]] | This slide presents real-world use cases of Digital Commons, demonstrating their role in promoting European digital sovereignty through practical applications. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_013.jpg\|300]] | The slide discusses the concept of digital sovereignty within a European context, linking it to industrial policy and the EuroStack initiative, which integrates open technologies with policy objectives. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_014.jpg\|300]] | This slide describes Digital Commons as policy tools, emphasizing their value in linking individual projects to broader policy objectives such as industrial policy and cybersecurity. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_015.jpg\|300]] | The slide introduces OpenDesk, a project providing sovereign alternatives to Microsoft for workspace collaboration, highlighting its development in Germany and France. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_016.jpg\|300]] | This slide invites the audience to explore other examples of Digital Commons linked to digital sovereignty objectives. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_017.jpg\|300]] | The slide presents Matrix and Element as secure communication tools, developed by the Matrix.org Foundation with community support, used by governments and organizations. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_018.jpg\|300]] | This slide discusses Mastodon and PeerTube as alternative social media platforms, emphasizing their role in moving away from commercial-driven models. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_019.jpg\|300]] | The slide highlights Blender, an open-source 3D graphics tool, as an example of Digital Commons supporting the creative economy and providing alternatives to proprietary software. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_020.jpg\|300]] | The slide reviews past policies supporting Digital Commons, noting the shift from open access to collective governance in response to digital sovereignty concerns. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_021.jpg\|300]] | This slide offers a comprehensive view of Digital Commons policies in the EU, covering open source software, open access, and open data initiatives over two decades. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_022.jpg\|300]] | The slide discusses the evolution of policy priorities from open access to governance, driven by digital sovereignty concerns and the dominance of global platforms. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_023.jpg\|300]] | This slide invites the audience to join the NGI Commons project, highlighting ways to get involved and contribute to the initiative. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_024.jpg\|300]] | The slide introduces the Digital Commons Taskforce, a group of experts collaborating to promote Digital Commons through knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_025.jpg\|300]] | This slide promotes the Digital Commons Community Platform on Matrix, encouraging participation in discussions and collaborations. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_026.jpg\|300]] | The slide invites the audience to register for the NGI Commons newsletter to stay informed about project updates and developments. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_027.jpg\|300]] | This slide encourages following NGI Commons on social media to engage with the project and stay updated on its progress. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Digital-Commons-as-Pillars-of-Digital-Sovereignty-/preview_028.jpg\|300]] | The final slide acknowledges the funding sources for the NGI Commons project, including the European Union's Horizon Europe program and Swiss SERI, and thanks the audience. ## Links [NGI Commons Workshop 2024: A Summary Report](https://fosdem.org/2025/events/attachments/fosdem-2025-6132-digital-commons-as-pillars-of-digital-sovereignty-in-europe/slides/238573/PRESENTA_88xztn7.pptx) [Video recording (AV1/WebM) - 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