12 November, 2026

Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026

Brussels, Belgium

Registration will open soon!

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The Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026 – Digital Commons and the Open Internet Stack for a Competitive Europe will take place on the 12th November 2026 in Brussels. 

The Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026 builds on the successful 2025 edition, which established Digital Commons as a key ingredient for achieving European Digital Sovereignty.

The 2026 Summit shifts from introduction to implementation of the Tech Sovereignty Package, making sure that the Digital Commons Communities  are truly empowered, as promised in the EU Open Source Strategy. It is time to execute the NGI Commons Strategic Agenda to make sure Digital Commons really do play a key role in the new European Open Internet Stack.

Organised by the NGI Commons consortium in close collaboration with the European Commission, this Summit convenes policymakers, regulators, funders, and practitioners to make sure that the ambition of the Tech Sovereignty Package and the EU Open Source Strategy is met.

Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026 - SaveTheDate
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Why the 2026 Summit matters?

The 2026 question is how we implement the Tech Sovereignty Package. 

  • How will the EU Open Source Strategy be implemented and what will be the role of the Digital Commons?
  • Is the Tech Sovereignty Package sufficient to ensure Digital Commons sustainably constitute the backbone of the Open Internet Stack?
  • How can the DC-EDIC and the Digital Commoners community collaborate effectively?
  • How is the NGI Commons Strategic Agenda being operationalised?
  • How do we secure Digital Commons as key to European Digital Infrastructure?
  • What did NGI Commons achieve?

Summit Objectives

The Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026 aims to:

  1. Understand the Tech Sovereignty Package and its implications for Digital Commons 
  2. Support the ambition of the EU Open Source Strategy, and ensure closer collaboration of the European Commission and the Digital Commons
  3. Identify pathways for deeper cooperation between the EDIC and the Digital Commoners
  4. Analyse the technical integration of Digital Commons into the Open Internet Stack
  5. Discuss the funding of the Digital Commons under the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)
  6. Present the results of the NGI Commons project, particularly NGI Commons Strategic Agenda

Who should attend

This Summit brings together stakeholders who can drive systemic change in Europe’s digital landscape:

  • Regional, national, and European Commission policymakers, regulators, legislators, and standardisation bodies;
  • Funders, foundations, and philanthropies;
  • Academics working on Digital Commons, sociology, philosophy, and emergent technology;
  • Open source practitioners and commoners aiming to scale their ecosystems.
Check the agenda

Session Overview

1. Tech Sovereignty Package and the Digital Commons

Practical Implementation

  • Regional, national, and European Commission policymakers, regulators, legislators, and standardisation bodies;
  • Funders, foundations, and philanthropies;
  • Academics working on Digital Commons, sociology, philosophy, and emergent technology;
  • Open source practitioners and commoners aiming to scale their ecosystems.

2. Introducing the NGI Commons Strategic Agenda

From Roadmap to Implementation

  • Real-world operationalisation of Digital Commons at scale;
  • Governance, coordination, financing, and implementation challenges;
  • Suggestions for practical implementation.

3. The Open Internet Stack: Measuring Practical Integration

Active role of Commons within the Open Internet Stack

  • Case studies of successful commons-led stack components;
  • Ongoing integration of open-source technologies into European infrastructure layers;
  • Long-term sustainability.

4. DC-EDIC and the Commoners

Operationalisation and Ambition

  • Operationalising the DC-EDIC structure and governance;
  • Finding practical cooperation between the EDIC and Digital Commoners.

5. The Commoners & Funding Session: Securing the Future

Grounded in NGI Commons analysis and practitioner voices

  • Success and lessons of current funding models;
  • Recommendations for the FP10 MFF phase;
  • Sustainability for the new phase of Digital Commons funding.

What will you gain

Strategic Clarity

Understand the Tech Sovereignty Package, the EU Open Source Strategy, and its impact on the Digital Commons. Explore the NGI Commons Strategic Agenda, and its implementation in accelerating Europe’s digital sovereignty.

Policy & Funding Insights

Explore sustainable funding mechanisms, the Open Internet Stack, and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). 

Practitioner Perspectives

Hear directly from open source practitioners, and Digital Commons advocates. Our recommendations are grounded in depth interviews, comprehensive domain analysis, and the results of the NGI Commons project.

Networking & Influence

Connect with peers shaping European digital policy. Bring your ideas and discover new policy concepts to influence your organisation, city, and country.

13:30 – 14:00

Arrival & Registration

14:00 – 14:30

Welcome and Introduction

  • Fabrizia Benini,  Head of unit at the European Commission DG CNECT E: Next Generation Internet
  • Dr Monique Calisti, CEO Martel Innovate, NGI Commons Coordinator

14:30 – 15:30

Digital Sovereignty: The Role of the EU Budget and public investment  in Shaping the Internet

Moderated by Zuzanna Warso, Director of Research at Open Future Foundation

  • Benjamin Bögel, Cabinet of EVP Henna Virkkunen at European Commission
  • Dr Sergey Lagodinsky, Member of the European Parliament

Format: Panel discussion with MEPs (Members of ITRE)

Focus: Addressing funding gaps in EU digital policy

15:30 – 15:45

Coffee Break

15:45 – 16:45

EDIC & Member States: How to Operationalise Digital Commons at Scale

Moderated by Zuzanna Warso, Director of Research at Open Future Foundation

  • Emma Ghariani, Head of the Open Source and Digital Commons Division | French Prime Minister Services
  • Bartek Tokarz, Legal Officer at European Commission
  • Sachiko Muto, Chair at OpenForum Europe, Senior Researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
  • Adriana Groh, CEO of the Sovereign Tech Agency

Format: Keynotes + moderated discussion with Member State representatives and EC officials

Focus: The Strategic Session introduces the NGI Commons roadmap and policy recommendations targeting especially Member States

  • Aligning EDIC goals with NGI & Commons initiatives
  • Governance, coordination, and implementation challenges

16:45 – 17:45

Open Internet Stack (OIS): What role can the Commons play in the Stack

Moderated by Dr. Monique Calisti, CEO of Martel Innovate and the President of Digital for Planet

  • Sachiko Muto, Chair at OpenForum Europe, Senior Researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
  • Mirko Presser, Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Tom Collins, Research Expert at CityMesh
  • Sophie Bloemen, Co-founder and Director of the Commons Network
  • Gemma Carolillo, Deputy Head of Next Generation Internet Unit at European Commission

Format: Roundtable

Focus: Long-term sustainability of Digital Commons in the MFF; discussion with funders (EU programs, philanthropies), Commons communities, and policy designers

18:00 – 19:00

Networking cocktail

8:30 – 9:15

Morning Coffee

9:15 – 10:30

Commons for Governments: Identity, Procurement, Legal Status, and Market Access

Moderated by Karolina Gyurovszka, Policy Analyst and Consultant
at Martel Innovate

  • Enzo Ribagnac, Director for Policy, Governance and Operations
    at CISPE – Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe
  • Jordan Maris, EU Policy for the Open Source Initiative
  • Sebastien Raible, Director EU Government Affairs at APELL – The European Open Source Software Business Association
  • Florian Schuck, Policy Officer at European DIGITAL SME Alliance

Format: Expert panel with public procurement officials, legal scholars, and Commons representatives

Focus: How regulatory and legal frameworks can support the Commons

  • Legal identity and eligibility of Commons
  • EU Digital Identity Wallets: Can they foster social and technical integration toward the Commons?
  • Procurement mechanisms
  • Taxation issues and service delivery models for public bodies

10:30 – 10:45

Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:45

What Do the Commons Need? Towards a New Funding Architecture and Technical Reference Framework

Moderated by Amandine Le Pape, Co-founder at the Matrix.org Foundation

  • Francesco Siddi, General Manager at Blender Studio and COO
  • Hans-Christoph Steiner, Technical Lead of F-Droid
  • Susanna Ferro, Project Manager at GlobaLeaks

Format: Discussion with funders (EU programs, philanthropies), Commons communities, and policy designers

Focus:

  • Long-term sustainability
  • Integrating open-source technologies into infrastructure layers
  • Standards, interoperability, and sustainable development models
  • Case studies from successful commons-led stack components

11:45 – 12:30

Closing Remarks & EC Statement

  • Dr Monique Calisti, CEO Martel Innovate, NGI Commons Coordinator
Download the Agenda

Watch the recordings

DAY 1
DAY 2

Registration Information

Registration is free, but mandatory.

Please note that in-person attendance is limited. If you’re not allocated a seat, the entire event will be accessible online so you can follow along remotely.

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Speakers

Fabrizia Benini

European Commission

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.

Benjamin Bögel

European Commission

Benjamin Bögel

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.

Dr. Sergey Lagodinsky

European Parliament

Sergey Lagodinsky

Dr Sergey Lagodinsky is a German lawyer and author. He serves as Vice-President of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) in the European Parliament, responsible for foreign affairs and digital policy.

He is Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), as well as a substitute member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). Dr Lagodinsky also acts as the Greens/EFA spokesperson on transatlantic relations and Russia.

Gemma Carolillo

European Commission

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.

Dr. Monique Calisti

Martel Innovate

Monique Calisti

Dr. Monique Calisti is the CEO of Martel Innovate and the President of Digital for Planet. She is a passionate entrepreneur and ICT expert with consolidated experience in research and innovation funding, strategic consulting, communication and business development of sustainable innovative solutions across several industry segments. With extensive domain knowledge in Artificial Intelligence and Next Generation Internet, Monique is engaged in several projects focusing on definition and development of advanced, human-centric, and green digital technologies. Monique holds a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Switzerland), and a Ph.D. in Telecommunications Engineering (University of Bologna, Italy).

Emma Ghariani

French Prime Minister Services

Emma Ghariani

Emma Ghariani leads the Open Source and Digital Commons division at France’s Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM) and teaches digital commons and public policy at Sciences Po. With over a decade of experience in entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, and tech policymaking, she has helped shape national strategies and scale sustainable, inclusive, and open digital infrastructures.

Emma is committed to strengthening our collective capacity to design, build, and maintain digital systems that are open, autonomous, and serve the public interest. At DINUM, she works to embed open source and digital commons into French digital policy, with a particular focus on the role of public institutions in empowering citizens.

Bartek Tokarz

European Commission

Bartek Tokarz

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.

Sachiko Muto, PhD

OpenForum Europe; RISE

Sachiko Muto

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.

Adriana Groh

Sovereign Tech Agency

Adriana Groh

Adriana Groh is the co-initiator of the Sovereign Tech Fund and managing director of the Sovereign Tech Agency, the first government organization in the EU focused on strengthening digital infrastructure in the public interest. Supported by the German Ministry for Digital Transformation and State Modernisation, the agency ensures the sustainability of foundational technologies. Adriana combines expertise in innovation, democratic values, and open technologies with a strong network across politics and civil society. She previously led projects on digital sovereignty and directed the Prototype Fund, an innovation initiative by the Open Knowledge Foundation and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

Zuzanna Warso

Open Future Foundation

Zuzanna Warso

Zuzanna is the Director of Research at OpenFuture Foundation. She has fiftenn years of experience with human rights research and advocacy. In her work, she has focused on the intersection of science, technology, human rights and ethics. Zuzanna spent more than eight years with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, a prominent human rights non-governmental organization in Poland, where she has gained experience in advocacy and policy work. 

She holds a Ph.D. in International Law and an M.A. in English Studies from the University of Warsaw. She has been involved in national and international interdisciplinary research and innovation projects, exploring the ethics of new technologies and their impact on human rights and freedoms. Before joining Open Future, Zuzanna researched the ethical and human rights challenges posed by new and emerging technologies. Since 2019 she has been acting as an independent expert to the European Commission, where she is involved in the ethics monitoring of research and innovation projects. 

Mirko Presser

Aarhus University

Mirko Presser is a Professor at Aarhus University, focusing on the Internet of Things, data ecosystems, and digital innovation. His work explores how connected technologies, open data, and digital sovereignty can drive smarter, more sustainable development for public institutions and businesses. With extensive experience in large-scale European research projects, including the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, he bridges academia, industry, and policy to advance human-centric, data-driven innovation. Mirko’s research emphasizes the socio-technical aspects of technology adoption and the creation of public value through trust, openness, and collaboration in the evolving digital society.

Tom Collins

Citymesh

Tom Collins

Tom leads research programs focused on internet, critical networks and data engineering in telecom and AI projects. He collaborates with both industry and academic partners on initiatives related to advanced 5G and upcoming 6G features. He has contributed to the development of wireless networks in urban areas, large events, and B2B services for different industries.

Sophie Bloemen

Commons Network

Sophie Bloemen

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.

Paula Grzegorzewska

Linux Foundation Europe

Paula Grzegorzewska

Florian Schuck is Policy Officer at the European DIGITAL SME Alliance, where he represents the interests of over 45,000 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to European policymakers. As the only association exclusively focused on European SMEs in the technology sector, DIGITAL SME plays a crucial role in ensuring that the voice of Europe’s digital entrepreneurs is heard in Brussels. Florian is passionate about the intersection of technology, industrial policy, and democracy, advocating for policies that balance innovation with responsible regulation. With degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Bayreuth, he combines deep knowledge of economic relationships with rigorous analysis to make informed, evidence-based policy recommendations.

Karolina Gyurovszka

Martel Innovate

Karolina Gyurovszka

Florian Schuck is Policy Officer at the European DIGITAL SME Alliance, where he represents the interests of over 45,000 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to European policymakers. As the only association exclusively focused on European SMEs in the technology sector, DIGITAL SME plays a crucial role in ensuring that the voice of Europe’s digital entrepreneurs is heard in Brussels. Florian is passionate about the intersection of technology, industrial policy, and democracy, advocating for policies that balance innovation with responsible regulation. With degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Bayreuth, he combines deep knowledge of economic relationships with rigorous analysis to make informed, evidence-based policy recommendations.

Enzo Ribagnac

CISPE

Enzo Ribagnac

Enzo Ribagnac is a European digital policy expert specialising in open technologies, cloud infrastructure, and digital sovereignty. As Director for Policy and Governance at CISPE, he leads advocacy on cloud regulation, data governance, and the development of compliance and certification frameworks that support trustworthy, open, and sovereign digital infrastructures in Europe and beyond. Previously with the Eclipse Foundation, he developed international collaborations on open source and digital public goods, working closely with governments, industry, and civil society to advance interoperability, transparency, and responsible technology ecosystems. Enzo’s work focuses on empowering public and private stakeholders to adopt open, resilient, and future-proof digital commons.

Jordan Maris

Open Source Initiative

Jordan Maris

Jordan Maris is the EU policy analyst for the Open Source Initiative, he previously spent three years as an assistant to a Member of the European Parliament, campaigning for Open Source Software in negotiations on laws such as the AI Act, Cyber Resilience Act and Product Liability Directive among others. Jordan is a long-time user of Open Source software and a strong advocate for the Public Money–Public Code principle.

Florian Schuck

European DIGITAL SME Alliance

Florian Schuck

Florian Schuck is Policy Officer at the European DIGITAL SME Alliance, where he represents the interests of over 45,000 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to European policymakers. As the only association exclusively focused on European SMEs in the technology sector, DIGITAL SME plays a crucial role in ensuring that the voice of Europe’s digital entrepreneurs is heard in Brussels. Florian is passionate about the intersection of technology, industrial policy, and democracy, advocating for policies that balance innovation with responsible regulation. With degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Bayreuth, he combines deep knowledge of economic relationships with rigorous analysis to make informed, evidence-based policy recommendations.

Sebastian Raible

APELL

Sebastian Raible

Florian Schuck is Policy Officer at the European DIGITAL SME Alliance, where he represents the interests of over 45,000 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to European policymakers. As the only association exclusively focused on European SMEs in the technology sector, DIGITAL SME plays a crucial role in ensuring that the voice of Europe’s digital entrepreneurs is heard in Brussels. Florian is passionate about the intersection of technology, industrial policy, and democracy, advocating for policies that balance innovation with responsible regulation. With degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Bayreuth, he combines deep knowledge of economic relationships with rigorous analysis to make informed, evidence-based policy recommendations.

Amandine Le Pape

Matrix.org Foundation

Amandine Le Pape

Amandine is a co-founder and Guardian of the Matrix.org Foundation. The Foundation is the custodian for the Matrix open standard, aiming to democratise secure online communication and solve the problem of fragmentation in current Chat, VoIP, VR and IoT technologies. Matrix makes open real-time-communication as universal and interoperable as email, and brings the power back to the user on choosing who they trust with their data and how they want to communicate. 

Amandine is also COO and co-founder for Element, the company building the eponym open source, secure and interoperable collaboration tool built on Matrix.  Element delivers Matrix solutions to millions of users, including the German Armed Forces, the Swedish and French governments, the UN, and private companies like Mozilla or Red Hat. 

In addition, Amandine is a founding member of the European Open Source Academy where she heads the Business and Impact section. She previously set up and led product management for the Unified Communications line of business within Amdocs. Amandine has a degree in telecommunications engineering from Ecole Supérieure de Chimie, Physique et Electronique de Lyon as well as an EMBA from ESC Rennes.

Francesco Siddi

Blender

Francesco Siddi

With a background in industrial design, Francesco joined Blender in 2012 as a 3D artist and has been contributing to the project ever since in various roles, organizing events, designing and developing software and producing open movie projects.

He is currently General Manager at Blender Studio and COO.

Hans-Christoph Steiner

F-Droi

Hans-Christoph Steiner

Hans-Christoph Steiner is the Technical Lead of F-Droid, a free software app store for Android. He has worked to bring privacy and user freedom to mobile devices since 2005. He is also a Debian Developer, founding member of Guardian Project and Tor Project core contributor. He has been contributing to free software since 1994.

With an emphasis on collaboration, he has worked in many forms, including free software for mobile and embedded devices, technology workshops for all, free wireless networks that build community, musical robots that listen, programming environments allow people to play with math, and a jet-powered fish that you can ride.

Susanna Ferro

GlobaLeaks

Susanna Ferro

Susanna has been working on transparency and anticorruption since 2013. She worked for Transparency International Italia for 9 years mainly following advocacy and data analysis activities. During that time she had a long-standing collaboration with GlobaLeaks on whistleblowing projects for citizens and the public sector. In 2022 she joined the GlobaLeaks team as project manager and her work contributes to the dissemination and promotion of secure procedures and tools for whistleblowers to report, in Italy and worldwide, in the field of anticorruption, corporate compliance, human rights protection and investigative journalism.

About the Organisers

The Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026 is organised by the NGI Commons consortium in collaboration with the European Commission. NGI Commons prepares a long-term strategy for Digital Commons, critical for Europe’s Technological Sovereignty, making sure a more coherent funding is available to ensure sustainability of the Digital Commons.

Learn more about NGI Commons

NGI Commons

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