January 31 / 9:00 - 18:00 CET
EU Open Source Policy Summit 2025
What Can Open Source do for Europe?
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.
The EU Open Source Policy Summit is set for 31 January 2025 in Brussels and will be accessible online.
Key topics
- The EU Digital Strategy
- Open Source in the Manufacturing Industry
- International Open Source Governance
- Economic & Social Value of Open Source
- Public Sector Open Source Strategies
- Digital Markets Regulation
- EU Funding Priorities: Digital Europe & Horizon
- Open Source AI: Definitions, Principles & Markets
- Standards and Liability for Software
- Digital Commons & Public Digital Infrastructure
- Open Source Silicon & Geopolitics
- Open Source in Regulated Industries
Speakers
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Pearse O’Donohue
Director for Future Networks, European CommissionMore -
Lucilla Sioli
Director, AI Office at DG CONNECT, European CommissionMore -
Dr. Cristina Caffarra
Associate Fellow, CEPRMore -
Liv Marte Nordhaug
CEO, Digital Public Goods AllianceMore -
Astor Nummelin Carlberg
Executive Director, OpenForum EuropeMore -
Mitchell Baker
Executive Chair of the Board, Mozilla CorporationMore -
Keith Bergelt
CEO, Open Invention NetworkMore -
Clare Dillon
Community Lead, CURIOSSMore -
Dr. Jochen Friedrich
Technical Relations Executive, IBMMore -
Sara Gallian
SDV Program Manager, Eclipse FoundationMore -
Peter Ganten
President of APELL, Chairman of the Board OSBA, CEO of UniventionMore -
Nicholas Gates
Policy Advisor, OpenForum EuropeMore -
Emma Ghariani
Director, Open Source and Digital Commons, French Interministerial Delegation for Digital AffairsMore -
Daniel Goldscheider
Founder and Executive Director, OpenWallet FoundationMore -
Jutta Horstmann
CEO, ZenDiSMore -
Frank Karlitschek
CEO, NEXTCLOUDMore -
Tobie Langel
Principal & Founder, UnlockOpenMore -
Amandine Le Pape
COO and Co-founder, ElementMore -
Stefano Maffulli
Executive Director, Open Source InitiativeMore -
Mike Milinkovich
Executive Director, Eclipse FoundationMore -
Sachiko Muto
Chair, OpenForum EuropeMore -
David Nalley
President, Apache Software FoundationMore -
Deb Nicholson
Executive Director, Python Software FoundationMore -
Rebecca Rumbul
CEO, Rust FoundationMore -
Christoph Winterhalter
Chairman of the Executive Board, DINMore
Agenda
Registration and coffee
High-Level Keynote: To be announced
High-Level Panel: What can Open Source do for Europe?
Europe faces considerable challenges to maintain its competitiveness and to position itself in a fast-changing geo-strategic landscape. With the start of a new EU legislative cycle, we will be exploring the role of open source in the EU’s digital strategy at this critical juncture for Europe’s technological edge. This panel will examine how open source can fuel Europe’s digital transformation by promoting digital sovereignty, competitiveness, and innovation. Key topics will include open source innovation and EU software regulation, public and private funding for infrastructure sustainability, and prioritising research in areas such as security, interoperability, and the federation of edge and cloud infrastructures.
Panel: The Open Source Ecosystem - Navigating a World in Transformation
Foundations are a fundamental element of the open source ecosystem. They are at the nexus of the open source collaborative model and are critical to address the challenges facing the ecosystem. The panel will delve into the challenges faced by open source, discussing issues related to the sustainable funding of projects, under-resourced maintainers and developers, and the fragmentation of communities as a result of geopolitical tensions and ensuring continued access to technologies. When discussing these challenges, the panel will highlight the need to find ecosystem-wide and collaborative solutions that further the trust in open source software and unlock the broader societal benefits of open source.
Sponsor Keynote: Magnus Östberg
Chief Software Officer, Mercedes-Benz
Coffee break
Keynote: Amandeep Singh Gill
The Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, United Nations
Panel: Open Source and Global Digital Cooperation - Positioning Europe as a leader
Europe is a powerhouse for open source innovation and digital policymaking. In this panel, we will consider how Europe’s leading role in the digital realm can be articulated to better advocate for global funding and sharing of open source technologies. Taking a technical and policy perspective, panellists will discuss how emerging ideas and initiatives from Europe can be considered within a more global discussion around digital cooperation. They will focus on topics such as digital commons, digital public infrastructure, and digital public goods.
Lunch
Panel: Letta, Draghi and Open Source for a Competitive Europe
The Letta and Draghi reports are clear: Europe must urgently regain its competitive edge in a world increasingly driven by software innovation. With Europe at a crossroads for global competitiveness, open source can play a critical role to drive innovation and competition. This panel will bring together industry experts to discuss how open source technologies offer a solution to the challenges facing European businesses. Panellists will discuss how open source can boost innovation, efficiency, and collaboration across key European sectors by embedding greater value in the software that powers modern industries. They will delve on how the development and strategic use of open technologies – including open source software, hardware, standards and data – can pave the way forward for Europe’s competitiveness.
Sponsor Keynote: Open Source Software - Europe’s Continuing Path to Global Leadership and Innovation
Gabriele Columbro
General Manager, Linux Foundation Europe & Executive Director, FINOS
Coffee break
Panel: The Future of Public Sector Collaboration Across Europe
Compared to other regions of the world, the public sector in Europe is at the forefront of open innovation. With new developments around public sector adoption of open source technologies and contribution to open source tools and communities in Europe, this session will showcase the future of public sector open source innovation in Europe. In particular, it will bring together technology experts and public sector leaders to discuss emerging trends, tools, and strategies that are shaping the next generation of open digital governance, and how it is being driven collaboratively by cities, regions, and countries. The discussion will prominently feature lessons learned from public sector institutions across Europe, highlighting how these insights can inform broader collaborative efforts between public administrations.
Panel: Open Source AI
Artificial intelligence has been and continues to be a strategic priority for the EU, aiming to strengthen its role as a global digital leader. As we head forward in this new legislative cycle and with significant policy progress made with regard to AI, including establishment of the European AI Office and proposed definitions for open source AI, this session will examine the technical and policy intricacies of open source AI. The discussion will notably focus on the opportunities for Europe with regard to open source AI, delving into how open source AI can promote transparency and ethical governance while fostering innovation and maintaining European competitiveness.
Speakers to be announced.
Closing
Cocktail Reception
About the event
The EU Open Source Policy Summit 2025 has a clear message: Open source plays – and will continue to play – an instrumental role in ensuring Europe leads in building, using, and regulating digital technologies, as well as helping member states reinforce a competitive and digitally sovereign future in a changing global landscape.
The merits of open source are clear. It undergirds most of the global digital infrastructure and contributes over €8 trillion to the global economy. At the same time, the perception of open source has changed with the attention given to open source the EU Cyber Resilience Act, the development of open AI alternatives, and the increasing attention given to open source across digital policy efforts and EU investments — from the automotive industry to deforestation regulation.
Event designed for impact
The EU Open Source Policy Summit is an invite-only event, bringing together a mix of policymakers, business leaders, academics and community members, ensuring a fruitful exchange of views and a wide representation of stakeholders.
The Summit provides an informal setting for the audience to meet and learn from one another. We pride ourselves on providing the best possible hallway-track, allowing guests to cherry-pick sessions after setting up meetings and making new connections.
In 2024 the demand for the event clearly outstripped our capacity. With that in mind, we are looking to grow the event this year, while keeping it at a size suitable for spontaneous meetings.
Expression of interest to join on-site / online event registration
The EU Open Source Policy Summit is an invite-only event with free online access. With the form below, you can
- Express your interest to join the event on-site in Brussels
- Register for the online event
We shortlist the invited guests on a rolling basis. We accept the expression of interest until 15 December 2024.