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Josh
Josh
@josh@fediscience.org  ·  activity timestamp last week

Seeking advice. I frequently teach a #HigherEd #AcademicChatter class in the US on Social Informatics which includes a module on #OpenGovernment and #CivicTech to give students an overview of the sector (international, national, state/provincial, local) as a public good, driver of economic health, and locus for potential careers. Obviously there have been changes in US federal policies with deleterious trends in the past year, and I have those covered.

I am seeking help covering emerging #DigitalSovereignty trends. Especially those which involve non-US entities leaving or planning departures from US-based tech because of any combination of tariff demands, copyright/surveillance policies, or other concerns about corporate and/or political power. I already cover the UK transition to Open Document Format in 2014. So I'm not presenting this as something new, but the speed and urgency is definitely picking up (see example links of EU moves to promote FOSS alternatives to US tech, France dropping Teams and Zoom).

1. Examples and links are definitely welcome

2. Thoughts from folks about how to explain this emergent scenario to US-based #ComputerScience and #Informatics and other college students, and its impacts on their futures. Thoughts from outside and inside the US are very welcome.

3. Same as no.2 but where do you see this trend in 5 years? 10 years?

You read this far? Thank you! Wow!

e.g. EU https://www.opensourceforu.com/2026/01/eu-plans-to-scale-open-source-into-commercial-rivals-to-us-technology/

e.g. France https://www.zdnet.com/article/france-dumps-teams-zoom-digital-sovereignty-replacement/

ZDNET

Why France just dumped Microsoft Teams and Zoom - and what's replacing them

France plans to replace all US video-conferencing services, marking the EU's latest push for digital sovereignty - with more moves on the way.
Open Source For You

EU Plans To Scale Open Source Into Commercial Rivals To US Technology

The European Commission is preparing a new strategy to scale European open source software into commercially viable alternatives to US tech, aiming to retain
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Pen
Pen
@nacly@floss.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 days ago

@josh In addition to the other replies, the Dutch government's Open Source Program Office ( #OSPO) also runs "Mijn Bureau":
https://minbzk.github.io/mijn-bureau/
Which was presented at #FOSDEM2026:
https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/BNPJ7P-from-policy-to-practice-open-source-in-gov/

Also, do you have a syllabus and bibliography for your class? I'd love to read it!

#opensource

Over Mijn Bureau, Mijn Bureau

Onderzoek naar open source samenwerksoftware voor, door en met overheden.

FOSDEM 2026 - From Policy To Practice; Open Source in The Dutch Government

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Josh
Josh
@josh@fediscience.org replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 days ago

@nacly Thank you! That is very helpful.

Here's a link to the syllabus. I address digital sovereignty issues as lecture provided examples, especially in weeks 4 (open government practices) and 12 (global workplaces). I plan to use all the examples given so far (and for which I'm doing a lot of searching and lurking) to flesh out week 12 this semester and add some new examples to the readings for both weeks in the fall.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aXiadZbG8gLKrM-QObAJdTg9ZDvV7UbCRTpasawpdWA/edit?tab=t.0

Google Docs

SHARING SOCINFO / CYBORG 2025.3 FALL COMPLETE CLASS MANUAL

INFO-I 202 / SOC-S 240 SOCIAL INFORMATICS & ANTH-A385 CYBORG ANTHROPOLOGY COURSE INFORMATION REDACTED PROFESSOR CONTACT INFORMATION REDACTED Description: This course considers the omnipresent role technology plays in human existence and how technological behaviors may be studied. We will l...
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Pen
Pen
@nacly@floss.social replied  ·  activity timestamp yesterday

@josh Thanks for the great syllabus! So many things I'd like to read. I also really like the list of assignments/projects and instructions for them.

FWIW, I think this syllabus is worth publishing as an open educational resource ( #OER) on a place like #Zenodo so people can cite you:
https://www.zenodo.org/

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Josh
Josh
@josh@fediscience.org replied  ·  activity timestamp yesterday

@nacly
*slaps head* why have I never considered Zenodo as an OER repository, yeah I'm gonna do that ... glad you found it engaging!

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Pen
Pen
@nacly@floss.social replied  ·  activity timestamp yesterday

@josh Awesome, thanks for publishing it!!! Please let me know the DOI and link when you do. 😁
(and yeah I've seen plenty other people publish OER on Zenodo)

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J Miller
J Miller
@JMMaok@mastodon.online replied  ·  activity timestamp last week

@josh

I definitely noticed this as an emerging / expanded theme of FOSS Backstage this year: https://26.foss-backstage.de/sessions/

FOSS Backstage 2026

Sessions

Explore all sessions of FOSS Backstage 2026!
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More from
FOSS Backstage 2026
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