Open source is a driver of innovation and a strategic lever for digital sovereignty, enabling technological independence and transparency through concrete initiatives and collaborative models. The debate highlights the importance of framing open source commons with ethical rules, appropriate licences and data governance, in conjunction with EU regulatory requirements. Despite the recognized benefits, there are still obstacles to community sharing, which need to be overcome through incentives and the structuring of best practices to pool efforts and ensure the long-term viability of projects. Cooperation between players, standardisation and interoperability are essential to strengthen the resilience of the ecosystem in the face of external dependencies and proprietary lock-in. Lastly, building awareness of open source and promoting collective contributions are essential to ensure the sustainability of initiatives and the development of skills among all stakeholders. Does open source guarantee sovereignty and technology independence? What role can it play?
We will discuss about these topics during 40 minutes with concrete examples of initiatives and projects empowering digital sovereignty in Europe.