Christian PATERSON, Open Up
Christian is a respected specialist in open source strategy and governance with extensive international experience. Since 2023, he has served as Chairman of the Board at OW2, helping to guide the organisation’s vision and commitment to the FOSS ecosystem across Europe and beyond.
Formerly Head of Open Source Governance at Orange, he later founded his consultancy, Open Up, to help organisations embrace open collaboration and implement sustainable open source practices aligned with their business objectives.
Over the last decade, Christian has chaired the OW2 MiniApp Initiative, promoting lightweight and reusable web technologies for mobile; launched the OW2 Open Source Accessibility Initiative; and championed the creation of the OW2 Good Governance Initiative (now part of the OSPO Alliance).
Throughout his career,
Christian has exemplified strategic leadership, community engagement, and a lasting dedication to the global growth of open-source ecosystems.
Session
A growing awareness is emerging amongst policymakers and, to a lesser extent, business leaders that we must reconsider our relationship with technology and the technology industry, which has created a comfortable but constraining dependency. For many, the rallying cry is "open source", which by its very nature promises greater digital independence. However, this call obscures several stark realities that clash sharply with the prevailing narrative.