Steps towards Digital Sovereignty

Image

The international software market is dominated by US tech giants, seeting the standard for digital software, with clean design, simple functionality, and intuitive handling. European NGOs, health insurance companies, and administrations are dependent on these products, while digital sovereignty is becoming an ever-greater need for European countries.

The DCYDE! Project works with its own platform, Collaboratorum (Colli), a sustainable, European and open-source alternative to US workspaces. But fair and sustainable software usually has a different look, is less uniform and less standardised. Therefore, establishing Collaboratorum as the new working platform for the DCYDE! consortium was met with initial resistance: “I was super hesitant using the Colli at first. I couldn't find my way through the different functions and tools and really struggled adjusting to the new software,” says Franc Mlinar, DCYDE! Consortium Member of ISCOMET Institute. “But after changing the interface, adding crucial functions and developing an appealing design, I started to really understand the great benefits the platform provides – for the consortium and many others as well.” Franc Mlinar is now a national digital coordinator, working with the Colli daily and providing valuable assistance to new users.

The Collaboratorum currently has over 2,600 members, with numbers rising daily. It hosts around 700 groups and projects and connects people from all over the world. Some organisations plan to completely switch their working infrastructure to the platform and abandon US software. Others have organised successful projects and educational activities only using Collaboratorum. The DCYDE! consortium even hosted events with the German Federal Ministry and the Thuringian State Government on the platform.

“The feedback on the Colli has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Franziska Weiland, general project coordinator of DCYDE!, “especially because it caters to many different needs. Within our project, we use the platform to conduct our educational training courses and DCYDE! youth activities. We also use it for our networking demands and to build global partnerships. It really feels like an all-in-one solution.”