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Open source, as an essential and „magical ingredient“ in the IT strategies of politics and administration, makes all the difference - as our magician Christian de La Motte demonstrates, guiding participants through the topics with amazing close-up magic.
The German Heinlein Group is organizing this stand for the European Open Source Association APELL and the German Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) to promote the social discussion about the necessity of achieving Digital Sovereignty. Open Source and Digital Sovereignty is not a nice-to-have - it is a „must have“ to secure our freedom, our values and our social coexistence for the years to come.
With this joint digital summit, the German federal government and the French government are sending a clear signal about the importance of Europe's digital sovereignty. The aim of the summit is to further develop key aspects for an independent, secure and innovation-friendly digital future for Europe as a common understanding of all European states. The focus will also be on topics such as artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructures and open data spaces - as well as the fundamental question of how Europe can combine technological independence with social responsibility.
Europe as a community of openness
APELL's joint stand brings together leading players in the European open source economy as examples of a powerful software SME sector from and for Europe: B1 Systems, Element, Heinlein Group, Univention, SUSE and the Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS). Representatives from OSBA (Germany), CNLL (France) and APELL (Europe) will also be present - a strong symbol of the growing European cooperation in the field of open technologies.
Digital sovereignty is not a technical project
The summit makes it clear that technological independence goes far beyond questions of software or infrastructure. Sovereignty arises from the decision to make technology comprehensible, verifiable and collaborative. Open systems create trust because they can be tested. They promote innovation because they can be shared and they strengthen Europe because they rely on cooperation rather than dependency.
Technological dependency is always also a question of political stability. Those who lose control over their digital foundations give up a piece of self-determination. Digital sovereignty preserves this freedom as a technical, economic and democratic asset.
Open source is therefore not a niche model, but a European promise for the future, supported by values.
Responsibility for the digital society
For companies like the Heinlein Group, digital sovereignty means practising responsibility. Open software, transparent development processes and hosting in German data centers stand for a path that combines ecological, social and security policy requirements. This creates technological independence that is compatible with European values - free from non-transparent structures and non-European access.
When openness becomes magical
„The Magic of Open Source“ - when the real magic lies in the idea itself: In the freedom to share knowledge. In the responsibility to shape it securely. And in the trust that openness can strengthen Europe's digital future.
The summit shows that digital sovereignty is no longer a marginal issue, but a central building block of European self-determination. When politics, business and civil society act together, the foundation is laid for a digital future that is independent, secure and value-based.
Participation in the Summit on European Digital Sovereignty is by invitation only. All interested parties can download the Program in livestream track.
Further information about the Summit: https://bmds.bund.de/aktuelles/eu-summit
