PublicSpaces Conference 2026: Technology for Democracy
The sixth edition of the PublicSpaces Conference on June 4, 5 & 6, focuses on the impact of technology on our democracy.
This year's theme: Technology for Democracy
Why a digital public space is essential for a healthy democratic society.
Pre-Conference on June 4
The Pre-Conference brings together developers, researchers, policymakers, community organizers, lawyers, and artists for a day of focused sessions, spread across Waag Futurelab, the Marineterrein, and Pakhuis de Zwijger.
Conference on June 5
5 June is the heart of the PublicSpaces Conference: a full day of keynotes, panels, workshops, and an art programme bringing together researchers, policymakers, technologists, journalists, artists, and activists from across Europe and beyond.
Hyperlink on June 6
Join us on Saturday, June 6th, for Hyperlink at Waag Futurelab and discover how we can make technology work for our democracy again by participating in various workshops, exhibitions and talks.
Latest updates
May 27 - 16:17
Hoe houden we publieke belangen overeind in een digitale samenleving?
In het panel 'Defending Our Digital Rights' buigen @EricChrSmit (mede-oprichter van @FTM_nl en The Firewall), Lotje Beek (van @bitsoffreedom), @barbarakathmann (parlementslid Progressief Nederland) en Geert-Jan Bogaerts (PublicSpaces) zich over deze vraag.
Want één ding steeds duidelijker: democratische controle over technologie is noodzakelijker dan ooit.
Voor meer #PubConf2026 op 4, 5 & 6 juni: https://conference.publicspaces.net/session/children-first-ai-second
May 27 - 12:39
RE: https://mastodon.social/@_elena/116645486985827346
@_elena took it upon herself to explore W Social.
I got weird vibes when W Social was announced at Davos. Elena's piece confirmed these feelings.
In my words:
W Social seem to be opportunists looking for a way to benefit from the need for better socials. In whatever way. They seem to operate in similar ways as #bigtech & their main objective does not seem to align with their more lofty "save democracy" statements.
Recommended reading!
May 26 - 16:30
Hyperscalers, algoritmes, content farming, cloud computing – we weten dat we de digitale wereld anders willen maken, maar hoe?
Kom tijdens Hyperlink (op zaterdag 6 juni) naar de expositie Short circuit, waar kunstenaars technologie openbreken en van de digitale brokstukken nieuwe ideeën bouwen: https://waag.org/nl/event/hyperlink26/
Made possible by
Organising this conference was made possible by contributions from these organisations.
