Save the date: 17 October 2024

In recent years, technology has adopted a complex, wasteful, and expensive approach to serving its purpose, making it rare, even in the open movement, to find affordable, accessible, and sustainable software. There is an urgent need for the technology industry to re-think how software is developed, which tools do we use and how tech solutions are currently conceived, coded, and deployed.

In this one-day The Tech We Want Online Summit, the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) is bringing together key voices working on public interest technologies to start a collective conversation about new practical ways to build software that is useful, simple, long-lasting and focused on solving people's real problems.

Building technology for technologists is NOT the tech we want. Source: xkcd.com (CC BY-NC 2.5)

The world is tired of falling down the endless rabbit holes of tech tools that have become the norm as if it's the only way forward. The Tech We Want is our attempt to help build critical mass and put the issue on the agenda of developers and decision-makers everywhere.

The Online Summit is open to everyone, especially technology workers, developers, engineers and programming language specialists who are interested in taking a critical look at current technologies.

Join us in building the tech we want and that the world needs!

We are still confirming the availability of the speakers and panellists. Check back soon or stay tuned to our social channels.

We are currently receiving proposals from people and organisations that are already building the tech we want.

The call is open until September 27th, 2024.

The intention is for participants to learn from existing initiatives, meet open tech practitioners and connect with other development logics beyond those established by the mainstream industry.

If you make, or know someone who makes, simple, accessible and sustainable software, follow or share the link above.

This is an online event free of charge and open to everyone. We welcome registrations by everyone, especially technology workers, developers, engineers and programming language specialists who are interested in taking a critical look at current technologies.

Registration is open until October 16th, 2024.

All the sessions will take place virtually in the same room, accessible via the same link, which will be open throughout the day. To access the link, you need to register using the following button.

Once registered, you will receive access instructions and a passcode to access the room and join all the sessions you wish.

For questions and queries regarding the programme or any aspect of registration process, please contact info@okfn.org.

The Tech We Want Online Summit is organised by:

The Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) is the world’s ultimate reference in open digital infrastructures and the hub of the open movement. As a global not-for-profit, we have been establishing and advocating for open standards for the last 20 years. OKFN is the organisation behind the Open Definition, Open Data Commons, the Global Open Data Index, School of Data, and cutting-edge tools like CKAN and Frictionless Data. We provide services, tools and training for institutions to adopt openness as a design principle.