The third part of the workshop discussed the importance of open source software for promoting digital sovereignty in education. Karin Vosseberg gave a vivid presentation of how digital sovereignty in universities can create new spaces for self-determination - but only if the perspectives of different stakeholders are adequately taken into account.
A key requirement is to provide access to knowledge for all populations, including vulnerable groups, through inclusive learning platforms. Daniel Stattkus presented various requirements for the design of such learning platforms to ensure that digital educational offerings can be adapted to the needs of different target groups.
Andreas Harrer and Gabriele Kunau presented the realization of such an offer on the basis of SecAware.nrw. This is an innovative approach to teach data security in the context of a self-learning academy.
The workshop concluded with a discussion of the various contributions to digital sovereignty and the question of who is ultimately sovereign in the digital age.
The discussion highlighted the importance of protecting personal data, ensuring control over data storage, and promoting digital literacy to enable overall technological mastery. However, challenges lie with business and government, such as implementing clear policies and ensuring transparency of software services. Digital sovereignty should be seen as a journey, not an achievable goal.
As for the question of the ability to act in the face of a supposedly unchangeable system, which permeated the workshop, we found an answer from earlier times on the grounds of the Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences: In one of the toilets hangs an ashtray that is still in working order – a relic from a time when people smoked everywhere and all the time. As a result of regulation, bans, discursive reframing and health education, the ashtray now looks like a relic from a time that can no longer be imagined. And yes: people still smoke, but at least the network effects and the harm to others have been greatly reduced. Perhaps this is a fitting example of how digital sovereignty could be more than just an empty formula if we embrace the term by creatively dealing with its components. The future of sovereignty and autonomy lies in the willingness of politics to really commit to it.
Freie Universität Berlin