2025-03-11 –, Auditorium
A few months ago, France and Germany decided to pool their resources to jointly develop sovereign digital applications for their respective administrative workplaces, based on common open source modules. Here's a look back and forward at this dynamic project, which is set to expand across Europe in the coming months.
This joint talk will explore the collaborative development of open source-based digital workspace solutions to reduce dependencies of the European public sector on individual tech providers. We will discuss two initiatives: openDesk, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and developed by the Centre for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), and La Suite numérique, led by the French Interministerial Digital Directorate (DINUM). We will explore the technical, governance and policy aspects of these joint initiatives, highlighting how a modular, standards-based framework can enable rapid development, flexibility for national adaptation and long-term sustainability. We will share lessons learned from the Franco-German collaboration, and the potential for expanding this model into a broader pan-European initiative. The session will conclude with a Q&A session to answer questions from the audience on the practical implementation and scaling of open-source workspace solutions for European public administrations.
Samuel is currently working for the French government at the Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs, in charge of building La Suite numérique (https://lasuite.numerique.gouv.fr), an sovereign digital workplace for the French public sector. In this role, Samuel leads a team focusing on developping opensource technologies, in a joint effort with Zendis, their German counterparts.
Before joining DINUM, Samuel headed the technical team at France Université Numérique, where he worked on creating and promoting digital commons for open education. Throughout his career, Samuel has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to open-source software and driving digital transformation in the public sector.
Lea Beiermann is Ecosystem Coordinator at the German Centre for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), where she fosters strategic partnerships across the public sector and open source ecosystem to promote digital sovereignty through open source software solutions. With an academic background in STS and the history of technology, Lea brings a deep understanding of the social implications of technological transition, informing her current work ath the intersection of software and digital policy.