Keynote: „Digital Sovereignty“ – Searching for Meaning in a Magical Concept

We’ve been using the term “digital sovereignty” going on ten years now. But what does that “digital sovereignty” even mean? Looking at research connected to the term shows that it has been used as an argument for very different, sometimes diametrically opposed goals and ideas. Does it even make sense to use it anymore?

Stefan Kaufmann

Stefan Kaufmann studied media informatics in Ulm. During his studies he founded a working group on open data that organized cross-regional events for knowledge exchange on the subject. The group advocates for open knowledge to this day. Stefan was project manager for the city of Ulm from 2016 to 2021. During his tenure and jointly with the group, he created an institution for networking between digital volunteers and public administration that gained national attention. Since 2022, he has worked for the Politics and Public Sector team at Wikimedia Germany. His focus is on shining a light on the data flows and IT architectures in the public sector - since 2024 specifically with a critical view on the hype around generative AI systems. He also works as an authorized expert and consultant on open data.