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.
It's a wrap!
On June 4, 5, and 6, PublicSpaces and Waag Futurelab organized the sixth edition of the PublicSpaces conference “Technology for Democracy.” Through a packed program featuring keynotes, workshops, roundtable sessions, art, culture, panels, an unconference, a bazaar, networking events, and an awards show, we discussed how we can make technology work for us again—and for our democracy.
Want to relive it all? Dive into the archives and watch all the videos
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
June 11 - 18:07
A lot happened at #pubconf2026 this year. @stefan I still need to watch the session happening next door to the one I was hosting/moderating to see what was said and why Bjorn disappeared near the end of the session.
June 09 - 16:17
The sixth edition of the PublicSpaces Conference has come to an end! Over the course of three days, we focused on a democratic internet that works for us, with panels, keynote speeches, workshops, art and more!
Many thanks for all the participants for coming and for your enthusiasm.
We hope to see you again next year!
#PubConf2026 #Technology #Democracy #Opensocial #Digitalcommons #Internet
Photos: Lotte Dale & Raymond van Mil
June 08 - 11:28
I'm cautiously optimistic about the european.social declaration. Yet I still have some doubts.
- VC-backed ownership support 🤨
- "ad-supported (including novel privacy-preserving advertising technology developed in Europe)" seems rather specific?🤔
- 3 founding signatories being US based while at the same time projecting a very EU vs 'foreign' narrative seems rather odd. It feels quite political while I've concerns about EU politics too.
Made possible by
Organising this conference was made possible by contributions from these organisations.
