From Policy to Practice: Open Source and Digital Sovereignty in The Netherlands

Digital sovereignty has become a central theme in European debates on technology, and the Netherlands is no exception. Governments are becoming increasingly aware that the ability to control and trust their digital infrastructure is not just a technical matter anymore. It’s also a matter of democratic resilience and autonomy. This talk explores the Dutch government’s evolving approach to open source and digital sovereignty. Digital autonomy and transparency are increasingly embedded in our national policy, with measures such as the “open, unless” principle. But policy alone is not enough: the real challenge is to embed these values across the National Digitalisation Strategy (NDS) and to turn open source policies into practical initiatives (and vice versa!). As Interim Lead of the Dutch gov’s Open Source Program Office (OSPO), Gina will share insights into how digital sovereignty translates into practice. Key questions include: • What is the role of opensource in digital sovereignty