As the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convenes its 81st session in New York in September, Creative Commons is bringing together leading civil society and digital rights organizations for “A Conversation on Collaboration,” a day-long symposium examining how to balance digital sovereignty with open collaboration.

Alongside co-organizers Public Knowledge, Ushahidi, Project Liberty Institute, the Engelberg Center, the Global Solutions Initiative, and the AI Disclosures Project, CC will be adding to conversations that governments, the European Union, and the United Nations have been having this year. 

Open source and digital sovereignty are closely related. While open source does not suffice for digital sovereignty, it is a critical building block. While definitions of digital sovereignty vary, it is generally accepted that digital sovereignty at the national level entails the ability to independently control everything from infrastructure, to hardware, to software, to data.

The day’s conversations will work through questions including:

• Where are open practices complementary, and where is there friction?
• How does this vary at different levels of the open stack—from infrastructure, to software, to data?
• What can we learn from conceptions of sovereignty at the individual and community level?
• How does Middle Power Collaboration enter the equation?

Panels will explore the full range of these questions, leaving participants with examples of open collaboration. 

• NYU Engelberg Center, Lipton Hall at D’Agostino Hall, 108 West 3rd Street, New York.
• Monday, September 21, 2026
• 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. (doors open at 9:30 am.; lunch will be provided midday.)

• Register Here
• Space is limited. Tickets are $10 for students and $25 for general attendees.

Posted 17 August 2026