[draft] Report on the Cyprus Tech Policy Unconference: Reclaiming the Digital Commons – ReFLOSS Edition

A Field Report from the “other” Cyprus Tech Event

by Chrystalleni Loizidou

[For policymakers unfamiliar with this space: FLOSS and digital sovereignty are not fringe concerns—they are the building blocks of a more secure, autonomous, and transparent public infrastructure. This report outlines how a small island community is contributing to a much-needed European and global shift.]

Just as Reflect Festival wrapped up its techno-capitalist mirage of painfully uncritical entrepreneurial bliss—steamrolling over the needs, memory, and sovereignty of native communities in favour of real estate speculation, infrastructural dispossession, and Smart City spectacle—an extractivist logic that mirrors the digital realm: platforms mining attention, data, and public funds while calling it innovation—a different conversation was unfolding just up the Limassol coast. [FOOTNOTE: Let’s do better. Let’s ask of such organisations to be more than a slick embrace of Smart City “solutions,” tech conglomerate culture, and growth-at-all-costs rhetoric. Let’s stop going along with contexts which lack meaningful ethical and political reflection on the common good. Let’s not bulldoze over ecological caution and cultural specificity. Let’s rethink the uncritical prioritisation of growth and demand which reduces the island to a testbed for extractive infrastructures that serve neither the people nor the place.]

ReFLOSS, by contrast, was a small tech policy unconference stitched together by volunteer grit, shared critique, and a persistent, slightly ungovernable hope that technology might still serve people rather than platforms—public-interest infrastructures, democratically shaped and collectively governed, rather than extractive systems designed to monetise users, data, and dependencies. ReFLOSS was less about technology as a product, and more about technology as a public good. It was less “future-of-startups,” more “future-of-the-commons”—a quiet refusal of spectacle and glossy KPIs, in favour of slower, messier, and more grounded work rooted in relationships, long-term autonomy, and infrastructure that holds. It also signalled a commitment to digital climate justice—recognising that sustainable technology must be as much about energy and resource politics as about code.

It brought together people who think about digital democracy, commons-oriented and non-exploitative technology advocates, free/libre and open source technology developers, and at least one chess master, to think together on the past, present and future of tech policy in Cyprus and beyond. It asked what it would mean to build digital infrastructures rooted in non-extractivist technology, sound decentralisation practices, and local digital sovereignty that is careful of Big Tech dependencies—a sovereignty not confined to national control or domestic ownership, but grounded in transparency, public participation, and democratic governance of technology beyond state borders. There were no venture capitalists or impactfully branded start-up decor, but what it lacked in spectacle, it made up for in criticality, community, and strategic clarity.

FLOSS stands for Free/Libre and Open Source Software, and by extension hardware, that is designed to uphold the following freedoms: the freedom to use, study, modify, and share software. These freedoms are not merely technical—they are political. They speak to autonomy, transparency, and the ability to shape our digital environments collectively.

At the international level, FLOSS is increasingly recognised not only as a development model but as a pillar of digital sovereignty. The European Commission’s Open Source Software Strategy for 2020–2023 explicitly encourages FLOSS adoption across public administrations to enhance interoperability, reduce vendor lock-in, and strengthen trust in digital infrastructure. The French government’s DINSIC (Interministerial Directorate for Digital) and Germany’s push for ‘Sovereign Tech’ have both championed FLOSS as a national and European public interest priority.

Globally, figures like Audrey Tang in Taiwan, Evgeny Morozov, and organisations such as the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) have framed FLOSS as central to democratic technology governance. Meanwhile, philosophers such as Benjamin Bratton and activists like Mariana Valente (InternetLab, Brazil) highlight the importance of rethinking technological infrastructure not as neutral, but as shaped by political and economic conditions—conditions FLOSS helps expose and sometimes reconfigure. 

ReFLOSS was the third FLOSS-themed unconference co-facilitated in Cyprus by Marios Isaakidis and myself—previous editions focusing on (1) the intersection of the Humanities and Technology, and (2)  the intersection of FLOSS with the Arts and the Commons, this one featuring keynote provocations by none other than Richard Stallman and Silvia Federici. This one, however, was less academic, stayed close to the grassroots and was clearly geared to a strategic vision of advocacy and mobilisation.

Who came and what happened?

By Open Space standards, we had “exactly the right people” – even if weddings and family emergencies thinned our expected turnout. As the Open Space principles reveal: “Whoever comes are the right people” and “Whatever happens is the right thing.” The agenda emerged on-site, democratically proposed and collaboratively prioritised. The emergent topics included:

• The Future of Freedom-Respecting Technology in Cyprus and beyond,
• Towards non-reactive Free/Libre and Open Source Software Advocacy For the Common Good,
• Building a Strategic Grassroots Mobilisation Plan: Mapping Allies and Building Local Power
• Copyright, Copyleft and the Future of Property,
• The dark side of FLOSS: Addressing the WordPress Monopoly,
• FLOSS AI: Ethics & Infrastructure
• Documenting the development of the Cyprus Free/Libre Software Movement:
  • From dual-boot wins in public education to infrastructure safety audits
  • Safety issues with Republic of Cyprus public digital infrastructure,
• New coding paradigms,
• Understanding EU-Level Tech Policy (DMA, DSA, Eurostack)
• Drafting a Public Open Letter on Tech Policy Transparency
• Proposal: Cyprus-based International Tech Policy Conference, 2026
• Renaming and Re-energising EL/LAK Cyprus
• Mitigating the effects of Big Tech Lobbies on the local level,
• Cyprus for European Digital Sovereignty: Strategy for Equipping our Policy-Makers with Context on Key Issues
• FLOSS Classes Programme & Workshop Series for the Creative Industries, Architecture, and Engineering
• Repair Cafe Cyprus
• Re-energising / Renaming EL/LAK Cyprus

A Note on Self-Organisation

We struggled a bit with fully embracing Open Space discipline: for everyone to write-up their own sessions, keeping time, cleaning up after ourselves. But that’s part of the work. Decentralising and democratising policy-work is a co-responsibility.

Snapshots of the Day

The following moments weren’t just agenda points—they were instances of the commons in motion: messy, collaborative, and rooted in the slow work of remembering, resisting, and reimagining. Persistent memory work, as infrastructure.

“Once Upon a Dual Boot”

Once upon a time, a handful of Cypriot educators and technologists successfully pushed for Linux-Windows dual boot systems in Cypriot public schools.

This wasn’t just a cost-saving measure, although it certainly helped negotiate lower prices for proprietary licenses. Most importantly it was an astonishing and rare precedent—resisting vendor lock-in, expanding digital literacy, and defending the right of students and teachers to learn on and explore freedom-respecting technologies.

Even if the initiative faded its symbolic and strategic impact endures. It shows that smart, organised people can bend public policy toward the commons. Let’s build on this.

Strategic Outputs

For FLOSS advocates and newcomers: This wasn’t just another event—it was a moment of convergence. Below are concrete initiatives that emerged and ways to get involved.

ReFLOSS gathered the hard core of Cyprus’ FLOSS scene and drew in new voices. It helped map alliances, sharpen critique, and seed concrete initiatives. We built:

• A Draft Open Letter titled “Digital Sovereignty or Digital Dependence? Cyprus at a Policy Crossroads in Technology and Education”, calling for transparency, public consultation, and alignment with European digital sovereignty values.
• A call to upgrade and possibly rename the Cyprus FLOSS Association (EL/LAK) to better reflect a new phase of mobilisation.
• A proposal to host an international Tech Policy Conference in 2026, with a scientific committee of academic and policy allies.
• A renewed push for local and regional grassroots organisation, backed by shared documents, shared pads, and shared cups (we went low-waste—bring your own mug!).
• A Public Workshop Series entitled:
  “Freedom-Respecting Tools for Art and Creation”—bringing FLOSS into schools, collectives, and cultural spaces.

What’s Next?

ReFLOSS landed at a key moment.
At the heart of ReFLOSS was a sense that Europe is waking up—slowly, unevenly—to the need for technological self-determination. The European Commission’s Digital Sovereignty strategy, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the AI Act all gesture toward regulation in the public interest. Eurostack is on the table. There is a shift away from dependency on Silicon Valley techno-feudalism and toward responsibly developed and hosted public-interest alternatives.

But Cyprus isn’t quite there yet. Not on the level of adoption, of public awareness, and certainly not on the level of discourse. We need public money to fund public code, not lock us into proprietary exploitative licenses. We need our public bodies, institutions, and communities to understand that relying on or investing in platforms like Facebook for public communication is no longer acceptable. Too much is at stake. Outsourcing visibility to commercial surveillance-based platforms puts democratic discourse at risk. Institutions must begin taking responsibility for their digital infrastructures—tools that serve public needs, not corporate extraction. There is a growing call for every institution to maintain at least one fediverse outlet, so that public communication can flow through channels not built on attention-harvesting business models. We need an education system that fosters autonomy, not dependency. We need to empower parents so that they can resist their children’s early dependence on exploitative devices. We need policy that doesn’t treat infrastructure like an afterthought. We need this infrastructure to be designed for our communities, not to serve the interests of extractivist platforms. We need to name and prioritise ‘infrastructure for the commons’ as a political horizon—technology not just for access, but for autonomy, care, and co-governance. Crucially, we need to bring the expectation for public investment in freedom-respecting and non-exploitative technology to the centre of the agenda.

We recommend all public agencies consider adopting at least one FLOSS-based communications tool and conducting a vendor lock-in, security and dependency risk audits before investing in or allowing adoption of proprietary software in the public sector

Our next steps include:

If you or your institution would like to contribute, co-create, or endorse these actions, we warmly invite you to reach out and join the process.

• Circulating the open letter for public and academic endorsement
• Building up the FLOSS tools workshop series (do get in touch if you’d like to help people get the hang of a FLOSS tool you like)
• Continuing coordination for the 2026 Tech Policy Conference
• Growing our political and institutional alliances—locally and across the region

For more info, to join the next sessions, or to bring a FLOSS workshop to your group, reach out at https://matrix.to/#/#ellakcy:matrix.org

This is an open invitation—not just to technologists and political activists, but to educators, artists, students, and anyone interested in shaping technology that supports care, autonomy, and shared stewardship. Whether you’re curious, committed, or simply exploring, the commons welcomes your contribution. 

Acknowledgements

The Cyprus Tech Policy Unconference—ReFLOSS 2025: Reclaiming the Digital Commons took place on Saturday, 17 May 2025. It was organised with the support of:

• Next Generation Internet Zero (NGI0), a programme by NLnet Foundation, funded by the European Commission
• Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic)
• NeMe.org
• ELLAK.org.cy
• 101.CY
• hack66.info
• the Cyprus Interaction Lab, Cyprus University of Technology (venue host)

Together, this coalition reflects the rare synergy of local initiative, EU-level vision, and free/libre technology communities. The event was also part of ongoing work by the NGI0 Regional Representation in Cyprus to link grassroots FLOSS advocacy to Europe’s digital sovereignty agenda.

As one participant noted while spotting the phrase “Public Money, Public Code” on a well-worn t-shirt during the closing visit to NeMe: the message had already arrived.

Backchannel: EL/LAK Cyprus: https://matrix.to/#/#ellakcy:matrix.org

Agenda Archive: https://mypads.framapad.org/mypads/?/mypads/group/ngi0-cyprus-rf8uz7ca/pad/view/programme-17-neme-d4gaa7j4

Resources to Learn More

• Public Money, Public Code (FSFE): https://publiccode.eu/
• Free Software Foundation Europe: https://fsfe.org
• Fediverse 101: Decentralised Social Media: https://fediverse.party
• NGI0 Discoverable Projects: https://nlnet.nl/project/