Every year at TICTeC, we strive to find keynote speakers that can speak directly to the present moment for the civic tech field.
At a time when tech and democracy are becoming ever more entwined, we’re delighted that Marietje Schaake will be kicking off the first day of proceedings at TICTeC.
Marietje is a former Member of the European Parliament, a Fellow at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center and the Institute for Human-Centered AI, a columnist for the Financial Times and author of The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley — one of the ‘top ten tech books’ of 2024.
Marietje will explore the delicate balance of our age, between the good that tech can do for democracy, and the dangers of letting self-interested tech giants dominate the field. It serves us to examine how authoritarian regimes are using tech, and to ask, can democracies reclaim sovereignty and stand up for the interests of citizens? Do we require more oversight and regulation in both tech and democracy, and if so, how can this be built to allow other kinds of tech to flourish?
The spirit of the ‘civic internet’ is what brought our community together: TICTeC is one place where principles of openness, democracy and engagement still burn brightly. Marietje’s keynote will help us consider the underlying questions around the future for the civic tech field, both for the immediate tomorrow, and for the longterm outlook.
This will be a keynote you don’t want to miss, so be sure to secure your place at TICTeC — in person or online. Book here: tickets remain at earlybird prices until March 3.
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Image: Sicherheitskonferenz (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)