OPEN OPEN 2026
Conference Programme
Friday, 6 November 2026
KUMST | Údolní 495/19, Brno, Czech Republic
09:00–10:00
Registration and Morning Coffee
10:00–10:10
Welcome and Opening Video
Lucie Smolka, Otevřená města
Markéta Gregorová, Member of the European Parliament · video message
BLOCK 01 | What Has Europe Decided? What Is New in Europe
10:10–10:40
The Future of Open Source Policies
Opening Keynote
Dan Čermák | SUSE
10:40–11:10
Digital Public Goods and Open Digital Infrastructure
Omar Mohsine | United Nations (ONLINE)
11:10–11:35
Building Together: Government and the Open Source Ecosystem
Gina Plat | OpenProject
11:35–11:40
Meet OpenAlt and Join the Weekend Event (7–8 Nov)
OpenAlt representative
11:40–11:55
Coffee Break
BLOCK 02 | In Practice: What It Looks Like on the Ground
11:55–12:10
Open Source Innovation Hubs and FIWARE iHub Austria
Nikola Machálková | Otevřená města and Aleksandar Vrglevski | Vienna Business Agency
12:10–12:35
Citizen as the Service Integrator
Gar Mac Críosta | Bealach
12:35–13:40
Lunch
13:40–14:10
Where Open Data Breaks: Lessons from the Real World
Kristýna Zaklová and Petr John | Ph.D. Students at the Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology (FIT BUT)
PARALLEL SIDE EVENT
13:30–15:30
Cybersecurity Obligations, Funding Opportunities and Networking
Explore the new cybersecurity requirements for Czech municipalities, practical steps towards compliance with the Cybersecurity Act, and available funding through IROP Call 120.
The session will feature JUDr. Ing. František Kasl, Ph.D. (Masaryk University), an expert in cybersecurity law, and Mgr. Ljubomir Džingozov (Centre for Regional Development), a specialist in IROP funding, Mgr. Daniela Procházková
Head of the Public Sector Regulation Department.
The programme will also include practical discussions, questions and networking with Otevřená města and municipal representatives.
This side event will be held in Czech.
Participants will rejoin the main conference programme for the mini-quiz at 15:35.
BLOCK 03 | The After: Money and
Accountability
14:10–14:50
Who Will (Or Won't) Pay for Open Source Infrastructure in the Next EU Budget
Nicholas Gates | OpenForum Europe
Q&A moderated by Lucie Smolka
14:50–15:15
What is the Government's Role in and Responsibility for Open-Source?
Jennifer Tridgell | University of Cambridge
INTERACTIVE & CLOSING PROGRAMME
15:15–15:35
Coffee break
15:35–15:45
Mini-Quiz: What Did We Learn Today?
Questions drawn from the speakers' talks.
15:45–16:25
Closing Panel: Digital Sovereignty and Open Source
Gina Plat
Nicholas Gates
Jennifer Tridgell
Moderated by Jan Volmut | Otevřená města
16:25–16:35
Closing and Conference Takeaways
Lucie Smolka | Otevřená města
16:35 onwards
Informal Networking
All participants
Organised by Otevřená města within the Open Source Innovation Hubs project (ATCZ00027), co-funded by the European Union through Interreg Austria–Czechia.
The main programme is in English. Registration is free at www.openopen.cz. Times may shift slightly on the day.
Prominent speakers and guests from our discussion panels
Open Open showcases top experts from the public sector, academia, and the open source community. We will update the guest list regularly right here, so keep an eye on our website to stay informed about all scheduled speakers.
Omar Mohsine acts as the Open Source Coordinator at the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (UN-OICT). He co-chairs the UN expert community for open source and leads its dedicated team. As a professional with over 15 years of global experience, he has been vital in fostering public-private partnerships within the UN. He has created open source challenges to advance Sustainable Development Goals and focuses on building technology partnerships to fulfill the UN mission.
Jennifer Tridgell is a highly skilled international lawyer. She served for a decade as a senior legal advisor to UN experts, at prestigious law firms, and the International Criminal Court. She specializes in human rights and tech diplomacy. She is finishing a PhD at the University of Cambridge on the global governance of open-source software. As an independent consultant, she advises states and firms on digital asset governance. She is a member of the OpenUK legal board and the ILA Executive Council.
Nicholas “Nick” Gates is a senior policy advisor at OpenForum Europe, where he manages research on open technologies and international cooperation in EU projects. He holds extensive expertise in digital governance and public service infrastructure. He studied political science and history at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and earned an MSc in global development from the University of Copenhagen. In his spare time, he enjoys cinema, cooking, hiking, and performing improv comedy.
Gar Mac Críosta is the Chief Adventurer at Bealach, a firm focused on digital infrastructure. He helped transform Irish healthcare as a digital advisor for strategy and architecture at the HSE on initiatives like MyHealth@IE and the One Health Record Programme. Formerly, he was the lead architect of Ireland’s Digital for Care framework and product lead for the HSE COVID Tracker app. He is an Irish Computer Society member interested in how digital identity and wallets affect EU citizens and firms.
Dan works at SUSE as an Open Source Technology Advocate. He focuses on community support, content creation, and promoting open source technology. Previously, he worked as a backend developer and container technology engineer. He began his career in the field of theoretical astrophysics, but his passion for open source projects eventually led him to full professional specialization.
Gina Plat served as the temporary head of the Open Source Program Office (OSPO) at the Dutch Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations. She recently joined the OpenProject ecosystem as Head of GovTech, helping governments attain digital sovereignty. With a background in IT management and policy, Gina navigates the specific challenges of the public sector regarding procurement, strategy, and managing open software alternatives.
Kristýna Zaklová
Kristýna Zaklová is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology (BUT FIT). Her research focuses on open data and its use in public administration. She is the founder of Zastupko, a platform that promotes transparency in public decision-making by making voting records from elected representative bodies accessible through clear, interactive visualisations. Launched in 2022 in cooperation with the City of Brno, the project has since expanded beyond local government to include votes from national and European institutions. In June 2025, she presented Zastupko at the national conference Jak na data ve veřejné správě 2025 in Prague.
Lucie Smolka, chairwoman of Otevřená města (Open Cities), is an IP & IT lawyer and Creative Commons lead. As co‑initiator of the Brno Open Source Declaration, she champions public code that prevents vendor lock‑in and promotes reuse and interoperability. Through the Open Source Innovation Hubs project she is building innovation centres in Brno and Vienna to strengthen cross‑border collaboration and digital sovereignty. She also leads work on the Czech national OSPO, which will map and support open‑source solutions across public administrations and universities.
Petr John
Petr John is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology (BUT FIT). His research covers the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city platforms. A central question in this research is how cities can collect, store, and use sensor data in an efficient way. The research also examines the performance of IoT systems and how end users interact with these systems. Together with Kristýna Zaklová, Petr also does research examining how open data can help general public.
Main Speakers of the Side Event Programme
JUDr. Ing. František Kasl, Ph.D.
JUDr. Ing. František Kasl, Ph.D. is actively involved in research and teaching at the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Informatics at Masaryk University. In his professional activities and publishing practice, he focuses primarily on cybersecurity and personal data protection. Among other works, he is the author of the monograph Personal Data Security in the Context of the Internet of Things and the chapter Personality, Privacy, and Personal Data in Modern Society in the monograph Information Technology Law.
Mgr. Ljubomir Džingozov
Mgr. Ljubomir Džingozov serves as the director of the Brno branch of the Centre for Regional Development and the director of the IROP Department for the South Moravian Region. He has been professionally involved in European funds since 2006. He focuses on the implementation of public sector projects, methodological support for grant recipients, and regional development issues.
Mgr. Daniela Procházková
Head of Public Sector Regulation Department, National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB)
Daniela Procházková has been working at NÚKIB since 2018 and specializes in the legal regulation of cybersecurity. She participated in the preparation of the new Cyber Security Act and is now dedicated to its implementation in practice, especially within public sector organizations. She focuses on methodological support, communication with regulated entities, and professional education in the field of cybersecurity.
Details of Individual Session Blocks
We will update this page with detailed descriptions of individual lectures, panels, and workshops, including all confirmed speakers. Stay tuned for further updates.
BLOCK 1 – What has Europe decided?
What is new in Europe
This session provides a comprehensive look at the latest European digital legislation and policy shifts. Experts will analyze new frameworks, exploring their impact on open governance and technical standards across the continent.
BLOCK 2 – In practice: what it looks like on the ground
How open policies work in real life
This session examines the practical implementation of open standards and policies. Through real-world case studies, participants will explore how digital ecosystems adapt to new open frameworks and the tangible results observed within public and private sectors.
BLOCK 3 – The after: money and accountability
Funding, transparency and long-term impact
This final block addresses the financial sustainability and governance of open digital initiatives. Speakers will discuss effective funding models and methods for ensuring long-term accountability within public projects.